<!-- twin of https://specstream.ai/exa-lite-search-api -->
# Exa Lite search API: the same call at $1 per 1,000, pages read live

Compared on Nov 12, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/exa-lite-search-api

Exa released `lite` on October 19, 2026 as its low-cost search type: $4 per 1,000 requests with up to 10 results, plus $1 per 1,000 results above 10. It serves page text only from Exa's cache and never fetches a page live.

SpecStream answers the same call. Change `https://api.exa.ai` to `https://api.specstream.ai/exa` and send a SpecStream key in `x-api-key`. Keep `type: "lite"` in the body: the search costs $1 per 1,000, and each page is read when your call arrives.

It is the most accurate web search API in the world: 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct) and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks, on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=exa-lite-search-api) page.

[Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-exa-lite-search-api&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=exa-lite-search-api&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fsearch%3Froute%3Dexa) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 10,000 searches.

## SpecStream and Exa Lite side by side

| | SpecStream | Exa Lite |
|---|---|---|
| What you change | One line. The base address `https://api.specstream.ai/exa` in place of `https://api.exa.ai`, and a SpecStream key in `x-api-key` or as a Bearer token. In `exa-py`: `Exa(api_key=..., base_url="https://api.specstream.ai/exa")` | `POST /search` with `type: "lite"`, and an Exa key in `x-api-key` or as a Bearer token |
| Price per 1,000 searches | $1 for up to 10 results on `lite`, `auto`, `fast` and `instant`, and $5 on a `deep` type. `numResults: 100` costs $0.0118 a call | $4 for up to 10 results, plus $1 per 1,000 results above 10. `auto` costs $7 |
| Page text | Read from the live page when your call arrives. Send `contents.text` and each result carries the text of its page closest to the query, up to about 3,500 characters, in the price of the search | From Exa's cache only: `lite` never fetches a page live. When you ask for `text` or `highlights`, results with no cached copy are left out of the response |
| The request | `query`, `numResults` (1 to 100), `includeDomains`, `excludeDomains`, `includeText`, `excludeText`, `startPublishedDate`, `endPublishedDate`, `contents.text` and `contents.highlights` work as on Exa. `type`, `category` and `userLocation` are accepted, so the body needs no edit | A smaller set than `auto`. `outputSchema`, `systemPrompt`, `stream`, `contents.summary`, `contents.subpages`, `contents.maxAgeHours`, `contents.livecrawl`, `includeText` and `excludeText` return `400 INVALID_REQUEST_BODY` |
| The reply | Exa's JSON: `requestId`, `results[]` with `id`, `url`, `title`, `publishedDate`, and `text` and `highlights` when asked, `searchTime` and `costDollars.total` | The same shape as Exa's other search types |
| Rate | No limit per key and no daily limit. A busy call gets a `429` with `Retry-After` and is not charged | 10 queries a second on a default account |
| Free to start | $10 of credit, no card. That is 10,000 searches, and credit you buy never expires | $10 in credits, up to 2,500 Lite searches, reset on the first of every month |
| Whole pages | The Extract API reads whole pages, PDF, Word and Excel files at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and `POST /exa/contents` answers Exa's Contents call. A page with no text is not charged | Contents costs $1 per 1,000 pages per content type |
| Every match as structured rows | Deep Search: a request in plain words returns every match on the live web as rows that meet each condition you wrote, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, plus 5¢ for an email and 15¢ for a phone. The most a run can cost is quoted before it starts | Agent: $0.012 a request at `minimal` effort up to $1.00 at `xhigh` |

## Why Lite users move to SpecStream

### The switch is one line

Your code keeps its body, `type: "lite"` included, and its parser. The address changes, and the key.

```
# Before: Exa Lite, $4 per 1,000
curl -X POST https://api.exa.ai/search \
  -H "x-api-key: $EXA_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "latest chip export rules", "type": "lite", "numResults": 5, "contents": {"text": true}}'

# After: SpecStream, $1 per 1,000, each page read live
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/exa/search \
  -H "x-api-key: $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "latest chip export rules", "type": "lite", "numResults": 5, "contents": {"text": true}}'
```

The reply has Exa's shape: `requestId`, `results[]` with `id`, `url`, `title` and `publishedDate`, `text` and `highlights` when you ask for them, `searchTime` and `costDollars.total`. There is no field to map.

### Pages read live, at a quarter of the Lite price

Lite gets its price from its cache. It never fetches a page live, and a result with no cached copy is dropped when you ask for its text. Exa's docs send a request that needs a fresh page to `auto`, at $7 per 1,000. SpecStream reads each page at the moment of your call, for $1 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results, whichever `type` you send except `deep`. A result whose page is not read in time keeps its snippet in `text`, so no result is dropped.

### Your body is accepted as it is

Lite answers `400 INVALID_REQUEST_BODY` to `outputSchema`, `contents.summary`, `contents.maxAgeHours`, `contents.livecrawl` and the deprecated `includeText` and `excludeText`. SpecStream's route reads `includeText` and `excludeText` as exact phrases, and accepts `contents.maxAgeHours` and `contents.livecrawl` without an error, since every page is read live. Code written for `auto` runs at the same $1 as code written for `lite`.

### The most accurate web search API in the world

On SimpleQA Verified the SpecStream Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official questions, 978 of them correct. On WideSearch it scores 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official tasks. The Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. Every score and its method is on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=exa-lite-search-api) page.

