Happy Valley

Exa vs Strawberry

Exa and Strawberry are both AI assistants tools. Exa is aimed at developers and enterprise, while Strawberry is aimed at small businesses and freelancers. Both have a free plan.

Exa

Web search and content API built for AI agents and LLM apps

Strawberry

Desktop AI browser with companions that run research and admin tasks

PricingFreemiumFreemium · $20
Starting priceNot published$20/mo
Free planYesYes
Free trial——
Built forDevelopers, Enterprise, Small businessesSmall businesses, Freelancers, Enterprise
Platformswebmacos, windows
CountryUS · 2021SE
Rating——

Choose Exa if

Developers and AI teams who need a fast, controllable web search and content layer for agents, RAG or research products.

  • Free $10 monthly credit grant with no card required
  • Lite search at $4 per 1,000 requests suits high-volume agents
  • Highlights cut token usage and LLM costs compared with full pages

Look elsewhere if: Non-technical users who want a finished answer engine or chat app rather than an API (Perplexity, You.com).

Choose Strawberry if

Sales, recruiting and operations teams that want AI agents to do repetitive web-app work inside their own logged-in browser.

  • Browsing itself never uses credits
  • Works in sites behind logins without separate connectors
  • Free plan with 500 monthly credits and no card required

Look elsewhere if: People who mainly want an AI chat or search assistant, or who need Linux and mobile apps (Perplexity, ChatGPT).

Exa vs Strawberry pricing

Exa

  • Free$0$10 in credits every month plus a one-time $10 onboarding bonus
  • Search Lite$4/1,000 requestsUp to 10 results per request; $1 per 1k extra results
  • Search Auto$7/1,000 requestsUp to 10 results per request; AI summaries $1 per 1k pages
  • Deep Search$12/1,000 requestsdeep-lite (about 4 seconds) and deep (4 to 15 seconds) types
  • Contents$1/1,000 pagesPer content type; prepaid credits, no subscription or minimum

Strawberry

  • Free$0500 credits/mo, Efficient and Default modes, no card needed
  • Intern$20/mo6,000 credits/mo, Expert mode; $200/yr billed annually
  • Part-Time$85/mo25,000 credits/mo; $850/yr billed annually
  • Full-Time$250/mo75,000 credits/mo; $2,500/yr billed annually
  • Team Starter$35/seat/mo10,000 credits per seat; every team gets 3 free seats

Exa · Key features

  • Search API with lite, auto, deep-lite and deep types on one independent index
  • Dynamic Highlights that pass only the most relevant tokens to the model
  • Contents API for full page text, highlights and AI summaries
  • Agent API for cited research, list building and enrichment with structured output
  • Coverage of people, companies, code, papers, ecommerce listings and local businesses
  • Monitors for recurring searches and Websets for verified datasets

Cons

  • No flat monthly plan, so spend rises directly with traffic
  • Websets API needs a separate paid Websets plan and credits
  • Benchmark leadership is reported by Exa itself

Strawberry · Key features

  • AI companions that act inside your own logged-in browser tabs
  • Pre-built companions for sales, recruiting, executive, marketing and consulting work
  • Routines that run on a schedule or when an event happens in a connected app
  • Bot-free recording and summaries of Google Meet, Zoom and Teams calls
  • Memory of your preferences, people and projects across chats
  • Slide decks, posters, diagrams and dashboards exported as PNG or PDF

Cons

  • Desktop only, with no Linux, iOS or Android app
  • Monthly plan credits do not roll over
  • Credit cost of long agent tasks is hard to estimate in advance

Exa vs Strawberry: FAQ

Do Exa and Strawberry have a free plan?

Yes, both Exa and Strawberry have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Not sure yet?