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Business Intelligence · head to head

Exa vs Yellowfin

Exa logo

Exa

Business Intelligence

Web search, built for AI agents

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Yellowfin logo

Yellowfin

Business Intelligence

Action-based business intelligence

From
$50/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; Yellowfin the pricing page publishes no rate, no minimum and no per-user price; every model ends in a Get Pricing form
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Exa and Yellowfin actually diverge.

Attributes where Exa and Yellowfin differ
AttributeExaYellowfin
Starting priceFree$50/month
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Mobile, Embedded
FoundedUnknown2003

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 Yellowfin does not also cover.

Only in Yellowfin

  • Automated Analysis
  • Data Stories
  • Collaboration
  • Signals
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Salesforce
  • Google Analytics
  • SQL Server

What people use each for

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

Exa

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

Yellowfin

  • Embedding white-labelled dashboards and analytics into a software productnot Exa
  • Enterprise reporting with automated business monitoring and alertingnot Exa
  • Data storytelling and guided natural language querying for business usersnot 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

Yellowfin

  • The pricing page publishes no rate, no minimum and no per-user price; every model ends in a Get Pricing form
  • One of the three embedded models is a revenue share, so Yellowfin takes a cut of the revenue your analytics module earns
  • Another model prices by server core, so scaling deployment hardware raises the licence cost independently of users
  • Getting a quote requires submitting a form with a marketing consent checkbox and a user-count band rather than seeing a rate card

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

Yellowfin

$50/month
  • Team$50/month
    • Dashboards
    • Stories
    • Collaboration
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced Features
    • Embedding
    • Custom SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose Exa if

  • You want to start without paying.
Exa review

Choose Yellowfin if

  • You need automated analysis.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
  • You also want data stories.
Yellowfin review

Questions people ask

Is Exa or Yellowfin better?
Neither clearly leads. Exa starts at Free and Yellowfin at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Exa or Yellowfin?
Exa has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Exa and $50/month for Yellowfin.
Does Exa or Yellowfin run on more platforms?
Exa runs on Web. Yellowfin runs on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
Can I use Exa for free?
Yes. Exa has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Yellowfin starts at $50/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 Yellowfin is typically brought in for.
What can Exa do that Yellowfin cannot?
Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis, Data Stories, Collaboration, Signals.

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
Yellowfin: What pricing models does Yellowfin offer?

Yellowfin offers three flexible models for embedded analytics: Aligned Utility Model (price per unit), Revenue Share Model (based on analytics revenue value), and Server Core (fixed price based on server deployment).

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
Yellowfin: Is Yellowfin pricing predictable and scalable?

Yes, Yellowfin pricing is simple, predictable and scalable with no hidden costs or surprises.

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
Yellowfin: Are there limits on user access or development environments?

No limitations exist on access to functionality across users. There are also no limits on dev and test licenses, ensuring DevOps is covered.

Source
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