kitio.aiExa vs You.com
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Exa starts at See pricing page and You.com starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
At a glance
Best for
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Semantic web search
- Full page contents
- Research API
- Websets
- Similar page search
- Web Search API
- Contents API
- Research API depth levels
- Finance Research API
- Inference Router
- Zero data retention option
| Feature | Exa | You.com |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Search engine built for AI apps, with deep research and Websets | Web search, research and inference APIs for AI applications |
| Category | Research & search | Research & search |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | See pricing page | See pricing page |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | Exa Labs | You.com |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
|
|
Pricing compared
Exa starts at See pricing page and You.com starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
4 plans
Starter
Free
- $10 free credits every month
- $10 onboarding bonus
- All endpoints, 10 QPS
Search
From $4 / 1K requests
- Web search for agents
- Up to 10 results per request
Contents
$1 / 1K pages
- Full page contents for LLMs
- Configurable livecrawl
Agent
$0.012–$1.00 / run
- Async deep research runs
- Structured outputs with citations
4 plans
Contents API
$1 / 1K pages
- Full page contents
- 1–10 seconds per page
Web Search API
$5 / 1K calls
- Live web results
- About 0.4s median latency
- $10 free credit to start
Research API
From $12 / 1K calls
- Lite to Frontier depth levels
- Multi-source cross-checking
- Background mode for long jobs
Enterprise
Contact sales
- Higher rate limits
- Enterprise security
- Dedicated support
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Exa
- Built for AI use cases
- Returns full content
- Websets finds niche lists
- Mainly for developers
- Usage costs add up at scale
You.com
- Free credit to start building
- Clear per-call pricing
- Research depth matched to the task
- Zero data retention available
- Deep research calls get expensive
- No longer a consumer search app first
- Enterprise terms need a sales call
Which one should you choose?
Choose Exa if you want:
- Built for AI use cases
- Returns full content
- Websets finds niche lists
Watch out: mainly for developers.
Choose You.com if you want:
- Free credit to start building
- Clear per-call pricing
- Research depth matched to the task
Watch out: deep research calls get expensive.
Exa vs You.com FAQ
What is the difference between Exa and You.com?
Exa: Search engine built for AI apps, with deep research and Websets. You.com: Web search, research and inference APIs for AI applications. Both are research & search tools.
Is Exa or You.com cheaper?
Exa starts at See pricing page and You.com starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do Exa and You.com have free plans?
Exa: Yes. You.com: Yes.
Who makes Exa?
Exa is made by Exa Labs, based in United States.
Who makes You.com?
You.com is made by You.com, based in United States.
Which should I choose, Exa or You.com?
Choose Exa if you value built for ai use cases and returns full content. Choose You.com if you value free credit to start building and clear per-call pricing.