HAI by HCloud vs Perplexity: Token Pricing, Speed & Intelligence
Full comparison of HAI by HCloud and Perplexity — live token pricing, latency, throughput, context window, strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases. Rates sourced from public APIs — verify before use.
HAI by HCloud
Japan-based inference — zero data retention, JPY pricing, TEE-secured Kimi K3
HAI is HCloud's LLM inference platform based in Japan, offering DeepSeek, GLM-5.3, Kimi K3, and Gemma 4 models with a zero data retention policy. Prices are in JPY per 1M tokens, tax included. The Kimi K3 (TEE) variant runs in a Trusted Execution Environment for confidential inference. Suited for Japanese enterprises and APAC workloads requiring data residency.
Perplexity
Agent API, Router API, Search API, Embeddings API — Sonar deprecated Sept 27, 2026
Perplexity has restructured its API platform in 2026. Sonar Chat Completions is now the Agent API, which provides access to third-party models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, Z.AI, Moonshot AI, NVIDIA) at direct provider rates with no markup. The Router API routes requests across models with per-token billing. The Search API provides real-time web retrieval billed per request. The Embeddings API offers pplx-embed-v1 models. Sonar is deprecated September 27, 2026. Check docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing for current rates.
Key metric comparison
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Live token pricing
Strengths and weaknesses
HAI by HCloud
Perplexity
Key differentiators
Japan-based inference with zero data retention and a TEE-secured Kimi K3 variant for confidential workloads.
An API platform combining real-time web search, multi-provider model routing (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI at direct rates), and purpose-built research tools under one key.
Frequently asked questions
HAI by HCloud FAQs
What is HAI by HCloud?
HAI is HCloud's LLM inference API based in Japan. It offers DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM-5.3, Kimi K3 (TEE), and Gemma 4 31B with a zero data retention policy and JPY pricing. See hai.hcloud.ltd/pricing for current rates.
What is the Kimi K3 TEE variant?
The Kimi K3 (TEE) variant runs inside a Trusted Execution Environment, providing hardware-level isolation for confidential inference. This is suited for workloads where prompt and response data must not be accessible to the infrastructure operator.
Does HAI retain my data?
No. HAI operates a zero data retention policy — prompts and responses are not stored after the request completes.
Perplexity FAQs
What APIs does Perplexity offer in 2026?
Perplexity offers four APIs: Agent API (multi-step agentic tasks with third-party models at direct provider rates), Router API (intelligent model routing), Search API (real-time web retrieval, per-request billing), and Embeddings API (pplx-embed-v1 models). Check docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing for current rates.
Is the original Sonar model still available?
No. The original Sonar Chat Completions API is deprecated as of September 27, 2026. It has been replaced by the Agent API. Migrate to the Agent API for continued access to search-augmented LLM capabilities.
What is the Perplexity Agent API?
The Agent API provides access to third-party models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, Z.AI, Moonshot AI, and NVIDIA at direct provider rates with no markup. It includes tools: web_search, fetch_url, people_search, and sandbox. Check docs.perplexity.ai for current tool rates.
Provider resources
HAI by HCloud — Japan-based inference — zero data retention, JPY pricing, TEE-secured Kimi K3
HAI is HCloud's LLM inference platform based in Japan, offering DeepSeek, GLM-5.3, Kimi K3, and Gemma 4 models with a zero data retention policy. Prices are in JPY per 1M tokens, tax included. The Kimi K3 (TEE) variant runs in a Trusted Execution Environment for confidential inference. Suited for Japanese enterprises and APAC workloads requiring data residency.
Japan-based inference with zero data retention and a TEE-secured Kimi K3 variant for confidential workloads.
Perplexity — Agent API, Router API, Search API, Embeddings API — Sonar deprecated Sept 27, 2026
Perplexity has restructured its API platform in 2026. Sonar Chat Completions is now the Agent API, which provides access to third-party models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, Z.AI, Moonshot AI, NVIDIA) at direct provider rates with no markup. The Router API routes requests across models with per-token billing. The Search API provides real-time web retrieval billed per request. The Embeddings API offers pplx-embed-v1 models. Sonar is deprecated September 27, 2026. Check docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing for current rates.
An API platform combining real-time web search, multi-provider model routing (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI at direct rates), and purpose-built research tools under one key.
Key strengths compared
HAI by HCloud
- Zero data retention policy — suitable for privacy-sensitive workloads
- Japan-based infrastructure — low latency for APAC users
- TEE-secured Kimi K3 variant for confidential inference
- JPY pricing excluded from USD cross-provider comparisons
- Smaller catalog vs global inference hubs
Perplexity
- Agent API: access OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, Z.AI, Moonshot AI, NVIDIA at direct provider rates
- Search API: real-time web retrieval with advanced filtering
- Router API: intelligent model routing with per-token billing at model rates
- Sonar deprecated Sept 27, 2026 — migration required
- Agent API is a pass-through — no proprietary frontier model at this tier
Key weaknesses compared
HAI by HCloud
- JPY pricing excluded from USD cross-provider comparisons
- Smaller catalog vs global inference hubs
- Newer provider — limited third-party benchmark transparency
Perplexity
- Sonar deprecated Sept 27, 2026 — migration required
- Agent API is a pass-through — no proprietary frontier model at this tier
- No vision or multimodal support on Sonar models
Provider category context
HAI by HCloud is a inference api, founded in 2024. Perplexity is a inference api, founded in 2022. Both are inference api providers — the comparison is primarily about pricing, model selection, and feature differentiation within the same tier.
How to choose between them
Both HAI by HCloud and Perplexity host open-weight models. The key differentiators are latency, throughput, and which specific model versions each provider offers. Check the speed metrics above — inference API providers often differ significantly on tokens-per-second for the same model. Pricing is typically competitive between them; availability of specific model versions (e.g., Llama 3.1 405B, DeepSeek V3) may be the deciding factor.