Sonar vs Sonar Deep Research
Side-by-side comparison of API pricing, specs, benchmarks, and capabilities
Sonar is 71.4% cheaper on blended cost ($1.00 vs $3.50/Mtok) — note: different model classes (mid tier vs reasoning)
| Specification |
by Perplexity
|
by Perplexity
|
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Status | Current mid tier | Current reasoning |
| Released | Feb 1, 2025 | Apr 1, 2025 |
| Pricing per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.00/Mtok | $2.00/Mtok |
| Output | $1.00/Mtok | $8.00/Mtok |
| Blended avg | $1.00/Mtok | $3.50/Mtok |
| Specifications | ||
| Context window | 200K tokens | 200K tokens |
| Parameters | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Speed (TPS) | — | — |
| Modalities | ||
| Input |
text
|
text
|
| Benchmarks sources: n/a / Perplexity announcement (Deep Research agent) | ||
| Humanity's Last Exam | — | 21.1 vendor |
| Providers | ||
| Available from |
Perplexity — $1.00/$1.00/Mtok
|
Perplexity — $2.00/$8.00/Mtok
|
Cost at scale
1M tokens · 50/50 input/output| Volume | Sonar | Sonar Deep Research | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M tokens | $1 | $3.5 | $2.5 (71.4%) |
| 10M tokens | $10 | $35 | $25 (71.4%) |
| 100M tokens | $100 | $350 | $250 (71.4%) |
| 1000M tokens | $1000 | $3500 | $2500 (71.4%) |
When to pick which
distilled from the pricing and spec data above
Pick Sonar if…
- cost dominates: $1.00/Mtok blended vs $3.50 — 71.4% less on the same 50/50 token mix
Pick Sonar Deep Research if…
- this pairing gives Sonar Deep Research no edge on price, context, cache discount, or measured performance — pick it only for qualitative fit (ecosystem, compliance, model behavior on your prompts)
Try Sonar on Perplexity
The cheaper option here — Sonar costs $1.00/Mtok blended on Perplexity.
Summary
Sonar by Perplexity costs $1.00/Mtok input and $1.00/Mtok output, with a 200K-token context window. It supports text input.
Sonar Deep Research by Perplexity costs $2.00/Mtok input and $8.00/Mtok output, with a 200K-token context window. It supports text input.
On a blended cost basis, Sonar is 71.4% cheaper than Sonar Deep Research.
Note: Pricing is per million tokens. Actual costs vary with usage patterns, prompt caching, and batch discounts. Always verify against official provider pricing pages.
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