Claude vs Perplexity

Claude

• Writing, analysis and coding help in one assistant
• Developers who want a coding agent included in their subscription
• Teams of 2 to 150 that need SSO and central billing

Perplexity

• Research questions where you want the sources behind each answer
• Follow-up questions that build on an earlier search
• Quick, current answers by voice or text on a phone

Claude

• Usage is capped in rolling five-hour sessions on every plan, and paid plans add weekly limits.
• Projects, Research, Claude Code and the Chrome and Microsoft 365 extensions are not in the Free plan.
• Enterprise bills usage at API rates on top of the seat price, and the Max 20x tier has no price on the pricing page.
• Payments are generally non-refundable, listed prices exclude tax, and the Linux desktop app is in beta.

Perplexity

• The plans page quotes annual-billing prices only: Pro at $17 and Max at $167 a month. The US App Store lists monthly subscriptions at $20.00 for Pro and $200.00 for Max.
• Pro and Max are described as for personal use only.
• Credits are sold separately in packs from $5.00 for 500 to $50.00 for 5,000.

Claude

Chat for writing, analysis and code

Write and edit content, generate code and visualize data in a conversation on the web, in desktop apps or on mobile.

Files, code execution and Artifacts

Claude can create files, run code and present generated content as Artifacts. All three are part of the Free plan.

Web search and Research

Web search is available on every plan. Research, for longer investigations, is listed with the paid plans.

Memory and Projects

Memory carries context across conversations on every plan. Projects, which organize chats and documents, start with Pro.

Connectors

Connect apps and tools such as Slack and Google Workspace, or add other context and tools through remote MCP connectors.

Claude Code

A coding agent for the terminal, VS Code and JetBrains. It is included in all paid plans and draws on the same usage pool as chat.

Perplexity

Cited answers

Responds to questions with answers drawn from current web content and lists the sources used for each one.

Pro Search and Deep Research

Guided AI search modes for exploring a question in more depth than a single answer.

Thread follow-ups

Ask follow-up questions in the same thread so later answers build on earlier ones. Past threads are kept in your Library.

Assistant

Handles tasks such as drafting emails, scheduling appointments and booking reservations.

Perplexity Labs

Turns a request into a finished report or project rather than a short answer.

Voice

Ask questions by speaking instead of typing and get up-to-date answers back.

Claude

• Free$0

  Chat on web, desktop and mobile, with web search, file creation, code execution, memory, connectors and Artifacts.

• Pro$17

  per month, billed annually ($200 up front)

  More usage, Projects, Research, Claude Code, task scheduling, more models and Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365. $20 if billed monthly.

• Team$20

  per seat / month, billed annually

  For teams of 2 to 150, with SSO and central billing. $25 if billed monthly. Premium seats with 5x more usage are $100, or $125 monthly.

• Enterprise$20

  per seat / month, billed annually, plus usage at API rates

  Team features plus spend limits, role-based access, SCIM, audit logs, a compliance API and custom data retention.

• MaxFrom $100

  per month

  Everything in Pro with a choice of 5x or 20x more usage, higher output limits, early access to features and priority at busy times.

Perplexity

• Free$0

  Cited answers, follow-up threads, a library of past searches and sync across devices.

• Pro$17

  per month, or equivalent, when billed annually

  Deep research, a choice of AI models, expanded Computer access, document and app creation, and higher usage limits and memory.

• Max$167

  per month, or equivalent, when billed annually

  Everything in Pro with the highest usage limits, 10,000 monthly credits, frontier models and priority access to new features.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Listed alongside Pro and Max on the plans page; pricing is not shown.

Claude

• Annual discount

  Lower price with annual billing

  Pro is $17 per month on an annual subscription ($200 billed up front) instead of $20 billed monthly. Team seats are $20 instead of $25, and premium seats $100 instead of $125.

• Nonprofit

  Nonprofit Team pricing from $3 per user

  Registered 501(c)(3) organizations, their international equivalents and K-12 schools can get the Team plan for $8 per user / month, or $3 in low- or middle-income countries.

• Education

  University-wide Education plan

  Anthropic offers institutions a university-wide plan covering students, faculty and staff at discounted rates, arranged through its Education team.

• Startups

  Startup program with API credits

  Venture-backed startups founded within the last four years can apply for free credits and priority rate limits. Credits apply to the Claude API, not to chat subscriptions.

Perplexity

• Annual discount

  Lower monthly cost with annual billing

  Perplexity's plans page prices Pro at the equivalent of $17 a month when billed annually; the US App Store lists the monthly subscription at $20.00.