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Business Intelligence · head to head

Exa vs Pigment

Exa logo

Exa

Business Intelligence

Web search, built for AI agents

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pigment logo

Pigment

Business Intelligence

Enterprise business planning platform for finance, sales and workforce modelling

From
On request
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; Pigment no pricing is published and the structure has three moving parts, platform fee, use-case fees and tiered seats, so two companies of the same size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark the other.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Exa and Pigment actually diverge.

Attributes where Exa and Pigment differ
AttributeExaPigment
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 Pigment does not also cover.

Only in Pigment

  • Dimensional modelling
  • Scenario planning
  • Data connectors
  • Application blocks
  • Reporting and boards
  • Access control
  • Audit trail
  • AI assistance

What people use each for

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

Exa

  • Web search and research APIsnot Pigment
  • Content extraction and analysisnot Pigment
  • Real-time monitoring and alertsnot Pigment

Pigment

  • A finance team retiring a fragile Excel consolidation that no one can audit and only one person can runnot Exa
  • Sales operations modelling quota, territory and headcount capacity against a revenue plan in the same system finance usesnot Exa
  • A company that needs monthly re-forecasting fast enough to run scenarios live in the leadership meetingnot Exa
  • Replacing an ageing Anaplan estate where the model has become unmaintainable and per-workspace costs have crept upnot 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

Pigment

  • No pricing is published and the structure has three moving parts, platform fee, use-case fees and tiered seats, so two companies of the same size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark the other.
  • Cost scales with planning processes rather than with company size, so a successful first deployment creates internal demand that directly increases the bill at renewal.
  • It requires a modelling owner. Without a person who understands dimensional design, teams rebuild spreadsheet patterns in Pigment and inherit all the maintenance problems they were trying to escape.
  • Implementation is partner-led and measured in months, so the payback horizon is long compared with lighter FP&A tools that a controller can configure alone.
  • The connector library covers major systems well but the long tail is thinner than the incumbents, and industry-specific source systems often need a warehouse or a file drop in between.

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

Pigment

On request
  • Pigment platform$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus per use-case fees
    • Licences tiered as editor, contributor and explorer
    • No free tier and no self-service signup

Which should you pick?

Choose Exa if

  • You want to start without paying.
Exa review

Choose Pigment if

  • You need dimensional modelling.
  • You also want scenario planning.
Pigment review

Questions people ask

Is Exa or Pigment better?
Neither clearly leads. Exa starts at Free and Pigment at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Exa or Pigment?
Exa has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Exa and On request for Pigment.
Does Exa or Pigment run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Exa for free?
Yes. Exa has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Pigment starts at On request.
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 Pigment is typically brought in for.
What can Exa do that Pigment cannot?
Pigment covers Dimensional modelling, Scenario planning, Data connectors, Application blocks.

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
Pigment: Does Pigment publish prices?

No. Expect a quote combining a platform fee, fees per planning use case, and seat licences split into editor, contributor and explorer tiers.

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
Pigment: Is Pigment an alternative to Anaplan?

It is positioned directly against Anaplan and much of its customer base is migrating from it, mainly citing modelling readability and recalculation speed.

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
Pigment: Can we use it without consultants?

In practice most deployments use Pigment or a partner for the initial build. Ongoing model changes can be handled in-house once someone owns the modelling discipline.

Pigment: Where is data hosted?

Pigment is a European vendor with regional hosting options, which is often the deciding factor for EU buyers with data residency requirements.

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