Marketing
Perplexity
AI answer engine that replies with cited sources from the web
What is Perplexity?
Perplexity is an AI answer engine that searches the web and replies with inline citations. It picks from models by several providers, runs deep research and offers Perplexity Computer, which carries out multi-step work such as building documents and apps, with more access on paid plans. Businesses can buy Enterprise seats, and developers can use a pay-per-use API.
Good for
- Getting a sourced answer to a factual question
- Researching a market or competitor with cited sources
- Comparing products or prices across the web
Key features
- Answers with inline citations
- Choice of models from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and others on paid plans
- Deep research
- Perplexity Computer for multi-step work, documents and apps
- 400+ app connectors on paid plans
- Premium data sources such as PitchBook and Statista on paid plans
Limitations to know about
- The Free plan has limited daily usage and basic models
- Among individual plans, monthly Computer credits (10,000) are included only in Max
- Individual plans are for personal use only
Perplexity pricing
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Limited daily usage, basic models, citations |
| Pro | $20/month, or $17/month billed annually | Deep research, model choice, expanded Computer access, 4,000 bonus credits |
| Max | $200/month, or $167/month billed annually | 10,000 monthly Computer credits, advanced reasoning models, highest limits |
| Enterprise Pro | $34/seat/month billed annually | 500 Computer credits per seat, SSO, no training on data, SOC 2 Type II |
| Enterprise Max | $271/seat/month billed annually | 15,000 Computer credits per seat, SCIM, audit logs, data retention settings |
Free plan limits: Limited daily usage, basic AI models, citations in every answer; limited file uploads, asset generation and Comet Agent use
Perplexity alternatives
ChatGPT
OpenAI's AI chat assistant for writing, research, images, voice and coding
Google Gemini
Google's AI assistant app, with paid Google AI plans for higher limits
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft's free consumer AI assistant, with more use in Microsoft 365 plans
Claude
Anthropic's AI assistant for writing, analysis, research and coding
Grok
AI assistant from xAI, now part of SpaceX, with real-time web and X search
Meta AI
Meta's AI assistant inside WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and its own app
Head to head: Perplexity vs ChatGPT
Guides that use Perplexity
Frequently asked questions
Is Perplexity free?
Perplexity has a free plan. Limited daily usage, basic AI models, citations in every answer; limited file uploads, asset generation and Comet Agent use. Paid plans start at $17/mo billed annually.
How much does Perplexity cost?
Perplexity's cheapest paid plan, Pro, costs $20 a month billed monthly and $17 a month billed annually. The Pro page shows $17/month 'or equivalent' when billed annually. The separate developer API is billed per token and per request (for example Sonar at $1 per million input and output tokens plus request fees). There is also an enterprise plan priced on request. Prices as published on Perplexity's pricing page on 23 September 2026.
What is Perplexity used for?
Perplexity is an AI answer engine that searches the web and replies with inline citations. People use it for getting a sourced answer to a factual question, researching a market or competitor with cited sources and comparing products or prices across the web.
What are the alternatives to Perplexity?
Tools that do a similar job include ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Claude and Grok. Each has its own page here with its plans, limits and prices.
Who makes Perplexity?
Perplexity is made by Perplexity AI, based in San Francisco, California, US. The company was founded in 2022.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from Perplexity AI's own pages, read on the dates shown.
- perplexity.ai/hub/pricing (individual and enterprise plans, monthly prices, features, FAQ (read in a browser because WebFetch got 403)) read 23 September 2026
- perplexity.ai/pro (annual-billing prices for Pro and Max, personal-use note (read in a browser)) read 23 September 2026
- docs.perplexity.ai/getting-started/pricing (API pricing model) read 23 September 2026
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perplexity_AI (company founded and HQ) read 23 September 2026