Perplexity
About
Perplexity is an AI-powered answer engine. Instead of returning a list of links like a search engine, it reads the web for you and writes a direct answer with numbered citations, so you can check where each claim came from. The company was founded in San Francisco in 2022.
Researchers, students, journalists and analysts use Perplexity as a faster alternative to web search for researching topics, comparing products, following news and gathering sources for reports. It also offers Comet, an AI web browser, and Perplexity Computer, an agent for multi-step tasks.
As of October 2026, Perplexity has a Free plan, Pro at $20 a month, and Max at $200 a month for power users. Verified students and educators can get Education Pro for $10 a month, and Enterprise Pro starts at $40 per user per month.
Features and integrations
-
Cited Answers: Perplexity searches the web in real time and writes a direct answer with numbered source links, so users can open the original pages behind every claim.
-
Model Choice: Pro and Max users can pick the AI model behind their answers, including models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, or let Perplexity choose automatically.
-
Deep Research: For complex questions, Perplexity runs many searches, reads dozens of sources and compiles a longer report with citations.
-
Spaces: Spaces group research threads, uploaded files and custom instructions by project, and can be shared with teammates for collaborative research.
-
Comet Browser: Comet is Perplexity's AI web browser, free for everyone, which can summarise pages, answer questions about what you are reading and complete tasks while you browse.
-
Perplexity Computer and Sonar API: Perplexity Computer is an agent that carries out multi-step tasks, and the Sonar API lets developers add Perplexity's search-backed answers to their own apps.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Sources on every answer: Each response shows numbered links to the pages it used, which makes fact-checking quicker and suits academic, journalistic and business research.
- Faster than traditional search: Perplexity reads and summarises multiple pages for you, saving the time spent opening and scanning search results one by one.
- Choice of AI models: Pro and Max subscribers can choose between leading models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, as well as Perplexity's own Sonar models.
- Student-friendly pricing: Education Pro gives verified students and educators the full Pro plan at half price.
Cons
- Weaker for long-form writing: Perplexity is built for finding and summarising information, so long creative writing and document editing are better handled by ChatGPT or Claude.
- Citations are not a guarantee: It can still misread a source or rely on a weak one, so important claims should be checked by opening the linked pages.
- Shifting limits: Perplexity changed plan limits and features several times during 2026, and some capabilities are reserved for the $200 Max plan.
Founder
Aravind Srinivas
Founder, Perplexity AI
Aravind Srinivas is the co-founder and CEO of Perplexity, which he started in 2022 with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho and Andy Konwinski. Before Perplexity he worked as a research scientist at OpenAI and held research roles at Google and DeepMind. He holds a PhD in computer science from UC Berkeley and studied at IIT Madras.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to write one.
Write a review
Related tools
Last updated October 5, 2026