Sales and marketing · Scraping and research
Exa
AI-native web search API built for agents and LLM workflows.
- Vendor
- Exa
- Pricing model
- Usage-based API pricing with free starting credits and enterprise plans.
- Runs on
- Vendor cloud (SaaS) and API
- Agentic OS layer
- Context
- Industries
- Any industry
- Last reviewed
- November 2026
Our verdict
An AI-native search API that suits agents and LLM workflows well.
What it is
Exa is a search engine API designed for AI agents, with its own web index and endpoints for search, page contents, research agents and monitors. It can return clean page text, highlights or structured JSON, with filters for companies, people, news and research.
Best for
GTM engineers who need agents or Clay tables to research companies and people from live web data.
Not the right fit
Teams needing exact Google results.
Key capabilities
Neural search
Meaning-based results.
Contents API
Full page text.
Websets
Lists of entities from the web.
Agent-ready
Built for LLM tools.
Strengths
- Own web index, not a Google wrapper
- Returns clean text and structured output for LLMs
- Company and people search verticals
Watch-outs
- Results vary for niche or very small companies
- Deep search modes are slower and cost more per call
Pricing
Usage-based API pricing with free starting credits and enterprise plans.
Pricing summarised in October 2026 and not re-checked since. Vendors change plans often, so confirm current pricing with Exa before you budget.
Security and governance
Scraping and search APIs can collect personal data and content covered by site terms. Respect robots rules and terms of use, avoid collecting personal data you do not need, and keep API keys in a vault with spend limits set.
How we would roll it out
- Define the exact data you needFields, sources and refresh frequency.
- Start with a small, monitored jobCheck quality and cost per record.
- Store results with source and dateSo data can be refreshed or removed.
Compare with
Other tools in Sales and marketing, closest match first.
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Serper
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Best for Builders who need cheap, high-volume Google results inside enrichment workflows or agents.
Chili Piper
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Instant meeting booking and lead routing from forms.
Best for Teams converting inbound demo requests into booked meetings fast.
Choosing between Exa and the alternatives?
Book a call. We look at your systems, data and governance together and tell you which platform fits, and what to build on it first.