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Business Intelligence · head to head

Exa vs IBM Cognos Analytics

Exa logo

Exa

Business Intelligence

Web search, built for AI agents

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
IBM Cognos Analytics logo

IBM Cognos Analytics

Business Intelligence

AI-powered business intelligence

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Exa has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Exa usage-based pricing can be unpredictable without volume discounts upfront; IBM Cognos Analytics listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Exa and IBM Cognos Analytics actually diverge.

Attributes where Exa and IBM Cognos Analytics differ
AttributeExaIBM Cognos Analytics
Starting priceFree$15/month
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud
FoundedUnknown1911

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Business Intelligence).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Exa

Nothing recorded that IBM Cognos Analytics does not also cover.

Only in IBM Cognos Analytics

  • AI Assistant
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Automated Insights
  • Story Telling
  • Mobile Analytics
  • IBM Db2
  • Oracle
  • SQL Server

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Exa

  • Web search and research APIsnot IBM Cognos Analytics
  • Content extraction and analysisnot IBM Cognos Analytics
  • Real-time monitoring and alertsnot IBM Cognos Analytics

IBM Cognos Analytics

  • Self-service analyticsnot Exa
  • Data explorationnot Exa
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot Exa
  • Collaborative analysisnot Exa
  • Embedded analyticsnot Exa

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Exa

  • Usage-based pricing can be unpredictable without volume discounts upfront
  • Enterprise customers need to contact sales for custom volume discount plans

IBM Cognos Analytics

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter

Pricing, plan by plan

Exa

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • $20 in free credits (approximately 2,800 searches)
    • $10 in monthly credits after first month
  • Search$7/per 1000 requests
    • Standard search functionality
  • Deep Search$12/per 1000 requests
    • In-depth search results
  • Contents$1/per 1000 pages
    • Content extraction

IBM Cognos Analytics

$15/month
  • Standard$15/month
    • Dashboards
    • Reporting
    • AI Insights
  • Plus$35/month
    • Advanced Analytics
    • Planning
    • Premium Support

Which should you pick?

Choose Exa if

  • You want to start without paying.
Exa review

Choose IBM Cognos Analytics if

  • You need ai assistant.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
  • You also want natural language queries.
IBM Cognos Analytics review

Questions people ask

Is Exa or IBM Cognos Analytics better?
Neither clearly leads. Exa starts at Free and IBM Cognos Analytics at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Exa or IBM Cognos Analytics?
Exa has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Exa and $15/month for IBM Cognos Analytics.
Does Exa or IBM Cognos Analytics run on more platforms?
Exa runs on Web. IBM Cognos Analytics runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
Can I use Exa for free?
Yes. Exa has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IBM Cognos Analytics starts at $15/month.
What is Exa best used for?
Exa is most often used for web search and research apis, content extraction and analysis, real-time monitoring and alerts. Of those, web search and research apis and content extraction and analysis are not what IBM Cognos Analytics is typically brought in for.
What can Exa do that IBM Cognos Analytics cannot?
IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant, Natural Language Queries, Automated Insights, Story Telling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Exa: How much does Exa API cost?

Exa uses pay-as-you-go pricing with no subscription or minimum spend required. Search costs USD$7 per 1000 requests, Deep Search costs USD$12-15 per 1000 requests, and Contents costs USD$1 per 1000 pages. Users load credits and are charged at these published rates.

Source
Exa: Is there a free tier for Exa?

Yes, new accounts receive USD$20 in free credits (approximately 2,800 searches) plus USD$10 in additional credits every month. This allows developers to test the API before committing to paid usage.

Source
Exa: What other costs are associated with Exa?

Beyond the main API costs, Exa charges USD$1 per 1000 results beyond the first 10 returned, USD$1 per 1000 pages for AI summaries, and USD$0.10 per Agent Compute Unit for autonomous agent usage. Contact enrichment features cost USD$0.02 per email and USD$0.07 per phone number.

Source
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