Case file · exa · neural search API
The Exa alternative for when you want the finished dossier, not the search results.
Exa sells the ingredients: search, contents, one call at a time. Gumshoe sells the cooked meal, planned, navigated, synthesized, cited.
Exhibit · side by side
| EXA | GUMSHOE | |
|---|---|---|
| WHAT YOU BUY | A search primitive (ingredients) | A finished investigation (the meal) |
| ORCHESTRATION | You build and maintain it | Included: plan, search, read, synthesize |
| JS-HEAVY SITES | Search/crawl, no real navigation | Real browser: clicks, filters, logins |
| OUTPUT | Results + your own schema work | Typed JSON verdict, cited, turnkey |
| LLM COST | Your bill, on top | Included in the credit |
| PRICING | Search $7/1k, Deep Search $12 to $15/1k. Per search, not per research. You build the orchestration and pay your own LLM. | $0.037 to $0.05 per full company investigation, LLM, orchestration, browser fieldwork included. |
THE WEDGE
A single company deep-dive isn't one search. It's several searches, pages read, a browser when a site fights back, and a synthesis step. Wire that yourself on Exa and you own the pipeline, the retries, the LLM bill, and the maintenance. We ship the whole thing.
WHEN EXA IS THE RIGHT CALL
If you're a developer building your own research pipeline and want the cheapest, cleanest search primitive to build on, Exa is excellent. We're the layer above it.
Exa: A neural search API with LLM-optimized indexes and Websets for no-code enrichment. Excellent, cheap search primitive.
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