Exa Search API

Web search API that returns ranked results with page text, highlights, and AI summaries for AI agents and apps.

Linked from exa.ai · checked 29 Oct

Tool type: Web search API for AI agents
Made for: AI application and agent developers
Runs on: Hosted API, SDKs and MCP clients; Requests go to the hosted API endpoint; there is no end-user web app described for the Search API itself.
Last checked: 29 Oct 2026; 3 product sources

What it does

Exa Search API takes a natural-language or keyword query and returns web search results with URLs, titles, and page content. Depending on the request, it can also return highlights (key passages extracted from pages), AI-generated summaries, and structured outputs in a schema you define. Search types are Lite for low latency, Auto as an adaptive default, and Deep for agentic research with longer response times.

Developers call the hosted endpoint from code or cURL with an API key, then pass the results to an AI model as retrieved context or tool output. Search modes trade retrieval depth against latency, and requests can include page text, relevant passages or generated summaries. A result list can be shaped for an application by its query and content options. Developers should distinguish the Search API meter from separately priced content retrieval, agent research and monitoring products.

Exa Search API suits developers building agents, coding assistants and research applications that need current web sources. A dashboard account provides an API key and recurring Starter credits, with metered billing for larger workloads. Query quality, retrieval mode and result count affect both usefulness and cost. Applications should preserve source links, check whether returned pages support generated claims and handle failures or incomplete coverage rather than assuming every answer is authoritative.

What it can do

Web search returning ranked results with URLs and titles
Page contents retrieval with token-efficient highlights
AI-generated summary of search results
Structured outputs in a user-defined schema via Agent API
Scheduled monitoring of web searches with webhook updates
MCP server access and Claude/ChatGPT connectors on Starter plan

Works with

MCP server
Claude Connector
ChatGPT plugin

Example workflows

Agent web research with search results: Illustrative example. Input: a natural-language question. Steps: send a search request with highlights enabled, pass returned titles, URLs, and highlights to an LLM as tool output, and have the model answer with citations. Output: an answer grounded in fetched web sources.
Scheduled news monitoring: Illustrative example. Input: a query and a run cadence. Steps: configure a Monitor to run the search on that schedule and register a webhook endpoint. Output: webhook payloads containing new results for downstream processing.

Before you choose

Pricing has separate components for search requests, Contents pages, Agent runs and compute units, and Monitors; costs add up across these.
Search accuracy and latency figures on the product page are vendor-supplied benchmark results.
Enterprise features such as SSO, zero data retention, and HIPAA are offered on custom plans, not on the self-serve tiers.

Listed under

Get started

The Starter tier is described as free with monthly credits and no payment method required.

Create an account at the Exa dashboard and generate an API key.
Install the exa-py or exa-js SDK, or call the REST endpoint directly with a Bearer token.
Send a first search request with the contents option set to highlights, then use the returned fields in your application.

Get an API key

Plans and prices

Prices in USD

Starter is free with $10 credits each month plus a $10 onboarding bonus. Search rates for up to ten results are $4/1,000 requests for Lite, $7 for Auto and $12 for Deep. Each additional result above ten adds $1/1,000 requests; AI page summaries add $1/1,000 pages. Other Exa APIs have separate meters. Developer usage is paid as consumed; Enterprise terms are custom.

StarterFreeRecurring monthly free credits plus a $10 onboarding bonus.

Free $10 credits per month
MCP server access

Developer$4 per 1k search requestsLite base rate for up to ten results; Auto is $7 and Deep $12 per 1,000 requests. Extra results and summaries cost more.

Pay-as-you-go usage billing
Up to 25 Search QPS

Source: exa.ai/pricing, checked 29 Oct 2026. Prices can change; check before you buy.

Sources for this overview

Product pages, documentation, and pricing checked 29 Oct 2026. Each source supports part of the overview; availability and prices can change.

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How we research

Company website: exa.ai: product, pricing and policy pages
Hacker News: Launch posts and discussion
YC directory mirror: Batch and company name
Social accounts: Accounts the company links, and its posts on X
Human review: Checked by a person
knowledge_base

Last checked 29 Oct 2026. Every field keeps its source and date; unknown means we couldn’t confirm it.