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Business Intelligence · head to head

Exa vs Sourcegraph

Exa logo

Exa

Business Intelligence

Web search, built for AI agents

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit ExaFull review
Sourcegraph logo

Sourcegraph

Developer Tools

Code search and intelligence platform for large codebases with Cody AI assistant

From
$16000/year
Free plan
No
Visit SourcegraphFull review

The short version

  • Sourcegraph is an enterprise code intelligence platform.
  • Exa has a free plan, then $7/mo; Sourcegraph starts at $16000/yr.
  • Where Exa falls short: usage-based pricing can be unpredictable without volume discounts upfront.
  • Where Sourcegraph falls short: enterprise pricing starting at $16k annually creates significant barrier for small teams.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Exa and Sourcegraph actually diverge.

Attributes where Exa and Sourcegraph differ
AttributeExaSourcegraph
Starting priceFree$16000/year
Pricing modelUsage-basedSubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Self-hosted
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

What people use each for

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

Exa

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

Sourcegraph

  • Large-scale code migrations across hundreds of repositoriesnot Exa
  • Enterprise governance and code ownership trackingnot Exa
  • AI-assisted bug hunting and security pattern detectionnot Exa
  • Onboarding engineers into large unfamiliar codebasesnot Exa
  • Regulatory compliance and code audit trailsnot 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

Sourcegraph

  • Enterprise pricing starting at $16k annually creates significant barrier for small teams
  • No free tier or standard plan published; all options require custom sales engagement
  • Complex enterprise-only positioning limits adoption compared to GitHub Copilot's pervasiveness
  • Requires indexing entire codebase; not suitable for small or ephemeral projects

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
    • Standard search functionality
  • Deep Search$12
    • In-depth search results
  • Contents$1/per 1000 pages
    • Content extraction

Sourcegraph

$16000/year
  • Enterprise$16,000/yr
    • Scales with team size
    • Credits for AI features per user
    • Deep Search

Which should you pick?

Choose Exa if

  • You want to start without paying.
Exa review

Choose Sourcegraph if

  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
Sourcegraph review

Questions people ask

Is Exa or Sourcegraph better?
Neither clearly leads. Exa starts at Free and Sourcegraph at $16000/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Exa or Sourcegraph?
Exa has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Exa and $16000/year for Sourcegraph.
Does Exa or Sourcegraph run on more platforms?
Exa runs on Web. Sourcegraph runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Exa for free?
Yes. Exa has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sourcegraph starts at $16000/year.
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 Sourcegraph is typically brought in for.

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.

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