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Source-backed analysis12

Review basis

The AppDuo team prepared this review by analysing product features, official documentation and user feedback to help you understand its strengths, limitations and suitability for your needs.

12 reference sources

Information updated Nov 10, 2026

How we review
Perplexity logo

Perplexity Review

AI answer engine that cites its sources

7.2/10

By · Updated

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
  • macOS
  • Windows
  • API
Freemium · $20.00/mo
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Our verdict

Perplexity suits people who want quick lookups with sources they can check inside the answer. The trade-offs are a steep Max tier, a poor Trustpilot score driven by support and billing complaints, and a growing list of copyright lawsuits.

Best for: People who research often and need citations to check claims

Skip it if: People who mainly want a general chatbot for long-form writing or open-ended chat

Pros

  • Answers link to their original sources, so they are easy to check.
  • Models from OpenAI and Anthropic are available in one app.
  • A free plan, iOS and Android apps, and the Comet browser for Mac and Windows.

Cons

  • Max costs 200 USD/month on monthly billing, ten times Pro.
  • Trustpilot shows 1.4/5 from 850 reviews (83% one star), with complaints about bot-only support and charges after cancelling.
All pros and cons · Who is it for?

Pros

  • 4.8/5 on the App Store (about 525,000 ratings) and 4.6/5 on Google Play (over 2.2 million).
  • Training on your data can be switched off in account settings.

Cons

  • Faces lawsuits over content use from Dow Jones, Britannica, Reddit, CNN and others, per Wikipedia.
  • Individual plans have training use on by default, and opting out does not remove data already collected.

Best for

  • Eligible students and educators considering Education Pro
  • Developers who need a web search API or an answer API with citations

Skip it if

  • People who want their data kept out of AI training by default

Experience & key features

What is Perplexity?

Perplexity is an AI search engine. You ask a question, it searches the web on the spot and writes a combined answer with links to each source. Its help center says you can choose OpenAI's GPT models or Anthropic's Claude, and use Deep Research plus file and app creation. Per Wikipedia, the search engine launched on 7 December 2022.

Key features

Beyond Q&A, Perplexity offers the Comet AI browser for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, which its product page says can automate tasks, research the web and organise email. There is also the Computer agent and a developer platform that includes a Search API (ranked web results as JSON) and an Agent API (answers with citations). If you link your inbox, Email Assistant reads messages to suggest replies.

Pricing and value

The official pricing page only shows annual billing: Free at 0 USD, Pro at 17 USD/month and Max at 167 USD/month. The US App Store in-app list shows Pro at 20 USD and 200 USD and Max at 200 USD, and Finout (April 2026) gives Pro at 20 USD/month or 200 USD/year and Max at 200 USD/month or 2,000 USD/year. Finout also lists Education Pro at 10 USD/month, Enterprise Pro at 40 USD and Enterprise Max at 325 USD per seat per month. The Terms of Service make subscriptions nonrefundable.

More analysis

Things to weigh

Perplexity rates well on app stores but only 1.4/5 on Trustpilot, where complaints centre on support and billing. According to Wikipedia, it faces lawsuits over use of publisher and platform content, including Dow Jones (2024), Britannica (September 2025), Reddit (October 2025) and CNN (May 2026). On privacy, individual plans allow training use by default; if you object, switch it off when you sign up, since the opt-out does not cover earlier data.

Compared with alternatives

Perplexity is strongest at cited lookup. For a general assistant for writing, coding or long documents, ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini cover more ground at similar paid-plan prices. Microsoft Copilot and Grok also search the web but do not centre the experience on citations the way Perplexity does.

Screenshots

First App Store product image of the Perplexity app
First App Store product image of the Perplexity app
Second App Store product image of the Perplexity app
Second App Store product image of the Perplexity app
Third App Store product image of the Perplexity app
Third App Store product image of the Perplexity app

Plans & pricing

Prices last verified Nov 10, 2026

Free

Free

Limited usage aimed at simple questions, basic AI models, citations in every answer.

Pro

$20/mo

$17/mo billed yearly

Expanded Computer access, 4,000 bonus credits, Deep Research, a choice of top AI models, document and app creation, higher usage limits and memory. The pricing page lists 17 USD/month billed annually; the US App Store in-app list and Finout (April 2026) show 20 USD/month or 200 USD/year.

Max

$200/mo

$167/mo billed yearly

Maximum Computer usage, 35,000 bonus credits plus 10,000 credits a month, frontier models, the highest usage limits and memory, and priority access to new features. The pricing page lists 167 USD/month billed annually; the US App Store and Finout (April 2026) show 200 USD/month.

