01 Exa
AI-native web search engine and API built for agents, with semantic search and content extraction
AI Search & Research from $0 free tier: yes Verified JUN 22, 2026
Glean alternatives
6 alternatives compared · prices last verified Jul 3, 2026 · how we verify
Exa is the top Glean alternative in our directory: it covers the same category (AI Search & Research), starts at $0, and has a free tier. All 6 alternatives below are compared on pricing verified against the official pricing pages, on the dates shown.
Ranked by category overlap with Glean, free-tier availability, then lowest verified starting price — computed from our verified data, never sponsorships.
Glean alternatives compared
| Alternative | Category | Starting price | Free tier | Price verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exa | AI Search & Research | $0 | yes | Jun 22, 2026 |
| You.com | AI Search & Research | $5 per 1,000 calls | yes | Jun 11, 2026 |
| Perplexity | AI Search & Research | $20/mo | yes | Jun 11, 2026 |
| Microsoft Copilot | AI Chatbots | $0 | yes | Jun 22, 2026 |
| Notion | AI Productivity | $10/member/mo | yes | Jun 11, 2026 |
| Claude | AI Chatbots | $20/mo | yes | Jul 3, 2026 |
Each alternative, in brief
02 You.com
Real-time web search and research APIs for AI agents and LLM pipelines
AI Search & Research from $5 per 1,000 calls free tier: yes Verified JUN 11, 2026
03 Perplexity
AI-powered answer engine that searches the live web and cites every source
AI Search & Research from $20/mo free tier: yes Verified JUN 11, 2026
04 Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft's GPT-5-powered AI assistant for chat, search, and AI inside Word, Excel, and Teams
AI Chatbots from $0 free tier: yes Verified JUN 22, 2026
05 Notion
AI workspace combining docs, databases, projects, and autonomous agents in one platform
AI Productivity from $10/member/mo free tier: yes Verified JUN 11, 2026
06 Claude
Anthropic's AI assistant built for long-context analysis, coding, and safe reasoning
AI Chatbots from $20/mo free tier: yes Verified JUL 3, 2026
When to stay with Glean
Documented strengths from our Glean review — switching isn't always the right call:
- Broad connector coverage (275+) unifies fragmented enterprise knowledge into one searchable layer
- Permission-aware from day one — respects existing source-app access, strong governance for regulated industries
- Search, assistant, and agent-building in a single platform rather than three separate tools