# Sonar Deep Research after Sept 27, 2026: move it to a cited report from $0.10 Compared on Nov 13, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/migrate/sonar-deep-research Perplexity ended Sonar Chat Completions on September 27, 2026. Synchronous `sonar-deep-research` calls are reformulated as Agent API requests, and asynchronous ones are no longer supported. Perplexity maps `sonar-deep-research` to the `high` effort level, billed in tokens plus each tool call, so the price of a run is known after it ends. SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. `POST /v1/research` returns a written report with the page, the read time and the passage behind each cited sentence, at one flat price per depth: $0.10 quick, $0.30 standard or $1.00 deep. It runs in the background by design: `202` at once, then poll, stream or a webhook. [Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-migrate-sonar-deep-research&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=migrate-sonar-deep-research&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fsearch%3Froute%3Dsonar-deep-research) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 100 quick reports, 33 standard reports or 10 deep reports. ## A deep research call on SpecStream and on Perplexity's Agent API | | SpecStream | Perplexity Agent API | |---|---|---| | Price of one run | $0.10 quick, $0.30 standard, $1.00 deep. One flat price per depth | Tokens at the model's rates plus each tool call, such as $2.50 per 1,000 web searches and $0.0005 per page fetch | | When you know the price | Before the run. The reply to the `POST` shows `price_usd` | After the run. Perplexity's pricing page says costs vary with the model, token usage and tool invocations | | Cost per request, as published | $0.10, $0.30 or $1.00, the same on every question | On Perplexity's own benchmark page: `high` $0.1360 on BrowseComp and $0.1210 on DSQA, `xhigh` $0.7800 and $0.2180. Sonar Deep Research was $0.6110 and $0.5656 | | Long runs | Every report runs in the background: `202` at once, then `GET /v1/research/{id}`, server-sent events on `/events`, or a `webhook` | Background mode: submit with `background: true` and poll the response by id. Async Sonar requests stopped | | Citations | `report.citations` gives each cited sentence its page, its read time and its passage. `report.sources` lists every page read | Inline citations for source-backed claims, source typed as `[web:1]` on `low`, `medium` and `high` | | JSON in place of text | `"output": {"type": "json", "schema": {...}}` with your JSON Schema | Structured outputs with a JSON Schema | | Search and pages on the same key | Search API at $5 per 1,000 searches and $1 on the fast tier, Extract API at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and a drop-in address for your Perplexity Search API code | Search API at $5 per 1,000 requests, or $1 with Fast Search | ## Why Sonar Deep Research users move to SpecStream ### A fixed price per report, where Sonar had a token bill `sonar-deep-research` was billed in tokens, with its citation and reasoning tokens charged, and the Agent API keeps a bill of the same kind: tokens at the model's rates plus each tool call. Perplexity's own table puts a `high` run at about $0.12 to $0.14 and an `xhigh` run at $0.22 to $0.78, depending on the questions. A SpecStream report costs $0.10, $0.30 or $1.00 by depth, on every question. The reply to the `POST` shows `price_usd` before anything is charged, the price is taken once when the report is delivered, and a cancelled report costs nothing. A product that resells answers can quote its own price on that. ### Your async loop keeps its shape The async Sonar API is the part that broke on September 27. A SpecStream report is asynchronous by design, so the loop you already have keeps its shape: submit, keep the `id`, read until `status` is `completed`. `GET /v1/research/{id}/events` streams progress as server-sent events, and `Last-Event-ID` resumes a dropped stream. A `webhook` is called when the report ends, so a worker does not poll. ### Each cited sentence shows its page and when it was read `report.content` holds the text with `[1]` markers. `report.citations` gives each cited sentence the URL of its page, the time SpecStream read it and the passage that supports it, and `report.sources` lists every page read. A reviewer checks a claim in seconds, without opening every source. ### Search, pages, rows and reports on one key The same key runs the Search API, which scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions, and the Extract API at $0.80 per 1,000 pages. Perplexity Search API code runs on SpecStream when you set the base address to `https://api.specstream.ai/perplexity`. When the answer is a table, Deep Search returns every match as a row. See the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=migrate-sonar-deep-research), [research reports](https://specstream.ai/research?