Perplexity API vs xAI Grok API Pricing (2026)
Compare / Perplexity API vs xAI Grok API
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Team size
25 seats

Perplexity API vs xAI Grok API

LLM API Providers pricing comparison · 2026

Perplexity API pricing ranges from $1–$15/per million tokens + per-request fee, while xAI Grok API ranges from $1.25–$2.5/per million tokens. xAI Grok API is typically 38% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

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2 products · LLM API Providers
Side-by-side · live
Perplexity API
Perplexity API's Sonar models are unique among LLM APIs: every query comes with real-time
verified 5w ago
View pricing →
xAI Grok API
The xAI Grok API offers pay-as-you-go pricing for models including Grok 4, Grok 4 Fast, an
verified 19d ago
View pricing →
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Pricing model unknown
Pricing model unknown
no public list price found
Usage-based
$1.25 per 1M tokens
see vendor pricing for volume tiers
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 5 sourced facts
3 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median
Last verified 1mo ago
Confidence High confidence
Sources 1 sourced fact
Vendr median
Last verified 2w ago
Confidence Limited confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
2 documented
  • Undisclosed Citation and Search Source Token Costs
    20-50% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Effective Cost Comparable to More Capable Frontier Models
    5-15% of license costs
    1 source
No hidden costs documented
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
No public ratings yet
Best for
Cost-efficient web-grounded queries
Watch out
Citation and search source costs buried in documentation, not clearly disclosed upfront
No public ratings yet
Best for
Developers integrating Grok into their applications
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Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Perplexity pricing
Discount programs →
Visit xAI pricing
Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
LLM API Providers

Perplexity API

$1–$15
/per million tokens + per-request fee
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
LLM API Providers

xAI Grok API

$1.25–$2.5
/per million tokens
2 plans
Full pricing breakdown →

Perplexity API and xAI Grok API both operate in the llm api providers category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Perplexity API xAI Grok API
Sonar Custom Custom
Sonar Pro Custom Custom
Sonar Reasoning Pro Custom —
Sonar Deep Research Custom —

Continue researching

Perplexity API

xAI Grok API

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