Free plan limits
Free has capped usage and basic models only. The plan card says the cap is "daily" while the FAQ on the same page says "weekly", so check the pricing page before relying on either.
Free trial
No free trial
Cancellation & refunds

The Terms of Service say subscription payments are nonrefundable with no credit for partly used periods, except where the Terms or country-specific billing pages say otherwise. Cancel before the renewal date to avoid the next charge; access continues until the paid period ends.

Privacy

The privacy notice (last updated 23 October 2026) lists account details, queries, uploads, device data, IP-based location and, with sync on, Comet browsing history among the data collected. Data is used to improve services including AI models, though email content is excluded from training. Per the help center, "AI data retention" (training use) is on by default for Free, Pro and Max; it can be switched off under account Preferences, but the opt-out only covers data collected afterwards. Enterprise data is never used for training.

Official pricing page

Perplexity alternatives

Perplexity logoVSNotebookLM logoPerplexity vs NotebookLM
Gemini logo7.5/10

Gemini

Google's AI assistant, tied into Gmail, Drive, Android and Google storage plans

Freemium
ChatGPT logo7.5/10

ChatGPT

OpenAI's flagship AI assistant for writing, research, coding, images and voice

Freemium
All alternatives

Frequently asked questions

Is Perplexity free?

Yes. The Free plan has capped usage and basic models, with citations in every answer. Deep Research and top models come with Pro and above.

How much is Perplexity Pro?

The official pricing page lists 17 USD/month billed annually. Per the US App Store and Finout (April 2026), it is 20 USD a month or 200 USD a year.

Does Perplexity train on my data?

On Free, Pro and Max, yes, unless you turn off "AI data retention" in your account Preferences; the opt-out only applies from that point on. Email content and Enterprise data are not used for training.

What is Comet?

Comet is Perplexity's AI browser for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. The company says it can automate tasks, research the web and draft email replies. Per Wikipedia, it has been free to download since October 2025.

Can I get a refund if I cancel?

Generally no. The Terms of Service make subscriptions nonrefundable unless country-specific billing pages say otherwise. Cancel before the renewal date; you keep access until the paid period ends.

Review evidence & sources12

Scores

Ease of use
8.4
Why this score

A single Q&A box and well-rated mobile apps (App Store 4.8/5, Google Play 4.6/5) make it easy to pick up.

Features
8.3
Why this score

Cited search, Deep Research, a choice of models, file upload, the Comet browser, the Computer agent and developer APIs, though its strength is lookup rather than content creation.

Value for money
7.3
Why this score

Free is enough to try it; Pro at 20 USD/month (17 USD billed annually) sits in line with peers; Max at 200 USD/month only suits heavy users, and some Trustpilot reviewers say credits run out quickly.

Performance
7.8
Why this score

Answers draw on live web results with sources. No reliable independent benchmark was found and some Trustpilot reviewers report wrong answers, so the score stays moderate.

Support
5.2
Why this score

The help center covers plans, billing and privacy, with email support. But the Trustpilot profile is unclaimed with no company replies, and many reviews describe bot-only support, hard cancellation and charges after cancelling.

Privacy & security
6.0
Why this score

There is a training opt-out, email content is excluded from training and Enterprise data is never used. Against that: training is on by default for individual plans, the opt-out is not retroactive, Comet can store browsing history, and Wired reported in June 2024 that its crawlers appeared to ignore robots.txt.

What users say

Sources

Specs & compatibility
Developer
Perplexity AI, Inc.
Headquarters
United States
Launched
2022
Category
AI

Capabilities

  • AI features
  • Public API
  • Mobile app
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Integrations

Platforms

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
  • macOS
  • Windows
  • API

Interface languages

  • English
  • Vietnamese
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Chinese
  • Thai
  • Indonesian

Integrations

  • Perplexity API (Search API, Agent API)
  • Comet
  • Email Assistant

Support

  • Email
  • Help center

Change history

  1. Update.The privacy notice was last updated.
  2. Feature.Perplexity Computer, a general-purpose AI agent, launches; the company also drops its AI advertising strategy for a subscription-first model.
  3. Price.Comet becomes free to download.
Full change history (7)
  1. Feature.The Comet AI browser launches, initially limited to the top subscription tier.
  2. Company.Raises 500 million USD at a 14 billion USD valuation.
  3. Launch.The Perplexity search engine launches.
  4. Company.Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho and Andy Konwinski found the company.
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