API Groups & Billing

Learn how to use the Perplexity API Portal to manage access, usage, billing, and team collaboration.

What is an API Group?

An API Group is your organization’s workspace in the Perplexity API Portal. It allows you to:

• Manage billing and payment methods for API usage
• Create and control API keys for accessing the Perplexity API
• Invite team members and control their permissions (optional)
• Monitor usage and costs across all your API keys

Prerequisites

Before getting started, make sure you have:

• A Perplexity account (sign up at perplexity.ai)
• Admin permissions for billing and API key management
• A credit card ready for payment setup (you won’t be charged initially)

If you’re joining an existing team, you’ll need an invitation from an Admin. Contact your team lead to get access.

Accessing the API Portal

Navigate to console.perplexity.ai to access your API group. The left-hand sidebar is divided into two sections:

• Group: Settings, Members, Billing, API keys, Files
• API Playground: Search API, Agent API

---

Creating and Managing an API Group

To set up your organization:

1. Access Group Settings

   Click Settings in the left sidebar under Group.

   
2. Complete Organization Details

   Fill out your organization’s name, address, and tax details.

   

   Your organization name and address will appear on invoices and help us support you better.

---

Billing and Payment Methods

How Billing Works

The Perplexity API uses a credit-based billing system:

• Credits are purchased in advance and used for API calls
• Different models consume different amounts of credits per request
• Usage is charged based on tokens processed and search queries made
• Automatic top-up can be enabled to avoid service interruptions

See our Pricing page for detailed cost information per model and usage type.

Setting Up Payment

Access Billing Dashboard

Navigate directly to your API billing dashboard to manage payment methods, view usage, and configure billing settings.

Go to Billing

1. Navigate to Billing

   Click Billing in the left sidebar. This page shows your credit balance, payment method, usage chart, and billing breakdown.

   
2. Add Payment Method

   Click Add payment method and enter your credit card information. Payment is managed via Stripe — you can also click Manage ↗ to access the Stripe portal directly.

   Adding a payment method will not charge your credit card. It stores payment information for future API usage.

3. Configure Auto Reload (Recommended)

   Enable automatic credit top-up by clicking Change preferences next to Auto reload.

   

   If you run out of credits, your API keys will be blocked until you add to your credit balance. Auto reload prevents this by automatically adding credits when your balance drops below a threshold.

Credit Balance

The Billing page displays your remaining credit balance prominently at the top. You can purchase additional credits at any time using the Buy more credits link.

Your current usage tier is also shown here — click Learn more ↗ for details on tier thresholds and benefits.

---

Managing API Keys

What are API Keys?

API keys are your credentials for accessing the Perplexity API. Each key:

• Authenticates your requests to the Perplexity API
• Tracks usage for attribution
• Can be revoked for security purposes
• Should be kept secure and never shared publicly

You’ll need to include your API key in the Authorization header of every API request: Authorization: Bearer $PERPLEXITY_API_KEY

Creating an API Key

1. Navigate to API Keys

   Click API keys in the left sidebar.

   
2. Generate New Key

   Click + Generate API Key to create a new API key.

   

API keys are sensitive credentials. Never expose them in client-side code or share them in public repositories.

---

Adding and Managing Members

Admins can invite team members to the organization with specific roles: Admin or Member.

Adding a Member

1. Navigate to Members

   Click Members in the left sidebar. This page shows your current team members and their roles.

2. 
3. Initiate Member Invitation

   Click + Add Member. Enter the user’s email address and click Invite.

   
4. Member Receives Invitation

   The invited user will receive an email with a link to join your group.

   Once they accept, they’ll appear in your member list with their assigned role.

Filtering Members by Role

Use the dropdown to filter your list of team members by role.

Roles

• Admin: Full access to invite/remove members, manage billing, and view usage data.
• Member: Can view usage and account limits but cannot modify settings.

Only Admins can make changes to billing and member permissions.

---

Viewing Usage Metrics

All members can monitor API usage directly from the Billing page in the console.

The Usage chart lets you track activity over time with the following filters:

• Metric selector: Choose from Chat Completions API Requests, Input Tokens, Output Tokens, Citation Tokens, Reasoning Tokens, Deep Research Requests Count, Search API Requests Count, or Pro Search API Requests Count
• Time range: Filter by Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, or custom range

Below the chart, the Billing breakdown table shows a per-model breakdown of usage quantity, rate, and cost — giving you a clear picture of spend by product.

Usage metrics help you monitor API activity and optimize for cost or performance.

Invoice History

Below the usage chart and billing breakdown on the Billing page, you’ll find your Invoice history — a record of all past invoices with their date, status, and cost.

Invoices are generated automatically each billing cycle. Use the Previous and Next controls to paginate through older records.