The Perplexity Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Perplexity in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Perplexity
The Insider’s Guide
AI search assistant that answers questions with cited sources
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among AI assistants, read from Perplexity’s own pages.
Made by Perplexity AI, Inc. · checked Oct 4, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05After you payGetting your money back, getting out, and getting help
- 06The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 07Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Perplexity’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Perplexity’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 4, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.8
GPA, above 30 of the 57 other AI assistants we grade
Perplexity is an AI search assistant that answers questions with cited sources drawn from the web. Threads allow follow-up questions, Pro Search and Deep Research guide longer investigations, and Labs produces reports and projects. The app is free and syncs across devices, with paid Pro and Max plans above the free version.
To get you started, here are 10 things to know about Perplexity, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Check the sources too, as some users report citations that don't back the answer.
- 1
Best for research answers with the sources shown
Perplexity answers questions from the live web with its sources listed, and lets you dig further in the same thread.
- 2
Paid plans start at $17 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $17 per month when billed annually ($20 a month on the US App Store).
- 3
There is a free plan
Free to use, with cited answers, follow-up threads and sync across devices. Perplexity's plans page does not spell out the free plan's limits.
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android, with a browser extension too.
- 5
Cited answers
Responds to questions with answers drawn from current web content and lists the sources used for each one.
- 6
Pro Search and Deep Research
Guided AI search modes for exploring a question in more depth than a single answer.
- 7
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.
- 8
Refunds: 3 days
There is a refund window, and it is tiny: 24 hours on a monthly plan and 72 hours on a yearly one, outside the regions whose law gives people longer. Miss it and the terms say payments are non-refundable with no credit for part-used periods.
- 9
A 2.8 GPA, above 30 of 57
That is against the other AI assistants we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 10
Keep it
To replace Perplexity you would be making a search engine with an AI model behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Perplexity at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $17 per month when billed annually ($20 a month on the US App Store)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android, Browser extension
- Made by
- Perplexity AI, Inc., since 2022
- Category
- AI Assistants
- Our grade
- 2.8 GPA, good
- Store rating
- 4.8 on the App Store, 512,507 ratings
The report card
Best for research answers with the sources shown
Perplexity answers questions from the live web with its sources listed, and lets you dig further in the same thread. Free limits aren't stated, Pro is $17 a month only if you pay for the year ($20 monthly on the App Store), Pro and Max are for personal use only, and there's no desktop app. Check the sources too, as some users report citations that don't back the answer.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Pro is $17 a month billed annually, and $20 a month on the US App Store, against a category middle of about $12. Deep Research, the choice of models and the higher limits all sit up there, and Max is another world again at $167 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | C | Free use gets cited answers, follow-up threads, a library and sync across devices, which covers the odd question. The plans page never states the free limits, though, so you only learn where they are by hitting them. |
| Features | B | It covers its job: answers from live web pages with the sources listed, Pro Search and Deep Research for longer digs, Labs turning a request into a finished report, an Assistant that drafts email and books things, and voice. No image generation on the listing, and nothing it connects to. |
| Ease of use | A | 4.8 from about 512,500 App Store ratings, the highest in this category by some way. Type a question, read the answer, ask the next one. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, with your threads synced across them. No desktop app, and the listing names no integrations. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Perplexity is for
- Fits if you want the sources behind an answer, not just the answer
- Works for questions that lead to more questions, since follow-ups build on the same thread
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you won't check citations, as some users report sources that don't back the answer
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $20 on the US App Store against $17 a month billed annually, and Max is $167
- Not for you if you need the free limits up front, because the plans page doesn't give them
- Not for you if it's for a company, as Pro and Max are described as for personal use only and Enterprise has no price
- Watch out: credits are sold on top, from $5.00 for 500, and there's no desktop app or image generation listed
Good to know
Good for
- 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
Worth knowing
- 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.
What people say
- 4.8on the App Store, from 512,507 ratings
What they like
- Reviewers and commenters like getting a direct answer with its sources listed, in place of working through a page of search results themselves.
- Asking follow-up questions to dig further into a subject, in some cases as a kind of tutor, is a use that reviewers and a commenter describe.
What they don’t
- A reviewer and two commenters report answers that were wrong, or that cited sources which did not say what the answer claimed.
- Several commenters say they see little reason left to choose it over the large AI assistants or Google's own AI answers.
10 App Store reviews, nine of them four or five stars, from September 2023 to August 2026, and about 15 Hacker News comments from August to October 2026
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$17
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Perplexity has a free plan. Paid plans start at $17 per month when billed annually ($20 a month on the US App Store).
Free use gets cited answers, follow-up threads, a library and sync across devices, which covers the odd question.
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.
Enterprise
Custom
Listed alongside Pro and Max on the plans page; pricing is not shown.
The free plan
Free to use, with cited answers, follow-up threads and sync across devices. Perplexity's plans page does not spell out the free plan's limits.
