Perplexity combines web search with AI-generated answers and linked sources. The free Standard plan suits occasional research and quick comparisons, while advanced searches, file use, and premium model access have separate limits or paid requirements.
Web answers with citations
Search history
Basic file uploads
Limited advanced searches
Is it a good fit?
Best suited to
Finding sources and comparing information quickly
Before you choose
Advanced searches and uploads are limited. Summaries can misread source context.
Editorial assessment based on the provider’s published information. Our method
Know what you're signing up for.
The Standard plan provides ongoing free basic search, history, and limited uploads and advanced searches. Premium model access, image generation, and higher research allowances belong to separate paid plans.
Free
$0per account
Basic searches, limited uploads, and a small advanced-search allowance; premium model selection excluded.
Ask a focused question and include the date range or jurisdiction when relevant. Open the cited sources and compare their dates before accepting a synthesis. Use follow-up questions to identify disagreements or missing evidence, and keep important original links rather than retaining only the generated answer.
This is best suited to finding sources and comparing information quickly. Before committing a larger project, account for these trade-offs: advanced searches and uploads are limited; summaries can misread source context.
A few things you might be wondering.
Is Perplexity free?
The Standard plan provides ongoing free basic search, history, and limited uploads and advanced searches. Premium model access, image generation, and higher research allowances belong to separate paid plans.
Does Free let me choose all premium AI models?
No. The Standard plan uses provider-selected models and excludes advanced model access.
Are citations a substitute for reading sources?
No. Check the underlying pages for accuracy, context, and freshness.
Where can I check the latest prices?
Use the provider link on this page. Billing period, location, team size, promotions, taxes, and optional extras may affect the amount you pay.
How should I compare this tool with alternatives?
Choose tools for the same task, then compare their feature limits, platform support, and total cost for your team. The Compare button helps you keep a shortlist.
Are the user reviews moderated?
Yes. New reviews are submitted for moderation. We show published user reviews separately from the editorial overview and never assign a default user rating.
Gemini Notebook, formerly NotebookLM, helps users question and summarize supplied source collections. Its notebook structure and source-linked answers support study and research workflows where the starting point is a defined set of documents.
Ongoing free plan
100 notebooks per user and 50 sources per notebook on the no-AI-plan tier; other feature limits apply.
RAGFlow helps teams ingest documents, retrieve relevant passages, and build AI answers from a knowledge collection. Its open-source deployment combines document-processing and retrieval workflows for organizations that need control over their own retrieval infrastructure.
Free open-source software
Self-hosted software is free; server infrastructure and administration cost extra. Model/API usage is separate.
Ollama runs downloadable language models on a personal computer and exposes them through a command line and local API, making it useful for experimenting with assistants and connecting applications to local inference.
Free open-source software
Local runtime is free; model terms, hardware, and optional cloud or API usage are separate.
Jan provides a desktop chat interface for downloaded language models, with local conversations and configurable model connections. It suits people who want an accessible way to explore local AI without starting with a terminal.
Free open-source software
Local runtime is free; model terms, hardware, and optional cloud or API usage are separate.