Tavily vs Exa
Pricing last verified from each vendor's own site.
Verdict
Both are web search APIs for AI agents. Tavily has a free tier (1,000 credits/mo), Project $30/mo for 4,000 credits and pay as you go at $0.008/credit. Exa is pay per use with $10 in free credits every month, Search from $4 per 1,000 requests and contact enrichment from $0.02 per email.
- Consider Tavily if: You want a simple credit plan and a free monthly allowance.
- Consider Exa if: You want neural search, page contents and people/company enrichment in one API.
Factual summary
- Both are listed under Data & Enrichment.
- Directly comparable starting prices are not available for both: Tavily — Researcher free (1,000 API credits/mo, no card); Project $30/mo (4,000 credits, higher rate limits); pay as you go $0.008/credit; Enterprise custom; Exa — Pay per use: free $10 in credits every month plus a $10 onboarding bonus; Search from $4 per 1,000 requests (Deep Search $12), page contents $1 per 1,000 pages, Monitors $15 per 1,000 requests; Agent runs $0.012–$1.00 each; contact enrichment $0.02 per email, $0.07 per phone.
This is a factual comparison drawn from vendor sites, not a recommendation. Which fits depends on your channels, volume and budget.
| Tavily | Exa | |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | Web search and extraction API built for AI agents and LLM apps. | Web search API built for AI agents, with company and people search, page contents and asynchronous research runs. |
| Starting price | From $30/mo | See vendor |
| Pricing details | Researcher free (1,000 API credits/mo, no card); Project $30/mo (4,000 credits, higher rate limits); pay as you go $0.008/credit; Enterprise custom | Pay per use: free $10 in credits every month plus a $10 onboarding bonus; Search from $4 per 1,000 requests (Deep Search $12), page contents $1 per 1,000 pages, Monitors $15 per 1,000 requests; Agent runs $0.012–$1.00 each; contact enrichment $0.02 per email, $0.07 per phone |
| Model | freemium | usage |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Channels | — | — |
| Last verified | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-28 |
FAQ
What is the difference between Tavily and Exa?
Both are web search APIs for AI agents. Tavily has a free tier (1,000 credits/mo), Project $30/mo for 4,000 credits and pay as you go at $0.008/credit. Exa is pay per use with $10 in free credits every month, Search from $4 per 1,000 requests and contact enrichment from $0.02 per email.
Which is cheaper, Tavily or Exa?
We can't compare entry prices directly. Tavily: Researcher free (1,000 API credits/mo, no card); Project $30/mo (4,000 credits, higher rate limits); pay as you go $0.008/credit; Enterprise custom. Exa: Pay per use: free $10 in credits every month plus a $10 onboarding bonus; Search from $4 per 1,000 requests (Deep Search $12), page contents $1 per 1,000 pages, Monitors $15 per 1,000 requests; Agent runs $0.012–$1.00 each; contact enrichment $0.02 per email, $0.07 per phone.
When should I choose Tavily over Exa?
Consider Tavily if: You want a simple credit plan and a free monthly allowance. Consider Exa if: You want neural search, page contents and people/company enrichment in one API.
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