### How fast the route answers

The fast search behind the Exa route had a median of 0.82 seconds at one search a second and 1.07 seconds at 20 searches a second, measured on production on November 9, 2026, with 718 of 720 searches answered. There is no limit per key and no daily limit.

### Pages, documents and rows on the same key

`POST /exa/contents` answers Exa's Contents call, and `exa.get_contents(urls)` works with the same `base_url`: up to 20 pages a call, each at the [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=exa-lite-search-api)'s $0.80 per 1,000 pages, PDF, Word and Excel included. When you need every match on the web in place of a results page, [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=exa-lite-search-api) returns structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, each value with its source URL and read time, under a maximum you approve before it runs.

## Other Exa Lite alternatives

### Exa auto

Exa's default type costs $7 per 1,000 requests and fetches a page when its cache has none. It is the type Exa's docs name for any request that needs a parameter `lite` refuses. SpecStream answers an `auto` body on the same route for $1 per 1,000.

### Parallel Search API

Search starts at $1 per 1,000 requests, with Parallel's own request body and JSON. SpecStream answers Parallel's call too, at `https://api.specstream.ai/parallel/v1/search`, on the same key as the Exa route.

### Perplexity Search API

Ranked results as JSON at $5 per 1,000 requests, and $1 with Fast Search. SpecStream answers Perplexity's `POST /search` at `https://api.specstream.ai/perplexity`, with every page read live.

### Brave Search API

A search API on Brave's own index at $5 per 1,000 requests, with $5 in free credits every month. SpecStream answers Brave's `/res/v1/web/search` call on the same path, at $1 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results.

### Tavily

Billed in credits at $0.008 each pay as you go, and a basic search is 1 credit, so $8 per 1,000. SpecStream answers Tavily's call at `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily/search` for $1 per 1,000.

## How to switch from Exa Lite

1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card, which covers 10,000 searches.

2. Set the base address to `https://api.specstream.ai/exa` where your code has `https://api.exa.ai`, and send the SpecStream key in `x-api-key` or as a Bearer token. In `exa-py` it is the `base_url` argument.

```
from exa_py import Exa

exa = Exa(api_key=SPECSTREAM_KEY, base_url="https://api.specstream.ai/exa")  # was https://api.exa.ai

result = exa.search(
    "latest chip export rules",
    type="lite",
    num_results=5,
    start_published_date="2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
    contents={"text": True},
)

for r in result.results:
    print(r.title, r.url, r.published_date)
```

3. Leave the rest. A call of up to 10 results is one search at $0.001, and `costDollars.total` shows what each call cost. The key carries the spending limit you give it.

The [Exa migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/exa?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=exa-lite-search-api) lists every parameter the route reads and every field it returns.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does Exa Lite cost?

$4 per 1,000 requests with up to 10 results, plus $1 per 1,000 results above 10, since October 19, 2026. `auto` costs $7, and Contents $1 per 1,000 pages per content type. The free tier gives $10 in credits, up to 2,500 Lite searches, reset on the first of every month.

### What is the difference between Exa Lite and Exa auto?

Price and page freshness. `lite` costs $4 per 1,000 and serves page content only from Exa's cache; `auto` costs $7 and fetches a page when its cache has none. Lite also refuses `outputSchema`, `contents.summary` and the freshness controls with a `400`. On SpecStream both types cost $1 per 1,000, and every page is read live.

### Is Exa Lite the same as Exa fast?

Yes. Exa's changelog of October 19, 2026 says `lite` runs the same search as `fast`, and marks `fast`, `instant` and `deep-reasoning` as legacy at their current prices. SpecStream's Exa route answers all of these types, at $1 per 1,000 for every type except `deep`.

### How fast is Exa Lite?

Exa puts `lite` at about 450 ms for the search itself with cached content. SpecStream's fast search, which answers the Exa route, had a median of 0.82 seconds at one search a second and 1.07 seconds at 20 a second, measured on production on November 9, 2026, with no limit per key.

### How do I switch from Exa Lite to SpecStream?

Change one line. Set the base address to `https://api.specstream.ai/exa` in place of `https://api.exa.ai`, and send a SpecStream key in `x-api-key` or as a Bearer token. `POST /exa/search` answers in Exa's JSON, so the code that reads `results[]` stays as it is.

### Which Exa parameters work on SpecStream?

`numResults` up to 100, `query`, `includeDomains`, `excludeDomains`, `includeText`, `excludeText`, `startPublishedDate`, `endPublishedDate`, `contents.text` and `contents.highlights`. `type`, `category` and `userLocation` are accepted, so a request your code sends today needs no edit. The reply leaves out `score`, `summary`, `image` and `favicon`.

### Does SpecStream have an MCP server?

Yes, at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` over Streamable HTTP, with OAuth or an API key. The `search_web` tool runs a search, and the agent spends from the same balance as your team, inside the limits you set on its key.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each rival figure comes from that company's own page.

- [Exa pricing](https://exa.ai/docs/admin/pricing.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Exa search types and Lite](https://exa.ai/docs/search/quickstart.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Exa changelog](https://exa.ai/docs/changelog.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Exa billing and rate limits](https://exa.ai/docs/admin/billing.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Parallel search modes](https://docs.parallel.ai/search/modes.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Perplexity pricing](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Tavily credits and pricing](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 12, 2026