You.com Research API review

You.com has moved its research technology into an API, which makes it the option for analysts who want to run deep research from a script, notebook or pipeline rather than a chat window. The Research API plans, searches repeatedly, reads full pages and cross-references before answering, and a single research_effort parameter sets the depth. Research Lite answers simple lookups in under 2 seconds for $12 per 1,000 calls, Standard costs $50, Deep handles questions spanning several sources in under 2 minutes for $100, Exhaustive verifies claims across dozens of sources for $450, and Frontier runs in background mode for $1,200 per 1,000 calls. A Finance Research API applies the same engine to earnings, benchmarking and 10-K analysis. The model is cheap per report at the deep levels compared with a seat for occasional use, but it needs engineering work, there is no app for a non-technical analyst, and there is no free allowance for research calls.

Who it is for

Data teams that want to run cited research on demand from their own code.

Price

Usage-based: Research Lite $12, Research Deep $100 and Research Frontier $1,200 per 1,000 calls.

Latency Under 2s Price $12 /1k calls
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 9, 2026.

Key features

• Plans, searches repeatedly, reads full pages and cross-references before answering
• One research_effort parameter with five levels: Lite, Standard, Deep, Exhaustive and Frontier
• Frontier runs in background mode for research too long for one request
• Finance Research API tuned for company, market and competitive analysis
• Answer API returns a cited answer with sources for $5 per 1,000 calls

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Pay per call instead of per seat, which suits batch research
• Strength: Clear published latency and price for each depth level
• Strength: Enterprise option with custom pricing and higher rate limits
• Weakness: Needs a developer to call the API; there is no consumer report app
• Weakness: Deep tiers get expensive at volume, up to $1,200 per 1,000 Frontier calls
• Weakness: No free plan for research calls

Key facts

• Research Deep: $100 per 1,000 calls, under 2 minutes
• Research Exhaustive: $450 per 1,000 calls, under 5 minutes
• Finance Research Deep: $110 per 1,000 calls

Where it ranks

You.com Research API is No. 10 in our Best Deep Research AI Tools verdict.