# Perplexity Data API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/perplexity)

> Perplexity API access through SocialCrawl: one research endpoint that returns cited, AI-grounded web research answers via Perplexity Sonar. 1 credit per call; 100 free credits, no card. The same x-api-key covers 43 other platforms, so you skip a separate Perplexity developer account, key, and billing relationship.

TL;DR: SocialCrawl's Perplexity API exposes 1 endpoints, 1 credit per call, all returning one unified JSON schema with AI-enriched fields. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Endpoints

| Endpoint | Method | Path | Credits | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Research | GET | `/v1/perplexity/research` | 1 | Web research via Perplexity Sonar |

## Code example

```bash
curl "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/perplexity/research?query=What%20is%20the%20capital%20of%20France%3F" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

Every response shares one JSON envelope: `{ success, platform, endpoint, data, credits_used, credits_remaining }`.

## SocialCrawl vs Perplexity API (direct)

| Feature | SocialCrawl | Perplexity API (direct) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Authentication | One x-api-key — the same key as your social and dev data | Separate Perplexity developer account and API key |
| Setup | Single GET request with a query parameter | Chat-completions integration with model and parameter management |
| Pricing | 1 credit per research call, one balance across 44 platforms | Separate token-based billing you fund and track independently |
| Response schema | Cited answer in the unified SocialCrawl JSON envelope | OpenAI-style chat completion payload |
| Data coverage | Sonar research plus Tavily, social search, and dev data on one key | Full Sonar model family with fine-grained model control |
| Free tier | 100 free credits on signup, no credit card | Prepaid credits; cost varies by model and tokens |

## FAQ

### How do I get Perplexity API access?

You can call the Perplexity API through SocialCrawl with a single x-api-key, with no separate Perplexity account and no separate bill. The same key and the same credit balance also reach 44 social platforms, so an agent can ground an answer in Perplexity research and in real social posts in one pass.

### What is the SocialCrawl Perplexity API?

It is access to Perplexity Sonar web research through your SocialCrawl key. SocialCrawl proxies Perplexity Sonar via the Vercel AI Gateway, so a GET to /v1/perplexity/research returns a synthesized, cited answer to any natural-language question — billed in the same credits as your social and dev data.

### Do I need a separate Perplexity API key?

No. Your single SocialCrawl x-api-key covers it. You do not register a Perplexity developer account, manage a separate Perplexity API key, or set up a second billing relationship. One key, one credit balance, and Perplexity Sonar is one of the backends it reaches.

### How much does the Perplexity API cost on SocialCrawl?

The research endpoint costs 1 credit per call on the standard tier. New accounts get 100 free credits with no credit card required — enough to run around 100 research queries while you prototype before moving to a paid plan.

### What comes back in the response?

A synthesized research answer to your query plus the web sources and citations Perplexity Sonar used to write it. You get the natural-language answer text and the underlying source URLs, returned in JSON so you can show citations or feed them into your own pipeline.

### Can I also reach Tavily or AI social search from the same key?

Yes. The same SocialCrawl key reaches several AI-search and research backends: Perplexity Sonar for web research here, Tavily web search via /v1/tavily/search, and AI social search via /v1/twitter/ai-search and /v1/search/everywhere. One key, one credit system.

### When should I use the research endpoint?

Reach for it when you need a cited, up-to-date answer synthesized from the live web rather than raw search links — research agents, RAG enrichment, fact-checking, or briefing flows. For social-specific results, pair it with SocialCrawl's AI social search instead.

### What is the best way to use Perplexity through an API?

If you need fine-grained model control, Perplexity's direct API is the right tool. If you want cited web research on the key you already use for social and dev data, SocialCrawl's /v1/perplexity/research returns a Sonar answer with sources for 1 credit per call — and 100 free credits start you off without a card.

### Is there a Perplexity data API?

Perplexity runs its own Sonar API, so the underlying data API is Perplexity's and available directly with a developer account. SocialCrawl is a convenience layer over it: GET /v1/perplexity/research returns a cited Sonar answer on the same x-api-key and credits as your social and dev data, at 1 credit per call, with no second account to manage.

## Pricing

- Standard endpoints: 1 credit per call
- Advanced endpoints: 5 credits per call
- Premium endpoints: 10 credits per call
- 100 free credits on signup, no credit card required. Cached responses cost 0 credits. Credit packs never expire.
- Full pricing: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/pricing

## Explore with AI

Questions this API answers, phrased for an AI assistant:

- How to use Perplexity Sonar through the SocialCrawl API
- Can I call the Perplexity API without a separate Perplexity key?
- What does the SocialCrawl Perplexity research endpoint return?