Perplexity API vs Groq
LLM API Providers pricing comparison · 2026
Perplexity API pricing ranges from $1–$15/per million tokens + per-request fee, while Groq ranges from $0.05–$3/per million tokens. These products use different pricing models (Per-seat subscription vs Usage-based (pay per token/image/minute)), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.
LLM API Providers
Perplexity API
$1–$15
/per million tokens + per-request fee
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Perplexity API and Groq both operate in the llm api providers category. This page compares their list pricing.
Plan-by-Plan Pricing
| Plan | Perplexity API | Groq |
|---|---|---|
| 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)
Groq
3 scenarios$16.00
Audio Transcription: 400 Hours via Whisper
total ($0.04 × 400 hours)
$0.90/month ($0.50 input + $0.40 output)
Light Developer Usage: Llama 3.1 8B
$45.30/month ($29.50 input + $15.80 output)
Production App: Moderate Usage with Llama 3.3 70B
Contract Terms
| Term | Perplexity API | Groq |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-renewal | No | 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 price escalation schedule; token prices have generally trended downward as model catalog expands |
| Can downgrade | Yes | Yes |