Exa vs Parallel for finding similar companies (lookalike APIs), benchmarked
Both Exa and Parallel return companies that resemble a seed account — Exa via neural web search with a 'similar to this URL' endpoint, Parallel via an agentic research API; lookalikes via Entity Search. Here is how they compare on identical B2B seed companies, scored by the same LLM judge.
Exa vs Parallel, scored on the same seeds
Same input, same judge, same seed companies — so the gaps below reflect relevance, not different test sets. See the full methodology and matrix →
| Metric | Exa | Parallel | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precision@10 (top-of-list quality) | 77.9% | 72.1% | Exa |
| Precision@50 | 47.7% | 60.8% | Parallel |
| Precision@100 (long-list quality, headline) | 25.8% | 56.5% | Parallel |
| Relevant companies returned | 619 | 1,356 | Parallel |
| Cost per relevant company | <$0.01 | — | — |
Verdict: Parallel wins long-list quality (Precision@100 56.5% vs 25.8%). But Exa edges the top of the list (Precision@10 77.9% vs 72.1%) — better if you only act on the first handful of results. There is no universal winner — pick on the axis that matches your workflow.
How Exa and Parallel find lookalikes
| Exa | Parallel | |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | neural web search with a 'similar to this URL' endpoint | an agentic research API; lookalikes via Entity Search |
| Agent can self-serve a key | self-serve · email OTP | self-serve · email OTP |
| Docs / MCP | API docs ↗ · MCP ↗ | API docs ↗ · MCP ↗ |
| Full profile | Exa benchmark → | Parallel benchmark → |
Comparing other vendors? See all five on the full benchmark → · What is a company lookalike API? →