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=migrate-sonar-deep-research) and [pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=migrate-sonar-deep-research). ## Other Sonar Deep Research alternatives ### Tavily Research Tavily Research bills 15 to 250 credits a request on `pro`, at $0.008 a credit pay as you go: $0.12 to $2.00, known after the run. A SpecStream standard report costs $0.30 every time. ### Linkup Research Linkup prices Research at $0.25 to $2.50 a request by reasoning depth, in 1 to 10 minutes. A SpecStream quick report costs $0.10 and takes about a minute. ### Parallel Task API Parallel's deep research runs on `pro` at $100 per 1,000 runs, in 2 to 10 minutes, or on `ultra` at $300 per 1,000, in 5 to 25 minutes. SpecStream returns a cited report in about one to five minutes, with the passage behind each cited sentence. ## How to move a sonar-deep-research call, step by step 1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card. 2. Send the user's question as `input` to `POST /v1/research`, where Sonar took `messages`. Put your system prompt at the top of the same `input`: it holds up to 15,000 characters. Choose `depth` where you set `model` and `reasoning_effort`: `quick` for `low`, `standard` for `medium`, `deep` for `high`. ``` curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/research \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "Idempotency-Key: report-0001" \ -d '{"input": "Compare the 2024 cloud revenue growth of Microsoft, Amazon and Google.", "depth": "deep"}' # 202 at once, with the report's id and price_usd. Then read it: curl https://api.specstream.ai/v1/research/ \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" ``` 3. Where your code read `choices[0].message.content`, read `report.content`. Where it read `citations` or `search_results`, read `report.citations` for each cited sentence and `report.sources` for every page read. 4. For `response_format` with a JSON Schema, send `"output": {"type": "json", "schema": {...}}`. `search_domain_filter` becomes `include_domains`, and a domain you excluded goes in `exclude_domains`. Add `"webhook": {"url": "https://..."}` to be called when the report ends. From an agent, connect the MCP server at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`: `research_price` shows the price of each depth, `start_research` starts the report once your person approves it, and `get_research` reads it. The [research reports guide](https://specstream.ai/docs/research?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=migrate-sonar-deep-research) has every field. For Perplexity Search API calls, the [Perplexity migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/perplexity?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=migrate-sonar-deep-research) keeps your code at $1 per 1,000 searches. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is sonar-deep-research still available? Not on Sonar Chat Completions: Perplexity ended its support on September 27, 2026. Synchronous calls are being reformulated as Agent API requests, rolling out by model, and asynchronous Sonar requests are no longer supported. ### What replaces sonar-deep-research in Perplexity's API? The Agent API at `https://api.perplexity.ai/v1/agent`. Perplexity's migration guide maps `sonar-deep-research` to the `high` effort level and points to `xhigh` for its strongest deep research. The `ultra` effort level, added in November 2026, is for broad research where coverage matters most. ### What does a deep research run cost on the Agent API? Tokens at the model's rates plus each tool call, so the price varies by question. On Perplexity's own benchmark page, `high` cost $0.1360 a request on BrowseComp and $0.1210 on DSQA, and `xhigh` cost $0.7800 and $0.2180. ### What is the best Sonar Deep Research alternative? SpecStream, at one flat price per report: $0.10 quick, $0.30 standard or $1.00 deep. Each cited sentence carries the URL of its page, the time it was read and the passage, and the call runs in the background with progress events and a webhook. ### How long does a SpecStream research report take? About one minute for a quick report, four minutes for a standard report and five minutes for a deep report. ### What does a cancelled report cost on SpecStream? $0. The price is taken once, when the report is delivered, and a cancelled report is not charged. ### Can I keep my Perplexity Search API code? Yes. Set the base address to `https://api.specstream.ai/perplexity` and `POST /perplexity/search` answers in Perplexity's shape, at $1 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results. ## Sources SpecStream wrote this page. Each figure about another provider comes from that company's own page, read on the date shown. - [Perplexity: Migrating from Sonar](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/agent-api/migrate-from-sonar/overview), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Perplexity: migration how-to](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/agent-api/migrate-from-sonar/how-to.md), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Perplexity: Agent API vs Sonar benchmarks](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/agent-api/migrate-from-sonar/benchmarks.md), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Perplexity pricing](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Perplexity changelog](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/changelog.md), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Tavily API credits](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits.md), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Linkup pricing](https://www.linkup.so/pricing), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Parallel pricing](https://docs.parallel.ai/getting-started/pricing.md), read Nov 13, 2026 - [SpecStream research reports](https://specstream.ai/docs/research), read Nov 13, 2026 - [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 13, 2026 - [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 13, 2026