---
title: "sonar-small-chat Cost Calculator - Perplexity"
description: "Calculate the cost of using sonar-small-chat from Perplexity. Input costs $0.07 and output $0.28 per 1M tokens."
url: "https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/perplexity/model/sonar-small-chat"
markdown: "https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/perplexity/model/sonar-small-chat.md"
---

# sonar-small-chat Cost Calculator - Perplexity

> Calculate the cost of using sonar-small-chat from Perplexity. Input costs $0.07 and output $0.28 per 1M tokens.

## Important Links

- [View MCP Gateway](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/resources/mcp-gateway.md)
- [Features](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/#features)
- [Enterprise](https://www.getmaxim.ai/enterprise)
- [Pricing](https://www.getmaxim.ai/pricing)
- [Docs](https://docs.getbifrost.ai)
- [GitHub](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost)
- [Book a Demo](https://www.getmaxim.ai/book-a-demo)

## About sonar-small-chat

sonar-small-chat is a chat model from Perplexity, one of 16 chat models they offer. It is priced at $0.07 per 1M input tokens and $0.28 per 1M output tokens, ranking 230 out of 3254 chat models by cost and cheaper than 92% of models in this category. It accepts up to 16K input tokens.

## Pricing

Published Perplexity pricing for sonar-small-chat.

- **$0.07 / 1M tokens Input.**
- **$0.28 / 1M tokens Output.**

## Technical Specifications

- **Chat Mode.**
- **16,384 Max Input Tokens.**
- **16,384 Max Output Tokens.**
- **16,384 Max Tokens.**

## How Pricing Compares

At $0.07 per 1M input tokens and $0.28 per 1M output tokens, sonar-small-chat ranks 230 out of 3254 chat models by input cost. It is more affordable compared to the median of $0.52 for chat models, and is cheaper than 92% of models in this category.

| Model | Provider | Input $/1M | Output $/1M | vs sonar-small-chat |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| amazon.nova-lite-v1:0 | AWS Bedrock | $0.06 | $0.24 | -14% |
| apac.amazon.nova-lite-v1:0 | AWS Bedrock | $0.06 | $0.25 | -10% |
| Phi-4-mini-instruct | Azure | $0.07 | $0.30 | +7% |
| Phi-4-multimodal-instruct | Azure | $0.08 | $0.32 | +14% |
| Phi-4-mini-reasoning | Azure | $0.07 | $0.30 | +7% |

## More from Perplexity

- [pplx-70b-online ($0.0000/1M input)](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/perplexity/model/pplx-70b-online.md)
- [pplx-7b-online ($0.0000/1M input)](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/perplexity/model/pplx-7b-online.md)
- [sonar-medium-online ($0.0000/1M input)](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/perplexity/model/sonar-medium-online.md)
- [sonar-small-online ($0.0000/1M input)](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/perplexity/model/sonar-small-online.md)

## Related Resources

- [Perplexity status](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/provider-status/perplexity.md)
- [sonar-small-chat specifications](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/compare/perplexity/sonar-small-chat.md)
- [All Perplexity pricing](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/perplexity.md)

## FAQ

### Is sonar-small-chat cheaper than amazon.nova-lite-v1:0?

No. sonar-small-chat costs $0.07 per 1M input tokens while amazon.nova-lite-v1:0 costs $0.06 per 1M input tokens, making amazon.nova-lite-v1:0 14% more affordable for input. However, sonar-small-chat may offer different capabilities or performance characteristics that justify the price difference.

### How does sonar-small-chat pricing compare to the average chat model?

sonar-small-chat input pricing is $0.07 per 1M tokens, which is 86% below the median of $0.52 for chat models. It ranks 230 out of 3254 chat models by input cost, making it cheaper than 92% of models in this category. For output, it costs $0.28 per 1M tokens compared to the median of $1.50.

### What makes sonar-small-chat different from other Perplexity models?

Among Perplexity's 16 chat models, sonar-small-chat ranks 1 by input cost.

### What are the best alternatives to sonar-small-chat?

The most comparable chat models to sonar-small-chat are: amazon.nova-lite-v1:0 from AWS Bedrock ($0.06/1M input tokens); apac.amazon.nova-lite-v1:0 from AWS Bedrock ($0.06/1M input tokens); Phi-4-mini-instruct from Azure ($0.07/1M input tokens); Phi-4-multimodal-instruct from Azure ($0.08/1M input tokens). These alternatives were selected based on similar capabilities, pricing, and provider diversity. You can compare any of these models in detail using the Bifrost Model Library.

### How do I check if Perplexity is down?

You can monitor Perplexity service health in real time on the Bifrost Perplexity Status page. It tracks current component status, active incidents, and historical reliability data pulled from the official status page every 60 seconds.

### How do I calculate sonar-small-chat costs?

sonar-small-chat is priced based on input and output tokens. Use the interactive calculator at the top of this page to estimate costs for your specific workload. Enter your expected input and output tokens volume and the calculator will show the total cost breakdown. For reference, processing 1M input tokens costs $0.07 and generating 1M output tokens costs $0.28.

## Related Resources

- [All Perplexity pricing](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/perplexity.md)
- [LLM cost calculator](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator.md)
- [Model library](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library.md)
- [Docs: Bifrost docs](https://docs.getbifrost.ai)
- [GitHub: maximhq/bifrost](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost)
- [Pricing: Bifrost pricing](https://www.getmaxim.ai/pricing)
- [Enterprise: Bifrost enterprise](https://www.getmaxim.ai/enterprise)
- [Book a Demo: Bifrost demo](https://www.getmaxim.ai/book-a-demo)
- [Resources: Bifrost resources](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/resources.md)

---

*This is a markdown version of [https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/perplexity/model/sonar-small-chat](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/perplexity/model/sonar-small-chat) for AI/LLM consumption.*