Side-by-side comparison · Research & Search
Exa vs Gemini Deep Research vs Prompt Cowboy
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Exa
4.0Pick it if: People using Claude Code or building their own assistants who want real web search behind them.
Gemini Deep Research
4.0Pick it if: Anyone who needs a thorough written briefing on a topic and would rather edit than research.
Prompt Cowboy
3.9Pick it if: Anyone who feels their AI results are mediocre and suspects the prompt is the reason.
Overview
| Attribute | Exa | Gemini Deep Research | Prompt Cowboy |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | A search engine built for AI tools, so Claude can find exactly the pages it needs. | Google's agent that browses for minutes and writes a long, sourced report. | Turns a rough one-line idea into a detailed, well-structured prompt for any AI tool. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | From $4 per 1 | $4.99/mo | $8/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Exa | Gemini Deep Research | Prompt Cowboy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| FeaturesHow much it can do, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 2.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Exa | Gemini Deep Research | Prompt Cowboy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | – |
| API access | Yes | Yes | – |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | No |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | No | Yes | No |
| Understands images | No | Yes | No |
| Makes images | No | Yes | No |
| Makes video | No | Yes | No |
| Writes code | No | Yes | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | No |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | – |
| Capabilities score | 7/ 17 | 14/ 17 | 3/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Exa | Gemini Deep Research | Prompt Cowboy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | FreeOur pick Free Personal use inside Claude Code. | Free Free The occasional big question. | FreeOur pick Free Learning what a good prompt looks like. |
Pay as you go From $4 per 1,000 searches Anyone whose usage outgrows the free credit. | Google AI Plus $4.99/mo Light users who want a bit more headroom. | Individual $8/mo People who use it daily and want prompts in their own voice. | |
Enterprise Custom Companies building products on top of it. | Google AI ProOur pick $19.99/mo Anyone who runs a few reports a week or also uses NotebookLM. | Team See website Small teams who want shared instructions. | |
Google AI Ultra From $99.99/mo Power users who want the highest limits across all of Google AI. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Start free. The monthly $10 of credit is plenty for one person using it from Claude Code, and if you do run out you only pay for what you use. Enterprise is for software companies, not for a business that just wants better search. | Try the free plan first; it is enough to see the style of report you get. If you want it weekly, Google AI Pro is the pick because the Pro model writes better reports and the same subscription upgrades NotebookLM and Gemini in Gmail and Docs. | Free is genuinely enough for most people. Pay for Individual only if you are writing prompts all day and the style matching would save you editing time. Check the Team price on the site; it was not shown on the pricing page when we looked. |
Key features
| Attribute | Exa | Gemini Deep Research | Prompt Cowboy |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Exa | Gemini Deep Research | Prompt Cowboy |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Exa | Gemini Deep Research | Prompt Cowboy |
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How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability. The "Visit" buttons may use affiliate links, which never affect a score.
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