> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.valyu.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Pricing
> Transparent pricing - Pay only for what you use
**Pay only for what you use.** Transparent pricing with no hidden fees.
## Search API Pricing
**Pay per retrieval** with CPM (Cost Per Mille) pricing.
### Cost Control
By default, `max_price` is not set - Valyu will return the best results regardless of source cost.
You can optionally set `max_price` to cap your spend. It works on a CPM (Cost Per Mille) basis, meaning it controls the maximum you pay per thousand retrievals:
```python theme={null}
from valyu import Valyu
valyu = Valyu(api_key="your-api-key-here")
response = valyu.search(
"Implementation details of agentic search-enhanced large reasoning models",
max_num_results=5,
max_price=30 # Optional: $30 per 1,000 retrievals
)
```
Setting `max_price` too low may affect result quality. Sources deemed most relevant to your query but priced above your limit will be excluded. You'll see a warning in the response:
```python theme={null}
{
"response_code": 206, # Partial success
"success": true,
"error": "3 data points were removed for too low max_price",
...
}
```
### Pricing Tiers
| Data Source Type | Price (per 1k retrievals) | What You Get |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Open Databases** | \$0.50 | Full-text content from arXiv, Wikipedia, PubMed, and more |
| **Web Search** | \$1.50 | Fresh, full-text web content |
| **Financial & Market Data** | \$8.00 | Real-time equities, crypto, and market data |
| **Proprietary Databases** | \$30-50 | Licensed journals, books, and premium sources |
***
## Content API Pricing
**Pay per successful URL.** Simple pricing for content extraction.
### Pricing Tiers
| Feature | Price per URL | Description |
| ------------------- | ------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| **Base Extraction** | \$0.001 | Clean content extraction |
| **AI Processing** | +\$0.001 | Summarisation or structured extraction |
| **Failed URLs** | \$0.00 | No charge for failures |
### Fair Pricing
Only pay for URLs that are successfully processed.
### Examples
**Basic Extraction (10 URLs)**
* Base extraction: 10 × $0.001 = $0.01
* **Total: \$0.01**
**AI Processing (5 URLs with summary)**
```json theme={null}
{"summary": "Summarise key points"}
```
* Base extraction: 5 × $0.001 = $0.005
* AI processing: 5 × $0.001 = $0.005
* **Total: \$0.01**
**Mixed Success (10 URLs, 2 failed)**
* Successful: 8 × $0.001 = $0.008
* Failed: 2 × $0.00 = $0.00
* **Total: \$0.008**
***
## Answer API Pricing
**Dual pricing** for search data and AI processing.
The Answer API combines search with AI to give you intelligent responses.
### Pricing Structure
**Search Data Costs**
* Same as Search API pricing (see above)
* Controlled by `data_max_price` parameter (CPM)
**AI Processing Costs**
* **\$12 per million tokens** for analysis and response generation
* Includes input and output tokens
* Separate from search costs
### Calculating Your Cost
**Search Data Cost** = Number of results × Price per 1k retrievals
**AI Processing Cost** = Number of tokens × \$12/1M tokens
**Total Cost** = Search Data Cost + AI Processing Cost
### Examples
**Basic Web Query**
```json theme={null}
{
"query": "latest AI developments",
"data_max_price": 20.0
}
```
* Search data: \~10 results × $1.50/1000 = $0.015
* AI processing: \~2000 tokens × $12/1M = $0.024
* **Total: \~\$0.039**
**Research Query (Academic Sources)**
```json theme={null}
{
"query": "quantum computing applications",
"search_type": "proprietary",
"data_max_price": 20.0
}
```
* Search data: \~5 papers × $1/1000 = $0.005
* AI processing: \~4000 tokens × $12/1M = $0.048
* **Total: \~\$0.053**
**Structured Output Query**
```json theme={null}
{
"query": "tech company earnings",
"structured_output": {...},
"data_max_price": 30.0
}
```
* Search data: \~8 results × $8/1000 = $0.064
* AI processing: \~3000 tokens × $12/1M = $0.036
* **Total: \~\$0.10**
***
## DeepResearch API Pricing
**Simple fixed pricing per task** for comprehensive async research.
DeepResearch performs multi-step research across multiple sources, generating detailed reports with citations.
### Research Modes
| Mode | Fixed Cost | Best For |
| ------------ | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Fast** | \$0.10 | Ideal for quicker answers and lightweight research. Typically completes in \~5 minutes. |
| **Standard** | \$0.50 | A balanced option for deeper insights without long wait times. Runs for \~10–20 minutes. |
| **Heavy** | \$2.50 | Designed for in-depth, long-running research tasks with fact verification. Can run for up to \~90 minutes. |
| **Max** | \$15.00 | Exhaustive research with maximum quality, fact verification, and comprehensive analysis. Can run for up to \~180 minutes. |
### Fixed Pricing
DeepResearch uses simple fixed pricing per task. The base cost depends on the research mode you choose — there are no additional search or content costs.
### Tool surcharges
Optional tools are off by default and must be explicitly enabled via the `tools` parameter. Most incur a per-use surcharge on top of the base task price; `charts` is free.
| Tool | Price | Unit | Notes |
| ------------------ | ------ | ------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| **Screenshots** | \$0.05 | per URL screenshotted | Max 15 per task |
| **Code Execution** | \$0.10 | per execution | Unlimited |
| **Charts** | Free | – | Unlimited per task |
| **Deliverables** | \$0.10 | per deliverable after the first | First deliverable is free |
Failed screenshots, code executions, and deliverables are not charged. PDF output from `output_formats` does not count as a deliverable.
### Cost tracking
Every completed task returns the total cost and an itemized breakdown:
```json theme={null}
{
"cost": 5.55,
"cost_breakdown": {
"task": 5.00,
"screenshots": 0.25,
"code_execution": 0.10,
"deliverables": 0.20
}
}
```
| Field | Description |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `cost` | Total amount billed |
| `cost_breakdown.task` | Base task price for the selected mode |
| `cost_breakdown.screenshots` | Screenshot surcharges. Omitted if 0. |
| `cost_breakdown.code_execution` | Code execution surcharges. Omitted if 0. |
| `cost_breakdown.deliverables` | Deliverable surcharges (\$0.10 each after the first). Omitted if 0. |
## Get Started
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Comprehensive async research