diff --git a/litellm/llms/exa_ai/search/cost_calculator.py b/litellm/llms/exa_ai/search/cost_calculator.py
index a77e676f959..4b1d561cf47 100644
--- a/litellm/llms/exa_ai/search/cost_calculator.py
+++ b/litellm/llms/exa_ai/search/cost_calculator.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ EXA_AI_ADDITIONAL_RESULT_COST: Final = 0.001
 EXA_AI_STANDARD_SEARCH_MODEL: Final = "exa_ai/search"
 EXA_AI_PRICING_MODEL_BY_TYPE: Final[Mapping[str, str]] = MappingProxyType(
     {
+        "lite": "exa_ai/search-lite",
         "instant": "exa_ai/search-instant",
         "deep-lite": "exa_ai/search-deep",
         "deep": "exa_ai/search-deep",
diff --git a/litellm/llms/exa_ai/search/types.py b/litellm/llms/exa_ai/search/types.py
index 4e02325b3b9..3fd1379701f 100644
--- a/litellm/llms/exa_ai/search/types.py
+++ b/litellm/llms/exa_ai/search/types.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ from typing import Literal, TypeAlias
 
 from typing_extensions import ReadOnly, Required, TypedDict
 
-ExaSearchMode: TypeAlias = Literal["instant", "fast", "auto", "deep-lite", "deep", "deep-reasoning"]
+ExaSearchMode: TypeAlias = Literal["lite", "instant", "fast", "auto", "deep-lite", "deep", "deep-reasoning"]
 ExaPageSection: TypeAlias = Literal["header", "navigation", "banner", "body", "sidebar", "footer", "metadata"]
 
 
diff --git a/litellm/model_prices_and_context_window_backup.json b/litellm/model_prices_and_context_window_backup.json
index 6c80b4b50e9..c44fc2d97c2 100644
--- a/litellm/model_prices_and_context_window_backup.json
+++ b/litellm/model_prices_and_context_window_backup.json
@@ -24437,6 +24437,14 @@
         },
         "mode": "search"
     },
+    "exa_ai/search-lite": {
+        "input_cost_per_query": 0.004,
+        "litellm_provider": "exa_ai",
+        "metadata": {
+            "notes": "Base price per /search request with type lite, covering up to 10 results. Source: https://exa.ai/pricing (2026-10-22)"
+        },
+        "mode": "search"
+    },
     "exa_ai/search-instant": {
         "input_cost_per_query": 0.004,
         "litellm_provider": "exa_ai",
diff --git a/model_prices_and_context_window.json b/model_prices_and_context_window.json
index 6c80b4b50e9..c44fc2d97c2 100644
--- a/model_prices_and_context_window.json
+++ b/model_prices_and_context_window.json
@@ -24437,6 +24437,14 @@
         },
         "mode": "search"
     },
+    "exa_ai/search-lite": {
+        "input_cost_per_query": 0.004,
+        "litellm_provider": "exa_ai",
+        "metadata": {
+            "notes": "Base price per /search request with type lite, covering up to 10 results. Source: https://exa.ai/pricing (2026-10-22)"
+        },
+        "mode": "search"
+    },
     "exa_ai/search-instant": {
         "input_cost_per_query": 0.004,
         "litellm_provider": "exa_ai",
diff --git a/tests/unit/llms/exa_ai/search/test_transformation.py b/tests/unit/llms/exa_ai/search/test_transformation.py
index 08243a7be84..0e65832d22f 100644
--- a/tests/unit/llms/exa_ai/search/test_transformation.py
+++ b/tests/unit/llms/exa_ai/search/test_transformation.py
@@ -519,6 +519,7 @@ def test_exa_estimate_prices_one_request_however_many_queries_it_joins() -> None
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     ("search_type", "pricing_model"),
     [
+        ("lite", "exa_ai/search-lite"),
         ("instant", "exa_ai/search-instant"),
         ("auto", "exa_ai/search"),
         ("fast", "exa_ai/search"),
@@ -557,3 +558,21 @@ def test_exa_estimate_ignores_invalid_result_counts(count: object) -> None:
     assert search_provider_cost_per_query(
         "exa_ai/search", "exa_ai", optional_params={"numResults": count}
     ) == search_provider_cost_per_query("exa_ai/search", "exa_ai")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("asynchronous", [False, True])
+@pytest.mark.usefixtures("exa_api_key")
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_lite_search_preserves_mode_and_highlights(respx_mock: respx.MockRouter, asynchronous: bool) -> None:
+    route: Final = respx_mock.post(EXA_SEARCH_URL).respond(json=FULL_RESPONSE)
+    response: Final = (
+        await litellm.asearch(query="question", search_provider="exa_ai", type="lite", contents={"highlights": True})
+        if asynchronous
+        else litellm.search(query="question", search_provider="exa_ai", type="lite", contents={"highlights": True})
+    )
+    assert json.loads(route.calls.last.request.content) == {
+        "query": "question",
+        "type": "lite",
+        "contents": {"highlights": True},
+    }
+    assert response.results[0].snippet == "\n\n".join(FULL_RESULT["highlights"])