You.com
You.com · Web Search & Research APIs for AI, plus Multi-Model Chat
Real-time web search, content extraction, answer, and research APIs (plus an MCP server) for AI agents and LLM apps, alongside a sign-in chat platform with multiple AI models and research agents.
Best for
Developers building AI agents and LLM apps that need real-time web search, content extraction, or research via API
Not ideal for
Consumers who want a free, open-access AI search engine — Perplexity is a better fit — or a broad integration ecosystem like ChatGPT's
Who it's for
Developers and teams building AI agents that need web search and research APIs, plus users who want multi-model chat
Capabilities
- Web Search API with a free tier of 100 queries/day
- Contents API for extracting clean page content
- Answer API for web-grounded answers with citations
- Research API with Lite, Standard, Deep, Exhaustive, and Frontier tiers
- Finance Research API
- MCP server plus Python and TypeScript SDKs
- SOC 2 certified, with zero data retention for API/enterprise
- Sign-in chat with multiple frontier models, research agents, and custom agents
Limitations
- Consumer chat requires an account, and free chat access is limited
- Consumer chat plan prices are not published on the public pricing page
- Research quality in chat less consistent than Perplexity — citations can be shallow on niche topics
- Premium API tiers (Research, Finance Research) cost significantly more per call than basic search
Use cases
- Grounding an LLM app or agent in real-time web search results
- Extracting clean content from web pages for RAG pipelines
- Running deep, multi-step research reports via API
- Financial research automation with the Finance Research API
- Connecting AI clients to live web search through the MCP server
- Comparing AI model outputs in the chat product
Our take
You.com has effectively become search infrastructure for AI builders. Its API family covers the full ladder from raw web results to deep research reports, with published per-call prices, a free daily tier, and an MCP server, which makes it a practical choice for grounding agents in live web data. The consumer chat product still exists and offers model choice and custom agents, but it is no longer the headline, and Perplexity is the stronger pick for consumer research. Evaluate You.com as an API first.
Who should use it
Developers and teams building AI agents, RAG pipelines, or research automation who need real-time web search and extraction via API with clear per-call pricing.
Who should skip it
Consumers looking for a free, open-access AI search engine — Perplexity fits better — and anyone who needs a broad app integration ecosystem, which ChatGPT covers better.
Strengths
- Broad web search API family — search, contents, answers, research, and finance research — with transparent per-call pricing
- Free Web Search API tier (100 queries/day) and $100 starter credit make it easy to test
- MCP server, SDKs, and framework integrations (LangChain, crewAI, Vercel AI SDK) for agent builders
Weaknesses
- Consumer chat now requires an account and has limited free access
- Consumer plan pricing is not published on the public pricing page
- Research quality in chat is less consistent than Perplexity on niche and specialist topics
You.com pricing
Web Search API (free)
Free
- 100 queries/day
- $100 free API credit for new accounts
Web Search API
$5 per 1,000 calls
- Real-time web search results for AI apps
Contents API
$1 per 1,000 pages
- Clean content extraction from web pages
Answer API
$5 per 1,000 calls
- Web-grounded answers
Research API
From $12 per 1,000 calls
- Lite, Standard, Deep, Exhaustive, and Frontier tiers
Finance Research API
From $110 per 1,000 calls
- Deep to exhaustive financial research
Enterprise
Custom
- SOC 2 certified, zero data retention
- DPA available
Free tier limits: Web Search API: 100 queries/day free, plus $100 in API credit for new accounts. Consumer chat requires an account and offers only limited free access.
Note: The public pricing page lists API products only; consumer chat plan prices are not published there.
Technical specs
Modalities
Text, Web search, Content extraction
API pricing
Per-call (Web Search: $5/1K calls, Contents: $1/1K pages, Answer: $5/1K calls, Research: from $12/1K calls, Finance Research: from $110/1K calls)
Available models
Where You.com excels
Grounding an AI agent in live web data
The Web Search API returns real-time results for $5 per 1,000 calls, with 100 free queries per day for testing and prototyping.
Building a RAG pipeline over web content
The Contents API extracts clean page content at $1 per 1,000 pages, removing the need to maintain a scraper.
Automated deep research reports
The Research API offers depth tiers from Lite to Frontier, so teams can trade cost for thoroughness per request.
Privacy-sensitive enterprise search integration
SOC 2 certification and zero data retention for API and enterprise customers suit teams with compliance requirements.
Giving coding agents live web search
The MCP server and agent skills connect tools like Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor to You.com search.
You.com vs. competitors
You.com vs. Perplexity
Perplexity is primarily a consumer AI search engine with deeper research citations and a curated model selector; it also offers developer APIs. You.com is now primarily a search and research API provider for AI agents, with a secondary chat product.
You.com vs. ChatGPT
ChatGPT has a far larger app and connector ecosystem and native image generation as a daily-driver assistant. You.com is better understood as web search infrastructure you plug into your own AI apps.
Frequently asked questions
Is You.com free to use?
The Web Search API has a free tier of 100 queries per day, and new API accounts get $100 in credit. The consumer chat product requires an account and offers only limited free access; its paid plan prices are not listed on the public pricing page.
How is You.com different from Perplexity?
You.com is now primarily a search and research API provider for developers building AI agents, with a chat product on the side. Perplexity is primarily a consumer AI search engine, though it also has developer APIs. Both offer a choice of third-party models in their paid chat plans.
Does You.com store my data?
You.com is SOC 2 certified and offers zero data retention for API and enterprise customers, with a DPA available. For the consumer chat product, check You.com's privacy policy for current data practices.
What APIs does You.com offer?
Web Search ($5 per 1,000 calls), Contents ($1 per 1,000 pages), Answer ($5 per 1,000 calls), Research (from $12 per 1,000 calls, in Lite through Frontier tiers), and Finance Research (from $110 per 1,000 calls), plus an MCP server and Python and TypeScript SDKs.
Integrations & fit
Alternatives to consider
Perplexity vs You.com — full comparison →Perplexity AI
Fact-checking, current events research, and cited answers
FreemiumElicit
Researchers, students, and R&D teams who need to process large volumes of scientific literature efficiently
Freemium
Exa
Developers and data teams who need cited, structured web research inside their own product or pipeline, such as account lists, CRM enrichment, due diligence, or KYC/KYB checks, without building their own search-and-verify agent loop
FreemiumAbout You.com
You.com now presents itself primarily as a web search API provider for AI: its homepage leads with 'The Leading Web Search APIs for AI', and its public pricing page lists only developer products. The API platform covers a Web Search API ($5 per 1,000 calls, with a free tier of 100 queries per day), a Contents API for extracting clean page content ($1 per 1,000 pages), an Answer API for grounded answers ($5 per 1,000 calls), a Research API with Lite through Frontier depth tiers (from $12 per 1,000 calls), and a Finance Research API (from $110 per 1,000 calls). It ships an MCP server, Python and TypeScript SDKs, integrations with LangChain, crewAI, and the Vercel AI SDK, and agent skills for coding tools, with SOC 2 certification and zero data retention for API and enterprise customers. You.com also still runs a consumer chat product that lets users pick from multiple frontier models and research agents and build custom agents, but chat now requires an account and its plan prices are no longer published on the public pricing page. The honest trade-off: as a consumer research tool, Perplexity is more focused and ChatGPT has a far larger app ecosystem; You.com's clearest strength today is as search and research infrastructure for developers building AI agents.
Updates from You.com
Developers can access You.com's research pipeline via API with Lite ($12/1K calls), Standard, Deep, Exhaustive, and Frontier tiers. $100 in free credits for testing.
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