Perplexity
An AI answer engine that searches the web and cites its sources, with personal plans from free to $200 a month.
Founded 2022
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Perplexity is an AI answer engine from Perplexity AI, first released in December 2022. It searches the web for each question and shows inline citations to its sources. It also reads uploaded files, generates images, remembers details across chats and keeps work in shareable Projects, on the web, in Windows and Mac apps and on iOS and Android.
The Free plan includes practically unlimited basic searches, 3 Pro Searches a day and limited uploads. Pro costs $20 a month or $200 a year and adds a choice of advanced AI models, more Research queries, videos of up to 8 seconds and Perplexity Computer, an agent for multi-step tasks. Max costs $200 a month or $2,000 a year. Enterprise Pro seats cost $40 a month or $400 a year. Personal plans let you switch off AI training; Enterprise data is never used for it.
Best for
People who use an AI assistant mainly for research and want every answer tied to cited web sources, with a choice of AI models on a paid plan.
Pros
- Every answer includes inline citations that show where each claim comes from
- Pro and Max let you choose a preferred AI model for each query
- Pro has an annual option at $200 a year, about $17 a month
- Education Pro costs $10 a month for verified students and educators
- Enterprise data is never used for training, and files attached to sessions are deleted after seven days
Cons
- AI training use is switched on by default on Free, Pro and Max, and opting out covers only data collected afterwards
- Images made on Free, Pro and Max are for personal, non-commercial use only
- Chat uploads on personal plans are capped at 40 MB per file and a rolling weekly allowance whose remaining count is not shown
- API usage is billed separately from every plan, Enterprise included
- Max's yearly billing ($2,000) is available only through the web app
From our tests
Screenshots of Perplexity from our hands-on tests. Each links to the full-size image; the test name leads to the task, how we judged it and the other tool's result.
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (12-month total) |
|---|---|---|
| FreePractically unlimited basic searches; 3 Pro Searches a day and 1 Research query a month; limited uploads | Free Free plan | |
| Pro$17/month when billed annually ($200 a year); one-time 4,000 Computer credit bonus for new subscribers | $20/mo | $200/yr ($16.67/mo) |
| MaxAnnual billing on the web app only ($167/month when billed annually); 10,000 Computer credits a month | $200/mo | $2,000/yr ($166.67/mo) |
| Enterprise ProPer seat; $400 per seat a year ($34/month when billed annually); no self-serve trial | $40/mo | $400/yr ($33.33/mo) |
| Enterprise MaxPer seat; $3,250 per seat a year ($271/month when billed annually); seats can be mixed with Enterprise Pro | $325/mo | $3,250/yr ($270.83/mo) |
Prices checked on .
Features
In AI chat assistants
| Feature | Perplexity |
|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes · Practically unlimited basic searches, 3 Pro Searches a day, limited uploads |
| File upload | Yes · Up to 40 MB per chat file (50 MB on Enterprise) and 100 MB per Project file; rolling weekly chat upload allowance on Free, Pro and Max |
| Web search | Yes · Real-time web search with inline citations; limited on Free |
| Image generation | Yes · Pro, Max and Enterprise; Free, Pro and Max images are non-commercial only |
| Voice mode | Yes · Voice conversations in the iOS app; voice assistant on Android |
| Memory/projects | Yes · Memory across chats; unlimited Projects, up to 5 contributors each (9,999 if the owner is in an organization or is a verified student or educator) |
| API access | Add-on · Perplexity API, pay as you go; no subscription needed |
| Mobile apps | Yes · iOS and Android |
| Team plan | Yes · Enterprise Pro $40/seat/mo or $400/seat/yr; Enterprise Max $325/seat/mo or $3,250/seat/yr |
| Training opt-out | Yes · Toggle on Free, Pro and Max (on by default); Enterprise data never used |