You.com
Search and inference for AI: web search, research and inference APIs for AI applications.
You.com is a set of web search, research and inference APIs for developers building AI applications. A free tier allows up to 100 Web Search API queries a day through its MCP server, with no API key or account. Paid use is pay as you go, priced per 1K calls, with custom enterprise pricing. It suits teams that need to do research inside their own software.
What You.com does
You.com sells programmatic access to web data and models rather than a consumer app. The Web Search API returns real-time web and news results, and the Contents API fetches a URL and returns it as Markdown or HTML. For questions that need a direct reply, the Answer API produces a cited answer with its sources in a single call.
Deeper work goes through the Research API, which plans a query, searches repeatedly, reads full pages and cross-references sources. It offers five effort levels, from Lite to Frontier, and the price per 1K calls rises with the level chosen. A separate Finance Research API covers financial questions. The Inference Router runs open-weight models behind one compatible API that includes built-in web search, and an MCP server and a Python SDK are listed for connecting these services.
Billing is per call, or per page for Contents, with no minimums, seats or platform fee on the pay-as-you-go plan. Web Search Standard and the Answer API are each listed at $5 per 1K calls, and Contents at $1 per 1K pages. The site states SOC 2 certification, zero data retention options and DPA readiness, while the Custom plan adds custom QPS, dedicated capacity and SLA-backed support.
Features
- Web Search API with real-time web and news results
- Contents API returning Markdown or HTML per URL
- Answer API with cited answers
- Research API with five effort levels
- Finance Research API
- Inference Router for open-weight models
- MCP server
- Zero data retention option
- Python SDK
You.com pricing
| Plan | Price | What's included (as stated) |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free |
|
| Pay as you go | Custom |
|
| Custom | Custom |
|
Copied from You.com's pricing page on Nov 6, 2026. Prices change, so confirm before you buy.
Strengths and limits
Each point comes from the features and plan details above. No point is an opinion.
Strengths
- Free tier of 100 Web Search API queries a day via MCP, with no API key, account or credit card.
- Pay-as-you-go use has no minimums, no seats and no platform fee.
- Answer API returns a cited answer with its sources in one call.
- States SOC 2 certification, zero data retention options and DPA readiness.
Limits
- Research API costs $12 to $1,200 per 1K calls depending on effort level.
- Inference Router pricing varies by model, with no fixed rate listed.
- Enterprise pricing is custom rather than published.
You.com FAQ
Is You.com free?
There is a free tier of up to 100 Web Search API queries a day via the MCP server, with no API key, account or credit card. Other use is pay as you go.
How much does the You.com API cost?
Web Search Standard is $5 per 1K calls, Contents is $1 per 1K pages, Answer is $5 per 1K calls, Research is $12 to $1,200 per 1K calls by effort level, and Finance Research is $110 to $500 per 1K calls. Inference Router pricing varies by model.
What does the Research API do?
It plans, searches repeatedly, reads full pages and cross-references sources, with five effort levels from Lite to Frontier.
Where this listing comes from
Facts were read from these pages on Nov 6, 2026. The description was written from those facts. See the methodology.
Something out of date? Report a correction. Corrections are free.
