Sonar model profile
Evidence snapshot:
Sonar is a Perplexity model profile with a 127,072-token context window. The dated catalog snapshot records text, image modalities and interfaces for text generation, vision, web search pricing.
Sonar is lightweight, affordable, fast, and simple to use — now featuring citations and the ability to customize sources. It is designed for companies seeking to integrate lightweight question-and-answer features...
Sonar is a reference profile: Perplexity publishes it, Kendr documents it for comparison, and it carries no Kendr alias to call.
Sonar is an independent knowledge profile. It does not claim that Kendr hosts the model, quote a Kendr customer price, promise API availability, or advertise a Kendr routing receipt.
Sonar accepts text and image and returns text. The snapshot records text generation, vision, and web search pricing as capabilities or interfaces.
The dated reference snapshot lists $1 input and $1 output per million tokens.
No comparable third-party benchmark value is present in the 2026-09-06 snapshot. Missing values are not estimated.
No comparable popularity rank or traffic share is present in the 2026-09-06 snapshot. No comparable routing rank or traffic-share observation is attached to this dated profile; missing adoption evidence is not estimated.
Profile data was reviewed for the 2026-09-06 snapshot. Claims retain their source dates, and unavailable fields are shown as unavailable instead of estimated.
Profile facts
- Profile type
- Model research profile
- Provider or publisher
- Perplexity
- Context window
- 127,072 tokens
- Snapshot date
- 2026-09-06
- Knowledge cutoff
- Not disclosed
- Reference catalog ID
- perplexity/sonar
When to pick Sonar
Sonar is a reference profile: Perplexity publishes it, Kendr documents it for comparison, and it carries no Kendr alias to call.
Each condition below is derived from this model's own values in the 2026-09-06 snapshot, compared only against models publishing the same field.
- Reach for it when the input includes images. The snapshot records image input, so screenshots, scans, and diagrams can be sent directly instead of described.
- Look elsewhere when you need to call it through Kendr today. This is a research reference profile with no Kendr alias. The facts and evidence here are published for comparison; the model is not routable on Kendr.
- Look elsewhere when the prompt is long. The 127K-token context window is in the bottom quarter of the 163 models publishing a limit. Long documents need chunking or a wider-context route.
- Look elsewhere when you are building an agent. No tool-calling capability is recorded for this model in the snapshot. Agent loops need a route that can call functions.
Context, modalities, and identity
Sonar accepts text and image and returns text. The snapshot records text generation, vision, and web search pricing as capabilities or interfaces.
- Provider or publisher
- Perplexity
- Context window
- 127,072 tokens
- Maximum output
- 114,364 tokens
- Input modalities
- text and image
- Output modalities
- text
- Knowledge cutoff
- Not disclosed
Model overview
Sonar is lightweight, affordable, fast, and simple to use — now featuring citations and the ability to customize sources. It is designed for companies seeking to integrate lightweight question-and-answer features...
- Reference model ID
- perplexity/sonar
- Canonical version
- perplexity/sonar
- Hugging Face ID
- Not separately documented
Capabilities and supported controls
Capabilities and parameters are reported from the dated catalog and source records; their presence does not guarantee identical behavior across every provider route.
- Supported parameters
- frequency_penalty, max_tokens, presence_penalty, temperature, top_k, top_p, web_search_options
- text generation
- vision
- web search pricing
Dated pricing snapshot
The dated reference snapshot lists $1 input and $1 output per million tokens.
These are dated third-party reference prices, not Kendr prices or an availability offer. Routes, tiers, caching, region, and provider policy can change the landed price.
- Price date
- 2026-09-06
- Input
- $1 per 1M tokens
- Cached input
- No verified rate
- Output
- $1 per 1M tokens
Provider routes, performance, and uptime
The snapshot retains 1 provider endpoint. Provider prices, context limits, p50 performance, and uptime can differ by route and are not Kendr guarantees.
- Active provider endpoints
- 1
- Best p50 latency
- No recent metric
- Best p50 throughput
- No recent metric
- Availability with routing
- No recent metric
- Availability without routing
- No recent metric
- Performance date
- 2026-09-06
| Provider | Quantization | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Cache read / 1M | Context | p50 latency | p50 throughput | Uptime (1d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity | unknown | $1 / 1M | $1 / 1M | No verified rate | 127,072 tokens | No recent p50 | No recent p50 | 100.00% |
Benchmark evidence and limitations
No comparable third-party benchmark value is present in the 2026-09-06 snapshot. Missing values are not estimated.
Third-party catalog fields normalized from the cited model dataset; benchmark methodology and coverage differ by source.
Popularity and market context
No comparable popularity rank or traffic share is present in the 2026-09-06 snapshot. No comparable routing rank or traffic-share observation is attached to this dated profile; missing adoption evidence is not estimated.
- Third-party catalog rank
- No verified rank
- Global market share
- Not inferred
- Observation date
- 2026-09-06
Frequently asked questions
When should I use Sonar?
Sonar is a reference profile: Perplexity publishes it, Kendr documents it for comparison, and it carries no Kendr alias to call. Reach for it when the input includes images: The snapshot records image input, so screenshots, scans, and diagrams can be sent directly instead of described. Look elsewhere when you need to call it through Kendr today: This is a research reference profile with no Kendr alias. The facts and evidence here are published for comparison; the model is not routable on Kendr. Look elsewhere when the prompt is long: The 127K-token context window is in the bottom quarter of the 163 models publishing a limit. Long documents need chunking or a wider-context route. Look elsewhere when you are building an agent: No tool-calling capability is recorded for this model in the snapshot. Agent loops need a route that can call functions.
What is Sonar?
Sonar is a Perplexity model profile with a 127,072-token context window. The dated catalog snapshot records text, image modalities and interfaces for text generation, vision, web search pricing.
What context window does Sonar have?
The dated profile lists 127,072 tokens of context and up to 114,364 output tokens. Provider routes, variants, and runtime configuration can impose lower effective limits.
What benchmark evidence is available for Sonar?
No comparable third-party benchmark value is present in the 2026-09-06 snapshot. Missing values are not estimated. Third-party catalog fields normalized from the cited model dataset; benchmark methodology and coverage differ by source.
Is Sonar available through Kendr?
This is an independent knowledge profile, not a Kendr-hosted availability claim. Check Kendr's live public model API for currently enabled Kendr aliases.
Does the popularity rank represent Sonar's global market share?
No comparable popularity rank or traffic share is present in the 2026-09-06 snapshot. No comparable routing rank or traffic-share observation is attached to this dated profile; missing adoption evidence is not estimated. No global market-share percentage is inferred when the source does not publish one.
Sources and evidence dates
- Sonar third-party catalog record (catalog, checked 2026-09-06)
- Third-party model catalog methodology (methodology, checked 2026-09-06)
- Perplexity official model documentation (primary, checked 2026-09-06)