Perplexity's Sonar is a web-grounded language model built for applications that require current, cited information. Reach for it when your workflow depends on live search results rather than static training data.
Modalities
Text+Image → Text
Input
$1.35 /1M
Output
$1.35 /1M
Cached input
$0.135 /1M90% off
Context
127K
Speed
medium
Performance
Live production data from real requests on Kyma — not synthetic benchmarks.
Rank
#35
of 87 active models
Tokens served
343.6K
all-time
Success rate
100%
last 7 days
Top apps using this model
Public apps sending the most traffic to this model — a signal of what real workloads it fits.
Pricing
Pay per token. Cached input is billed at 10% of the input rate.
+ Estimate your workload− Estimate your workload
Estimated monthly cost
$79.38
$2.65 / day on Sonar
Same workload on:
Estimates use list pricing with cached input billed at the 90%-discount rate. Actual bills depend on real token counts — every response includes its exact cost.
When to use Sonar
Where this model earns its cost — and where it doesn't.
Sonar integrates real-time web search into its generation process, returning answers grounded in current sources along with citations. It accepts text and image inputs, but outputs text only. The model operates with a 127,072-token context window and caps output at 4,096 tokens.
On Kyma, you can call this model using the search alias. It supports prompt caching, which bills repeated prefixes at 10% of the standard input rate. Requests route through automatic failover, and you can verify exact routing and cost in the usage.cost field and X-Kyma-Model response header. Each request incurs a small per-request search fee on top of standard token billing.
The model does not support tool calling, structured outputs, or explicit reasoning traces. It is optimized for direct, cited answers rather than complex multi-step agentic workflows or long-form generation beyond its output limit.
Live Event Tracking
Fetches current developments and cites sources automatically.
Technical Research
Answers engineering questions using up-to-date documentation.
Content Drafting
Generates articles and summaries grounded in recent web data.
Visual Analysis
Processes uploaded images alongside live web queries for context.
Not ideal for: Avoid this model for agentic workflows requiring tool use, structured JSON outputs, or long-form generation exceeding 4,096 tokens.
How it compares
Against the peers people actually weigh it against.
| Spec | Sonar | Sonar Pro | Llama 4 Maverick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input /1M | $1.35 | $4.05 | $0.27 |
| Output /1M | $1.35 | $20.25 | $1.08 |
| Context | 127K | 200K | 1M |
| Tools | No | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No | No |
| Speed | medium | medium | fast |
Quick start
Up and running in under two minutes.
- 1
Create an API key
Sign up and grab a key from the dashboard — $0.50 free credit, no card required.
Get API key → - 2
Make your first request
Drop in your key and send a chat completion — fully OpenAI-compatible.
curl https://kymaapi.com/v1/chat/completions \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "model": "sonar", "messages": [ {"role": "user", "content": "Explain prompt caching in one paragraph."} ] }' - 3
Stream responses
Add
"stream": trueto receive tokens as they arrive.curl https://kymaapi.com/v1/chat/completions \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "model": "sonar", "stream": true, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}] }'
FAQ
Common questions about this model.
What is the context window of Sonar?
How much does the Sonar API cost?
Does Sonar support function calling?
How do I use Sonar?
Does this model support function calling or tool use?
How does billing work for the search component?
Can I use prompt caching with this model?
More models by Perplexity
| Model | Context | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
 Sonar Pro | 200K | $4.05 | $20.25 |