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Perplexity API Platform

by Perplexity@perplexity_aiSan Francisco, California, USANo ratings yet

Developer APIs for web-grounded agents, search, embeddings and probability-style decisions.

Visit perplexity.ai
Tool type
API platform
Made for
Developers
Runs on
Hosted REST API
Called via HTTPS endpoint api.perplexity.ai or Python/TypeScript SDKs; playground available in the console.
Last checked
28 Oct 2026
3 product sources

What it does

The platform takes in text requests sent to REST endpoints (or via Python and TypeScript SDKs) and returns structured, source-cited responses. The Agent API runs a multi-step agent that can search the web, fetch URLs, search images, people and finance sources, and run code in a sandbox. The Search API returns raw web retrieval results, the Embeddings API produces vectors for search and retrieval, and the Decisions API returns answers as probabilities against a threshold you set. The Orchestrator API hosts open-weight models.

Developers typically start in the playground, then call the Agent API with an effort preset and chosen tools. Others use Search for retrieval in their own agent stack or combine several APIs in one application. A distinguishing point is that one Perplexity API key works across supported APIs, and the Agent API can reach models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI and others without separate provider keys. Perplexity states API content is not used to train models.

It suits engineers building research tools, assistants and retrieval features, from small teams to enterprises. You need a Perplexity API key from the console, billing is pay-as-you-go, and Orchestrator requires separate access approval. Web search is opt-in on the Agent API, so a bare request answers from the model's own knowledge without citations. This is an API, not a chat app, and consumer subscription plans are separate.

What it can do

  • Agent API: multi-step agent with models, web search, URL fetch and code execution in one call
  • Selectable tools: web search, URL fetch, image search, people search, finance search and sandbox
  • Search API returning raw web retrieval results for agents
  • Embeddings API for search and retrieval
  • Decisions API returning probabilities for a question rather than prose
  • Orchestrator API hosting supported open-weight models (access by request)

Works with

  • OpenAI SDK compatibility (POST /v1/responses alias)
  • Python SDK (perplexityai)
  • TypeScript SDK (@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai)

Example workflows

Cited market research answer
Input: a question such as how EV battery costs trended this quarter. Steps: send it to the Agent API with a high effort preset and web_search and sandbox tools enabled. Output: a written answer with inline citations and the sources read.
Retrieval layer for your own agent
Input: a user query and a set of documents. Steps: call the Search API for live web results, use the Embeddings API to rank your documents, then pass the best material to your own model. Output: ranked results to ground your application's answer.

Before you choose

  • Web search is opt-in on the Agent API; without it responses carry no citations.
  • Orchestrator API needs separate access approval, though the same API key is used.
  • Billing is usage-based; confirm current rates on the API pricing page before budgeting.

Listed under

Get started

Start building in the Perplexity console, or talk to sales.

  1. Create an account and generate an API key in the Perplexity console.
  2. Set PERPLEXITY_API_KEY as an environment variable and install the Python or TypeScript SDK.
  3. Test a request in the playground, then add tools such as web_search to the Agent API call.
Get an API key

Plans and prices

Rates were not supplied; see the API pricing page for per-API rates. Consumer plans on perplexity.ai/hub/pricing are separate and do not cover API usage.

Usage-basedUsage-basedMeters and rates are on the API pricing page; not confirmed here.
  • No subscription required
  • Token counts and costs shown per request

Source: docs.perplexity.ai/docs/agent-api/quickstart, checked 28 Oct 2026. Prices can change; check before you buy.

Sources for this overview

Product pages, documentation, and pricing checked 28 Oct 2026. Each source supports part of the overview; availability and prices can change.

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Last checked 28 Oct 2026. Every field keeps its source and date; unknown means we couldn’t confirm it.