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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Sonar Deep Research vs Sonar

Sonar comes out ahead, 30 to 20 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Perplexity

    Sonar Deep Research

    Released Feb 1, 2025

    20/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$2.00 / $8.00
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove Sonar Deep Research
  2. Our pick

    Perplexity

    Sonar

    Released Jan 1, 2024

    30/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.00 / $1.00
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove Sonar

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Sonar is our pick

Sonar is the better all-round choice, scoring 30/100 against Sonar Deep Research (20). It leads on price. Sonar Deep Research wins on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceSonarSonar $1.00 · Sonar Deep Research $3.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameSonar Deep Research 128,000 · Sonar 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsSonar Deep Research: Text · Sonar: Text
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightSonar Deep ResearchSonar
Price50%2450
Inputs & features30%100
Context window20%2424
Overall100%20/10030/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Sonar Deep Research vs Sonar specifications side by side
SpecificationSonar Deep ResearchPerplexitySonarPerplexity
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$2.00$1.00 (best)
Output$8.00$1.00 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$3.50$1.00 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Perplexity APIOfficial Perplexity API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens128,000 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens (best)4,096 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesminimal · low · medium · highNo
Tool callingNoNo
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDsonar-deep-researchsonar
API providers36 (best)
ReleasedFeb 1, 2025Jan 1, 2024
Knowledge cutoffJan 2025Sep 1, 2025
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Sonar Deep Research$36.00
  • Sonar$12.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Sonar Deep Research or Sonar?

Sonar is the better all-round choice, scoring 30/100 against Sonar Deep Research (20). It leads on price. Sonar Deep Research wins on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Sonar Deep Research or Sonar?

Sonar is cheaper at $1.00 input / $1.00 output per million tokens (official Perplexity API price). Sonar Deep Research costs $2.00 input / $8.00 output per million tokens (official Perplexity API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.00 per million tokens for Sonar versus $3.50 for Sonar Deep Research (3.5× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Sonar Deep Research has not been scored yet and Sonar has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Sonar Deep Research and Sonar yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Sonar Deep Research and Sonar does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

Sonar Deep Research and Sonar share the same 128,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Sonar Deep Research up to 32,768, Sonar up to 4,096 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Sonar Deep Research accepts text; Sonar accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

No. Sonar Deep Research and Sonar are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Sonar Deep Research is the newest, released Feb 1, 2025. Sonar came out Jan 1, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Sonar Deep Research Jan 2025, Sonar Sep 1, 2025.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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