Perplexity
Assistants & ChatbotsThe AI search engine that shows its sources.
Perplexity searches the web in real time and answers your questions directly, citing exactly where every fact came from.
Visit PerplexityWhat can Perplexity do?
Get cited answers instantly: Ask a question the way you'd ask a person and get a direct answer with numbered citations you can click through to the source.
Narrow your search with Focus modes: Point a search at Academic papers, Reddit threads, YouTube, News, or Wolfram Alpha instead of the open web.
Organize research in Spaces: Group documents, links, and custom instructions into a Space so Perplexity stays focused on one project or topic.
Analyze uploaded files: Upload PDFs, spreadsheets, images, and other files and ask questions about their contents.
Generate images and short videos: Turn a research topic or prompt into visuals or short video clips without leaving the conversation.
Run Deep Research reports: Kick off a multi-step research pass that reads dozens of sources and returns a structured, cited report.
Browse and act with Comet: Use Perplexity's Comet browser to summarize pages, compare tabs, and carry out multi-step tasks across the web.
Build simple apps and dashboards: Turn research into a working spreadsheet, dashboard, or small web app using Perplexity's Create feature.
Quick Facts
Free Plan?
Yes, unlimited standard search
Pricing
From $20/month
Launched
2022
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, USA
Pros
Answers come with visible, checkable citations: Every claim links back to a real source instead of asking you to take it on faith.
Deep Research and academic-focused modes: These modes are built for real research work, not just casual chat.
Generous free plan: Unlimited standard search with no daily cap, even without a paid subscription.
Comet extends search into the browser: The same citation-backed approach carries over to summarizing pages and working across your open tabs.
Cons
Not built for open-ended creative writing: Its search-first design makes it a weaker choice than a dedicated assistant for brainstorming or long-form creative work.
Free plan caps the good stuff: Pro Search, Deep Research, and file uploads are all limited without a paid plan. Only standard search is unlimited for free.
Advanced models can get rate-limited: Even on Pro, access to the more powerful models is sometimes throttled during unusually busy weeks.
Support leans on an AI chatbot: Getting a human involved on a billing or account issue can take a while. Support is mostly automated, without a fast escalation path.
Pricing
Free: $0
Unlimited standard search, limited Pro Search and Deep Research, Sonar model only
Pro: $20/month
Most popular$16.67/month billed annually ($200/year). Includes access to today's leading AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, plus expanded Deep Research and image and video generation.
Max: $200/month
$2,000/year billed annually. Includes Model Council across top models, unlimited Labs, and priority access during peak hours.
Enterprise Pro: From $40/seat/month
$400/seat/year billed annually. Includes SSO, admin controls, audit logs, and no training on your data.
Pricing and features may have changed. Check Perplexity's website for the latest details.
Knowtably Rating
Knowtably's Take
Perplexity treats citations as the product, not an afterthought, and that shows. It's genuinely useful for research, fact-checking, and staying on top of fast-moving stories. It leans more toward search and research than general-purpose chat, so it's not the best fit for creative writing or coding work.
We'd choose this if: You want direct, cited answers instead of a list of links, or a research tool built for fact-checking and staying current.
We wouldn't choose this if: You want an all-purpose creative writing or coding assistant.
Very Good
Knowtably Rating
Quick Facts
Free Plan?
Yes, unlimited standard search
Pricing
From $20/month
Launched
2022
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, USA