Perplexity API vs Cerebras Inference API
LLM API Providers pricing comparison · 2026
Perplexity API pricing ranges from $1–$15/per million tokens + per-request fee, while Cerebras Inference API ranges from $0.1–$6/per million tokens. Cerebras Inference API is typically 67% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.
LLM API Providers
Perplexity API
$1–$15
/per million tokens + per-request fee
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Perplexity API and Cerebras Inference API both operate in the llm api providers category. This page compares their list pricing.
Plan-by-Plan Pricing
| Plan | Perplexity API | Cerebras Inference API |
|---|---|---|
| Sonar | Custom | Free /month |
| Sonar Pro | Custom | Custom |
| Sonar Reasoning Pro | Custom | Custom |
| Sonar Deep Research | Custom | — |
Cost at Scale
Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.
Perplexity API
3 scenarios$2/month ($1 input + $1 output per 1M tokens, via OpenRouter)
Light Usage: Sonar (1M tokens/month)
$18/month ($3 input + $15 output per 1M tokens, via OpenRouter)
Mid-Volume: Sonar Pro (1M tokens/month)
$10/month ($2 input + $8 output per 1M tokens, via OpenRouter)
Reasoning Workload: Sonar Reasoning Pro (1M tokens/month)
Cerebras Inference API
4 scenarios$0/month
Developer Prototyping (Free Tier)
on the Free tier (Developer) plan
$0.60/M
Pay-as-you-go Usage — Llama 3.1 70B (as of Oct 2024)
tokens for Llama 3.1 70B (third-party data, October 2024)
$0/month
Individual Developer — Free Tier Prototyping
Contract Terms
| Term | Perplexity API | Cerebras Inference API |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-renewal | No | — |
| Cancellation | N/A — pay-as-you-go, no subscription required | — |
| Minimum commitment | None | — |
| Price escalation | No published schedule; no mid-cycle price increase reported in sources | No published schedule; pricing model is still evolving as the service transitions from free to commercial tiers |
| Can downgrade | Yes | — |