Yes, Exa has a permanent free tier alongside its paid plans. The free plan includes New accounts get $20 in free credits, about 2,800 searches and The free tier adds $10 in credits every month. No credit card is required to sign up.
About
Exa provides a web search API, website crawler tools, and deep research endpoints for applications that need current web data. The product includes Search, Contents, Answer, and Websets, with API access through the dashboard and documentation for search, page contents, and structured outputs.
The free tier is credit-based. New accounts get $20 in credits, about 2,800 searches. Exa adds $10 in credits every month. Paid usage is metered by endpoint. Search costs $7 per 1,000 requests, Deep Search $12 to $15 per 1,000 requests, Contents $1 per 1,000 pages, Monitors $15 per 1,000 requests, and Answer $5 per 1,000 requests.
- $20 in credits on signup, about 2,800 searches
- $10 in credits added every month
- Search, Contents, Answer, Websets
- Structured outputs and highlights
- Website crawling and page contents
- Deep search and monitoring endpoints
Free Tier Value
This free tier is genuinely usable because it includes access to all endpoints plus integrations, but it is capped by monthly credits and throughput limits. Since the offer is a credit-based free tier rather than a recurring paid allowance, the monthly dollar value is not estimated here; the $20 sign-up credit is captured separately, and no payment method is required.
What's included in the free tier
Verified
- New accounts get $20 in free credits, about 2,800 searches.
- The free tier adds $10 in credits every month.
See Exa pricing for current limits.
Paid plans
Starter
- Search QPS
- 5
- Agent concurrency
- 3
- Free $10 credits per month
- $20 credits on sign-up
- No payment method required
- Access to all endpoints
- MCP server access
- Claude Connector
- ChatGPT plugin
- 50+ integrations
Developer
- Search QPS
- 10
- Agent concurrency
- 25
- PAYGO usage-based billing
- Standard email support
- Pay via card or bank account
- SOC 2 Type II
- Higher throughput than Starter
- Access to all starter features
Enterprise
- Results per search
- up to 1,000
- Custom MSA and DPA
- Zero data retention
- SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA
- Monthly invoicing
- SSO for Exa Dashboard
- Enterprise support with dedicated Slack channel
- Enterprise SLAs
- Custom Search QPS & Agent Concurrencies
Pricing extracted from Exa's pricing page. Always verify current pricing before committing.
Common questions
Is Exa free forever?
Yes. Exa has a permanent free tier alongside its paid plans, though the allowance typically resets each month.
Does Exa require a credit card?
No. You can start on Exa's free tier without entering card details.
