Perplexity

Answer engine built around web retrieval, with citations attached to every response.

Overview

Perplexity answers questions by retrieving web sources and presenting citations alongside the answer, rather than generating prose first and linking afterwards. Paid plans let you choose between underlying models from several providers and include a deep-research mode that runs many queries and returns a longer sourced report.

Spaces keep a research thread and its uploaded files together, and an API is available for developers. It is a research-oriented product rather than a general-purpose work hub, and it complements a broad assistant more than it replaces one.

Best for

Research and source-led questions where seeing the evidence matters as much as the answer.

Key features

Citations included in answers
Deep research mode
Model choice on paid plans
Spaces for grouped research and files
File upload for questions about your own documents
Developer API

Pros

Sources are part of the output, making verification easier
Strong fit for discovery and inspection stages of research

Cons

Not designed as a general-purpose assistant for long-form production
Citations show where a claim came from, not whether the source is reliable

Pricing

Freemium

Free tier for limited daily use; paid individual, higher-usage and enterprise plans, plus separately metered API access.

Last verified: September 2026

Official pricing page

Plans and prices are set by the vendor and can change. Always confirm current pricing on their own page before buying.

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