# Exa vs Tavily Same question, two search APIs. We sent one question to Exa and Tavily. Exa returned the start of each page. Tavily returned passages picked for the question. One question, one search per API on 5 November 2026. Tavily’s advanced depth is priced and was not run. Provider in the worked example: Exa and Tavily. Price shown for this route: 1¢ per search. ## Compare Exa and Tavily. TaskFuel includes Exa and Tavily, tested below on one question. Direct accounts are listed for comparison. We publish this comparison and sell access through TaskFuel. Prices as of 5 November 2026. | Option | Price and billing | Strength | Good to know | Available through TaskFuel | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Exa (Direct provider account) | $7 / 1,000 searches. Direct provider pay-as-you-go credits. Auto search, up to 10 results. Text adds $1 per 1,000 pages. | Exa’s own SDKs and monthly free credits. | You manage a separate Exa account and API key. Text contents bill separately, at $1 per 1,000 pages. | No | | Tavily (Direct provider account) | $0.008 / credit. Provider credits; pay-as-you-go or a monthly plan. Basic search: 1 credit. Advanced: 2 credits. | Tavily’s own SDKs and 1,000 free credits a month. | You manage a separate Tavily account and API key. Cheaper per search than on TaskFuel today. | No | | Exa (Through TaskFuel) | $0.01 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Auto mode, five results, 500 characters of text each. | Five pages for one price, each with the first 500 characters of its text. Runs from your TaskFuel balance, with no separate account or API key. | The text is the start of each page and may miss the passage that answers the question. | Yes | | Tavily (Through TaskFuel) | $0.09 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Basic depth, five results. | A passage chosen for the question, with a relevance score on each result. Paid from the same TaskFuel balance. | Nine times the Exa price per search on TaskFuel today. One of five results was a video. | Yes | - [Exa: provider reference](https://exa.ai/pricing). Checked 2026-11-05. - [Tavily: provider reference](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits). Checked 2026-11-05. - [Exa: provider reference](https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search). Checked 2026-11-05. - [Tavily: provider reference](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/search). Checked 2026-11-05. ## What it can do ### Exa search Neural search with up to 500 characters of text per page. Our test returned five pages, two of them on python.org. Price: $0.01 / search. ### Tavily search Query-focused excerpts with a relevance score. Our test returned five results, scored 0.87 to 0.91. Price: $0.09 / search. ### Tavily advanced search Tavily’s advanced depth. Priced for this guide and not run. Price: $0.16 / search. ## A real example Tested on 2026-11-05 through Exa and Tavily. We asked what changed in Python 3.14 and sent the same question to Exa and Tavily. Each returned five results, and two URLs appeared in both. Your agent asked: Find out what changed in Python 3.14 with Exa and Tavily Returned in this test: - Exa: Five pages, led by What’s new in Python 3.14 on docs.python.org, each with the first 500 characters of text - Tavily: Five results with excerpts and scores from 0.87 to 0.91, led by the Python 3.14.0 release announcement - In both: docs.python.org and InfoWorld - Per search: Exa $0.01, Tavily $0.09 Charged in this test: $0.10. One question, five results per API. ## Try the API request Use your TaskFuel API key as TASKFUEL_API_KEY in your terminal or server. Keep it out of browser code. ### 1. Check the price This request checks the price without paying. These are the exact inputs of the Exa search. The Tavily search sent the same query with search_depth basic and max_results 5. ```sh curl --fail-with-body https://app.taskfuel.ai/v1/call \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TASKFUEL_API_KEY" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ --data-binary @- <<'TASKFUEL_REQUEST' { "url": "https://stableenrich.dev/api/exa/search", "method": "POST", "body": { "query": "what changed in Python 3.14", "type": "auto", "numResults": 5, "contents": { "text": { "maxCharacters": 500 } } }, "dryRun": true } TASKFUEL_REQUEST ``` ### 2. Run the request Review amount_usd in the quote. To pay and run, change dryRun to false and add maxAmountUsd with that approved amount inside the same JSON object. Keep the inputs unchanged; this limit applies to one call. ### 3. Read the result Read results[].title, url and text. The text field holds the first 500 characters requested with contents.text.maxCharacters. [Setup and API reference](https://taskfuel.ai/docs/) · [Job polling and timeout recovery](https://app.taskfuel.ai/using.md) ## Connect your agent Read the [setup guide](https://taskfuel.ai/docs/setup/) and choose the connection your agent supports. Use one TaskFuel account and prepaid balance. Inspect the provider and request quote before a paid call, then review the returned response and recorded charge. ## When to use it ### Read the opening of each page. Your agent asks Exa for pages and reads the first characters of each, then opens the ones it needs. ### Read the passage that answers. Your agent asks Tavily and reads the excerpt and relevance score on each result. ### Ask both and compare the URLs. Your agent runs one question through both APIs and compares the URLs. In our test two of five appeared in both. ## Questions ### Do I need an Exa or Tavily account? No. Your agent pays from your TaskFuel balance, so there is nothing else to sign up for. ### How do Exa and Tavily differ? In our test Exa returned the first 500 characters of each page, and Tavily returned a passage chosen for the question with a relevance score. Their request and response fields differ. ### What does Exa vs Tavily cost on TaskFuel? Our Exa search cost $0.01 and our Tavily search $0.09 on 5 November 2026. Your agent shows the price for your own request before it pays. ### Is Tavily cheaper through its own account? Yes, today. Tavily lists a basic search at one credit, $0.008, as published on 5 November 2026. On TaskFuel the same kind of search cost $0.09. A direct plan needs your own account. ### Do they return the same pages? Not entirely. Two of the five URLs appeared in both responses: docs.python.org and InfoWorld. ### Can one task use both? Yes. One balance covers both, and each call is priced separately. Exa returns results[].text, and Tavily returns results[].content and score. ## Related tool guides - [Compare Tavily and Perplexity on one question](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/tavily-vs-perplexity/) - [Compare Exa alternatives for domain-focused search](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/exa-alternative/) - [Compare Tavily alternatives for source excerpts](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/tavily-alternative/) - [See every search API in one guide](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/web-search-api-for-llm/) - [Read the full page after choosing a result](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/extract-webpage/) ## Reference - [Read this guide on the website](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/exa-vs-tavily/). - [Browse providers and capabilities](https://taskfuel.ai/catalog/). - [Pricing](https://taskfuel.ai/pricing/). - [Agent instructions](https://taskfuel.ai/llms.txt).