Exa launches $4/1k Instant Search, cutting Search entry price from $7
What happened
Between the Sep 28, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026 captures of Exa's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: New Instant Search endpoint at $4/1k requests added; existing Search renamed Fast / Auto Search and stays $7; Search entry price now shown as 'From $4' instead of $7. Pulse files it as a packaging change (new plan). Pulse's latest capture (Nov 9, 2026) lists Search at $7 per 1k requests, up to 10 results + $1 per 1k page AI summaries, Agent at $0.01 per search tool call + $0.10 per request (Medium effort), Contents at $1 per 1k pages, per content type + $1 per 1k page AI summaries, Deep Search at $12 per 1k requests, up to 10 results + $1 per 1k requests, additional result above 10 and Monitors at $1 per 1k requests, additional result above 10 + $1 per 1k page AI summaries.
It lands 7 days after Exa's previous change, "Exa: Free plan first-month credits cut from $30 to $20" (Sep 27, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "Exa boosts Starter agent concurrency 3→50 and doubles QPS limits" (Sep 6, 2026), "Exa: Answer endpoint overage + AI-summary fees removed" (Aug 3, 2026) and "Exa: Free tier switched to credit-based model ($20 signup + $10/mo)" (Jul 20, 2026). Exa has been tracked since 2024-11-17.
In the same window Google and You.com also changed their AI & Machine Learning pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- AddedSearchPlan
BeforeNot listed
AfterInstant Search endpoint at $4/1k requests
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search | Plan | Not listed | Instant Search endpoint at $4/1k requests | Added |
Values as written on Exa's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Exa's pricing page (exa.ai) from Sep 28, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026; the change is marked around the middle of the page, where Instant Search endpoint at $4/1k requests now appears.
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Exa, the last 90 days
Full historyDates are the day each change was detected, Eastern time.
- Nov 8, 2026Price decreaseExa slashes Monitors API price 87% to $2, adds $12K/yr Enterprise tier
- Oct 26, 2026PackagingExa drops Deep-Reasoning Search tier and renames Instant to Lite Search
- Oct 4, 2026PackagingExa launches $4/1k Instant Search, cutting Search entry price from $7 This change
- Sep 27, 2026PackagingExa: Free plan first-month credits cut from $30 to $20
- Sep 6, 2026PackagingExa boosts Starter agent concurrency 3→50 and doubles QPS limits
- Aug 3, 2026Price decreaseExa: Answer endpoint overage + AI-summary fees removed
- Jul 20, 2026PackagingExa: Free tier switched to credit-based model ($20 signup + $10/mo)
Across AI & Machine Learning in the same window
All AI & Machine Learning changes- GoogleSep 7Google Workspace: promo discount cut from 50% to 30%/20% off
- You.comAug 4You.com: Web Search API now freemium (free 100/day + $5/1k after)
- You.comOct 26You.com adds Inference Router API to run open-weight models via one endpoint
- GoogleOct 12Google Workspace swaps Gems for AI skills, rewords Gemini on Starter plan
- GoogleJul 6Google Vertexai delays Agent Gateway billing to July 13, extends free window
Questions about this change
Did Exa raise prices in October 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Sep 28, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026 UTC. The change Pulse detected was a packaging change: new plan.
What changed on Exa's pricing page between Sep 28, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026 UTC?
Search plan added: Instant Search endpoint at $4/1k requests. Pulse compared the captures it took on Sep 28, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026 UTC; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Exa change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 4 other pricing-page changes for Exa in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Exa: Free plan first-month credits cut from $30 to $20" on Sep 27, 2026; Exa has been tracked since 2024-11-17.