# Tavily Research alternative in 2026: one price per report, from $0.10 Compared on Nov 13, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/tavily-research-alternative Tavily Research bills credits per request inside a range: 4 to 110 credits on `mini` and 15 to 250 on `pro`. At $0.008 a credit pay as you go, one `pro` report costs anything from $0.12 to $2.00, and you learn which after the run. 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. The reply to the `POST` shows the price before any charge. [Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-tavily-research-alternative&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=tavily-research-alternative&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fagents%3Ftab%3Dkeys) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 100 quick reports, 33 standard reports or 10 deep reports. ## SpecStream research reports and Tavily Research side by side | | SpecStream | Tavily Research | |---|---|---| | Price of one report | $0.10 quick, $0.30 standard, $1.00 deep. One flat price per depth | 4 to 110 credits on `mini`, 15 to 250 credits on `pro`. At $0.008 a credit: $0.032 to $0.88 on `mini`, $0.12 to $2.00 on `pro` | | When you know the price | Before the run. The reply to the `POST` shows `price_usd` | After the run. The credits depend on the work the request took, between the minimum and the maximum of its model | | 1,000 reports | $100 quick, $300 standard, $1,000 deep | $120 to $2,000 on `pro` at $0.008 a credit | | Depths | `quick`, `standard` (the default) and `deep`. About one minute, four minutes and five minutes | `mini`, `pro` and `auto`. `auto` is the default and picks the model for you | | What comes back | `report.content` with `[1]` markers, `report.citations` with the page, the read time and the passage of each cited sentence, and `report.sources` with every page read | A report with citations in `numbered`, `mla`, `apa` or `chicago` format | | JSON in place of text | `"output": {"type": "json", "schema": {...}}` with your JSON Schema | `output_schema` with a JSON Schema object | | How you get the result | Poll `GET /v1/research/{id}`, follow `GET /v1/research/{id}/events` as server-sent events, or name a `webhook` that is called when the report ends | Poll `GET /research/{request_id}`, or send `stream: true` for server-sent events | | When you pay | Once, when the report is delivered. A cancelled report is not charged | Credits from a monthly plan, then $0.008 a credit pay as you go | | 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 Tavily search and extract code | Search, Extract, Map and Crawl, each billed in credits | | Starting credit | $10 of credit on a new account, no card: 100 quick reports | 1,000 free API credits a month, no card: 4 to 66 `pro` reports | ## Why Tavily Research users move to SpecStream ### A price you can put in a quote Tavily's docs call Research pricing dynamic, with a minimum and a maximum per request. On `pro` that is 15 to 250 credits, so two calls to the same endpoint can cost $0.12 and $2.00. A product that resells reports, or a team with a budget per question, cannot plan on a range that wide. A SpecStream report has one price per depth. A standard report costs $0.30 every time, and 1,000 of them cost $300. The reply to the `POST` shows `price_usd` before anything is charged, and the price is taken once, when the report is delivered. ### 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. `report.sources` lists every page read in the run. A reviewer opens the page and finds the passage in seconds. ### Progress, a webhook and safe retries `GET /v1/research/{id}/events` streams the 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. Send an `Idempotency-Key` header and a retry with the same body returns the same report, with no second charge. ### 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. Your Tavily search and extract code runs on SpecStream when you set the base address to `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily`. 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=tavily-research-alternative), [research reports](https://specstream.ai/research?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=tavily-research-alternative) and [pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=tavily-research-alternative). ## Other Tavily Research alternatives ### Linkup Research Linkup prices Research at $0.25 to $2.50 a request by reasoning depth, and its pricing page gives 1 to 10 minutes a request. A SpecStream quick report costs $0.10 and takes about a minute. ### Parallel Task API Parallel prices Task runs per 1,000 by processor. 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 for $0.10 to $1.00 in about one to five minutes. ### Perplexity Agent API Perplexity bills Agent API runs in tokens plus each tool call, such as $2.50 per 1,000 web searches. On its own benchmark page the `high` effort level cost $0.1360 a request on BrowseComp. A SpecStream report has a fixed price per depth, shown before the run. ### Exa Deep search and Exa Agent Exa's `deep` search type costs $12 per 1,000 requests and returns in 4 to 15 seconds. For long-running research Exa points to Exa Agent, at $0.012 to $1.00 a request by effort. SpecStream returns a full written report with every cited sentence tied to its passage. ## How to move a Tavily Research call 1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card. 2. Send the same `input` to `POST /v1/research`, and choose `depth` in place of `model`: `quick` where you used `mini`, `standard` or `deep` where you used `pro`. The call answers `202` at once with the report's `id` and `price_usd`. ``` curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/research \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"input": "Compare the 2024 cloud revenue growth of Microsoft, Amazon and Google.", "depth": "standard"}' # 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. Poll `GET /v1/research/{id}` until `status` is `completed`, as you poll `GET /research/{request_id}` today. For `stream: true`, read `GET /v1/research/{id}/events`. The text is in `report.content` and the cited sentences are in `report.citations`. 4. Send your `output_schema` as `"output": {"type": "json", "schema": {...}}`. `output_length` becomes `length`, with the same values `short`, `standard` and `long`. `include_domains` and `exclude_domains` keep their names. 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, and `get_research` reads it. The [research reports guide](https://specstream.ai/docs/research?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=tavily-research-alternative) has every field. For search and extract calls, the [Tavily migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/tavily?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=tavily-research-alternative) keeps your code at $1 per 1,000 searches. ## Frequently asked questions ### How much does Tavily Research cost? Between 4 and 110 credits a request on `mini` and between 15 and 250 credits on `pro`. At the pay as you go rate of $0.008 a credit, that is $0.032 to $0.88 on `mini` and $0.12 to $2.00 on `pro`. The exact count is known after the request. ### What is the best Tavily 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 same key runs search, page reads and Deep Search. ### Why does a Tavily Research bill vary so much? Tavily's docs describe Research pricing as dynamic, with a minimum and a maximum number of credits per request for each model. The work a question takes sets where the request lands in that range. ### 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. `GET /v1/research/{id}/events` shows the progress, and a `webhook` is called when the report ends. ### 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 a SpecStream report return JSON? Yes. Send `"output": {"type": "json", "schema": {...}}` with your JSON Schema, as you send `output_schema` to Tavily. ### Does SpecStream answer Tavily's search call? Yes, at $1 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results. Set the base address to `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily` and keep your code, including `client.extract(urls)` in the official Python SDK. ## Sources SpecStream wrote this page. Each figure about another provider comes from that company's own page, read on the date shown. - [Tavily API credits](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits.md), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Tavily pricing](https://tavily.com/pricing), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Tavily Research endpoint](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/research.md), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Tavily Research status](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/research-get.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 - [Perplexity pricing](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing), 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 - [Exa pricing](https://exa.ai/docs/admin/pricing.md), read Nov 13, 2026 - [Exa changelog](https://exa.ai/docs/changelog/pricing-update.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