# Perplexity, top-up, Prepaid credits, POST /search, Fast Search: Web search API

> Use search_type fast on the Search API for lower-latency, lower-cost web results.

Perplexity's web search API on its Prepaid credits plan. It costs $1.00 per 1,000 searches. It returns 2 of the 6 key fields we check: Date, Text.
Half of the 177 plans we rank by price cost $2.50 per 1,000 searches or less. This plan is cheaper than 64% of the 177 plans.
The cheapest plan we rank by price is [Ceramic, $99 monthly](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/ceramic/99-monthly/llms.txt), at $0.20 per 1,000 searches.
[Search1API](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/search1api/19-monthly-basic-post-search-search/llms.txt), [Firecrawl](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/firecrawl/top-up-from-5-pay-as-you-go-on-scale/llms.txt) and [Valyu](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/valyu/499-monthly/llms.txt) are the best web search API providers in our benchmark.

- This page: https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/perplexity/top-up-prepaid-credits-post-search-fast-search
- [Best web search API in 2026](https://datacircle.dev/best-web-search-api.txt)
- Get it: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing
- Request: `POST https://api.perplexity.ai/search`, Fast Search
- API key: with the plan, on https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing
- Its API docs: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/fast-search
- Sold by: Perplexity (https://www.perplexity.ai)
- Checked: 2026-10-27

## In the answer

- Completeness: 33%
- Date: ✓
- Text: ✓

## Price

- $ per 1,000 searches: $1.00
- Per: call
- Billing: pay first

## Aggregators

- Aggregators: none

## Charges

- Most per search: 20
- Also pays for: from the same budget: Create Chat Completion · Create Response · Create Message · Create Agent Response · Create Embeddings · Create Contextualized Embeddings · Search the Web

## Not found

- $ per 1,000: $1.00

## In their words

- Their pitch: Use search_type fast on the Search API for lower-latency, lower-cost web results.

## Data

- Keep data: no retention period is set for what the API answers, "Customer [...] owns all Output"
- Use data: "Customer may, on a non-exclusive, non-sublicensable and non-transferable basis during the term of this Agreement, [...] (ii) use the Services and the API Keys solely to submit Input [...] to the Service, receive Output [...] from the Service, and display such Output, in each case, solely within the Customer Applications in accordance with the API Documentation", "Customer has no right or license to, and shall not (nor permit others, including end users of the Customer Applications, to), directly or indirectly use the Services, Outputs or API Platform in a manner that violates Perplexity’s Acceptable Use Policy", "if Perplexity determines that a Customer Application is [...] competitive with Perplexity [...] Perplexity may terminate the license under Section 2.1(ii) in respect of such Customer Application and deactivate the relevant API Key(s)"

## Rate limit

- Per second: 50

## Speed

- Answer: in the call

## The call

- You send: query, search_type "fast". Optional: country, max_results, max_tokens, max_tokens_per_page, search_language_filter, search_domain_filter, last_updated_after_filter, last_updated_before_filter, search_after_date_filter, search_before_date_filter, search_recency_filter
- Method: POST
- Path: /search

## About the plan

- Plan: Prepaid credits
- Who can get it: anyone using it on behalf of an organization, paying by credit card (its terms bind "the organization on whose behalf you are accessing or using the Services")

## The 7 fields the plan's answer can hold

request ID, page title, URL, snippet, published date, last updated date, server time

## Perplexity's plans (3)

- [Perplexity, top-up, Prepaid credits, POST /search, Fast Search](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/perplexity/top-up-prepaid-credits-post-search-fast-search/llms.txt): $1.00 per 1,000, 33% complete
- [Perplexity, top-up from $1,000, API Platform Credits (AWS Marketplace), POST /search, Fast Search](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/perplexity/top-up-from-1000-api-platform-credits-aws-marketplace-post-search-fast-search/llms.txt): $1.00 per 1,000, 33% complete
- [Perplexity, contact us, Contact the sales team, POST /search, Fast Search](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/perplexity/contact-us-contact-the-sales-team-post-search-fast-search/llms.txt): 33% complete

## Perplexity's calls (2)

- `POST /search`, Fast Search: [Perplexity, top-up, Prepaid credits, POST /search, Fast Search](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/perplexity/top-up-prepaid-credits-post-search-fast-search/llms.txt)
- `POST /search`, Search the Web: [Perplexity, top-up, Prepaid credits, POST /search, Search the Web](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/perplexity/top-up-prepaid-credits-post-search-search-the-web/llms.txt)

## Perplexity's APIs (1)

- [Perplexity: web search API pricing, 3 plans, POST /search, Fast Search](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/perplexity/top-up-prepaid-credits-post-search-fast-search/llms.txt)

## Perplexity: web search API alternatives

- [Context.dev, $90 monthly](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/context-dev/90-monthly/llms.txt): $0.90 per 1,000, 17% complete, live
- [Search1API, top-up from $5, Pay as you go, POST /news, News](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/search1api/top-up-from-5-pay-as-you-go-post-news-news/llms.txt): $1.00 per 1,000, 33% complete, live
- [ContextFetch, top-up from $10, Pay as you go, POST /v1/answer](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/contextfetch/top-up-from-10-pay-as-you-go-post-v1-answer/llms.txt): $1.00 per 1,000, 67% complete
- [Oxylabs, $30 monthly](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/oxylabs/30-monthly/llms.txt): $1.00 per 1,000, 17% complete, live

## Sources

From each provider's own pricing page and docs, and from what providers tell us. We read this row from these pages on 2026-10-27.

- https://docs.perplexity.ai/api-reference/search-post
- https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/admin/rate-limits-usage-tiers
- https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing
- https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/projects
- https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/faq
- https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/fast-search
- https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/overview
- https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/quickstart
- https://docs.perplexity.ai/openapi.json
- https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/perplexity-api-terms-of-service