9 questions answered. Every answer sourced.
Perplexity AI: The Cited-Answer Search Engine Explained
Perplexity is an AI answer engine: you ask a question and it searches the web, writes an answer and shows its sources. Here is what it does, what each plan costs, and when it beats a general chatbot.
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Facts checked against official announcements and documentation, October 2026 · Last updated October 2026
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01 · Basics
What Perplexity is
Perplexity is built around search and sources rather than open conversation.
What is Perplexity AI?
An AI answer engine that searches the web for your question, writes a direct answer and links the sources it used, so you can check claims. It also offers Deep Research reports, file uploads and tools to create files and apps.
Source: Perplexity: Pricing; Perplexity Help: Which subscription plan is right for you?
Is Perplexity better than ChatGPT?
For current, sourced answers it is often more convenient, because citations are built in. For drafting, coding and long creative tasks, a general assistant like ChatGPT or Claude is usually stronger. Many people use both.
What is Perplexity Comet?
Comet is Perplexity's AI browser, with an assistant that understands the pages you are on and can carry out tasks. The browser is free; agent features have limits by plan, with Max getting the highest.
Source: Perplexity Help: Which subscription plan is right for you?; Perplexity Help: Perplexity Max
02 · Plans
Perplexity pricing
Most people should start free and upgrade to Pro only if they hit limits.
Is Perplexity free?
Yes. The free plan includes everyday searches and a small number of Pro searches. Paid plans raise limits and add model choice and advanced tools.
Source: Perplexity Help: Which subscription plan is right for you?
How much is Perplexity Pro?
Perplexity Pro costs $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually. It raises limits, adds premium data sources and lets you pick a preferred model per query.
Source: Perplexity: Pricing
What does Perplexity Max add?
Max ($200 a month, or $167 annually) includes everything in Pro plus the highest access to advanced models, the Max Assistant in Comet with the highest browser-agent limits, extended file and app creation, and priority support.
Source: Perplexity Help: Perplexity Max; Perplexity: Pricing
03 · Tips
Getting better answers
A few habits make Perplexity's answers more reliable.
How do I get better results from Perplexity?
Ask specific questions, name the time period and region you care about, and open the cited sources for anything important. Use Deep Research for multi-source reports.
Can I trust Perplexity's citations?
Citations make checking easy but do not guarantee accuracy: a source can be weak or misread. Open the linked pages for facts that matter.
Does Perplexity have an API?
Yes. Perplexity offers an API that is billed separately from web subscriptions.
Source: Perplexity Help: Perplexity Max
Sources
Read and checked October 2026. Policies change, so confirm anything time-sensitive on the source page.