# Fast Search

## Overview

Fast Search reduces search latency and cost in agent workflows. Set `search_type: "fast"` on a Search API request.

The Search API charges $1.00 per 1,000 Fast Search requests instead of $5.00 for standard web search.

:::callout{intent="note"}
For Fast Search inside the Agent API, see [Web Search: Search Type](/guides/agent-api-tools-web-search#search-type). Fast Search is a search type, not the Agent API `fast` preset.
:::

## When to use Fast Search

| Use                            | When                                                                                                               |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `search_type: "fast"`          | Day-to-day agentic work: tool calls inside agent loops, high-volume retrieval, and latency-sensitive applications. |
| `search_type: "web"` (default) | Rare, difficult, or ambiguous questions.                                                                           |

If you omit `search_type`, the request uses standard web search.

## Use Fast Search

Set `search_type` to `"fast"` on a `POST /search` request. Results use the same response format as standard web search.

First, [install a library and set `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY`](/guides/agent-api-search-quickstart#installation). With Perplexity Python library versions 0.43.4 and 0.43.5, use `extra_body` as shown below: passing `search_type="fast"` directly fails the library's request validation.

:::code-group
```python Python theme={null}
from perplexity import Perplexity

client = Perplexity()

search = client.search.create(
    query="latest stable Rust release",
    extra_body={"search_type": "fast"},
    max_results=5
)

for result in search.results:
    print(f"{result.title}: {result.url}")
```

```typescript Typescript theme={null}
import Perplexity from '@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai';

const client = new Perplexity();

const search = await client.search.create({
    query: "latest stable Rust release",
    search_type: "fast" as any, // The current SDK types do not yet include "fast".
    max_results: 5
});

for (const result of search.results) {
    console.log(`${result.title}: ${result.url}`);
}
```

```bash cURL theme={null}
curl -X POST 'https://api.perplexity.ai/search' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PERPLEXITY_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "query": "latest stable Rust release",
    "search_type": "fast",
    "max_results": 5
  }' | jq
```
:::

Fast Search accepts `max_results` from 1 to 20. Values above 20 are only supported with `search_type: "people"`. See [People Search](/guides/agent-api-search-filters-people-search).

## SDK support

The examples accommodate the request definitions in Perplexity Python library 0.43.4 and 0.43.5 and TypeScript SDK 0.38.5.

- **Python:** use `extra_body={"search_type": "fast"}`. The library rejects `"fast"` when passed directly as `search_type`.
- **TypeScript:** cast the value with `as any`, as shown, until the SDK updates.

## Pricing

| API        |    Standard (`web`)   |     Fast (`fast`)     |
| ---------- | :-------------------: | :-------------------: |
| Search API | $5.00 per 1K requests | $1.00 per 1K requests |

Search API billing counts each successful `POST /search` request, the same as standard web search. In the [API console](https://console.perplexity.ai), Fast Search requests appear as **Fast Search API Requests Count** under Search API usage.

There are no additional token-based charges. See [Pricing](/guides/getting-started-pricing).

## Next Steps

::::card-grid
:::card{title="Search API Quickstart" href="/guides/agent-api-search-quickstart" icon="search"}
Filters, multi-query search, and content controls
:::

:::card{title="API Reference" href="/guides/agent-api-2-search-post" icon="book"}
Full Search API parameters
:::

:::card{title="Pricing" href="/guides/getting-started-pricing" icon="receipt"}
Search and tool pricing
:::
::::

## Related pages

- [Admin & Management](./admin-management-index.md)
- [Agent API](./agent-api-2-index.md)
- [Agent API](./agent-api-index.md)
- [Analytics API](./analytics-api-index.md)
- [Authentication](./authentication-index.md)
- [Changelog](../changelog.md)
- [Cookbook](./cookbook-2-index.md)
- [Embeddings API](./embeddings-api-2-index.md)
- [Embeddings API](./embeddings-api-index.md)
- [Getting Started](./getting-started-index.md)

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