Read from perplexity.ai on Oct 4, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on perplexity.ai
What the app costs elsewhere
Each country’s App Store price for “Perplexity Pro”, against $20.00 in the United States, in dollars at the day’s rate. The four cheapest and the four dearest of 11.
| Country | Price there | In dollars | Against the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $25.00 | $17.57 | 12% less |
| Indonesia | Rp 349ribu | $19.52 | about the same |
| Turkey | ₺999,99 | $20.34 | about the same |
| Philippines | ₱ 1,290.00 | $20.53 | about the same |
| South Africa | R399.99 | $24.19 | 21% more |
| Germany | 22,00 € | $24.65 | 23% more |
| Brazil | R$ 129,90 | $25.95 | 30% more |
| United Kingdom | £20.00 | $26.44 | 32% more |
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
4
Places it runs: Web, iOS, Android and Browser extension
AI search assistant that answers questions with cited sources. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, chat assistant, AI search.
No image generation on the listing, and nothing it connects to.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Browser extension
What it works with
Its own pages name no integrations.
Perplexity is made by Perplexity AI, Inc., and has been around since 2022.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
30/57
Other AI assistants it is graded above
Perplexity's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 30 of the 57 other AI assistants we grade, and level with 8.
It stands best on ease of use (A, above 44 of 57) and worst on value for money (C, above 5).
Its paid plans start at $17 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 32 of the 38 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.3 out of 4. 6 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 58 AI assistants we grade, cut by the letter each got. Perplexity’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 5 of 57
- CFree plan and trialAbove 5 of 57
- BFeaturesAbove 28 of 57
- AEase of useAbove 44 of 57
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 23 of 57
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 45 AI assistants. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Perplexity is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Perplexity you would be making a search engine with an AI model behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $204 a year.
What you could not
- A search engine with an AI model behind it.
- An AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- An API that other software can build on.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Perplexity’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Refunds
After you pay
Getting your money back, getting out, and getting help
What happens once you have paid: whether you can get your money back, how to leave, and how to reach a person when something goes wrong. Each is graded from Perplexity’s own terms and help pages.
Refunds and cancelling
Good · checked Oct 18, 2026
There is a refund window, and it is tiny: 24 hours on a monthly plan and 72 hours on a yearly one, outside the regions whose law gives people longer. Miss it and the terms say payments are non-refundable with no credit for part-used periods. The saving grace is that it is all self-serve: you cancel in Settings, the refund option appears beside the confirmation, and you keep Pro until the period you paid for runs out.
- Refund window
- 3 days
- How you cancel
- Yourself, in settings
- Getting your money back
The refunds article gives 24 hours from the purchase date on a monthly subscription and 72 hours on an annual one, with no exceptions after that, and says a second refund cannot be granted once a first has been. Customers in the EU, the UK or Turkey get 14 days and those in South Korea or Brazil 7 days, on either period. App Store refunds go through Apple. The terms otherwise say subscriptions are non-refundable.
Stated on perplexity.ai- How to cancel Perplexity
On a computer you open Settings, scroll to Subscription under Perplexity Pro, select Manage Subscription and then Cancel subscription. A subscription bought in the App Store or on Google Play is controlled by that store and no cancel option appears in Perplexity's own settings. The terms add that you can also cancel by writing to support before the renewal date.
- Open Settings at perplexity.ai/settings
- Scroll down to Subscription under Perplexity Pro
- Select Manage Subscription to reach the current plan page
- Choose Cancel subscription
- If you are inside the refund window, take the refund option offered with the cancellation confirmation
- What you keep afterwards
The account reverts to the free version at the end of the current billing cycle, and the terms say paid access continues to the end of the period already paid for. Cancelling and deleting are separate: the article warns that deleting your account does not end the subscription. Deleting removes your profile, preferences, settings, search history, sessions and shared content, permanently within 30 days.
Stated on perplexity.ai- Renewals
The terms say a subscription renews automatically at the frequency shown on your subscription page, or monthly if none is shown, at the then-current rates, and that the payment method is charged at the start of each period. To avoid the next charge you must cancel before the renewal date. No reminder before a renewal is mentioned.
Stated on perplexity.ai
In your favour
- The refund is self-serve: the option appears with the cancellation confirmation, with nobody to email.
- You cancel in Settings yourself and keep Pro to the end of the cycle you paid for.
- Buyers in the EU, the UK, Turkey, South Korea and Brazil get a longer window than everyone else.
- Deleting the account is self-serve too, and signing back in within 30 days undoes it.
Watch out for
- Twenty-four hours on a monthly plan and 72 on a yearly one is barely a window at all.
- After that the terms say payments are non-refundable, with no credit for part-used periods.
- Only one refund per account: a second request is refused once a first has been granted.
- Deleting your account does not cancel your subscription, so cancel before you delete.
Customer support
Ordinary · checked Oct 18, 2026
Paying customers reach the team through Help, then Contact Support, and there is a big help centre, a Discord and a public status page behind that. What no page gives is a time: no hours, no reply target, and priority on the Max plan is described only as faster, with no number. A contact form plus documentation and no stated wait is the ordinary arrangement.
Ways to get help
Contact form or ticket
The support portal, opened from Help then Contact Support inside Perplexity, takes account questions, billing queries and bug reports. The team is described as a small number of dedicated support professionals.
Stated on perplexity.aiHelp centre
The help centre covers getting started, features, subscription plans and billing, accounts, privacy and data, connectors, the mobile apps, the API and troubleshooting, in 11 languages and open without signing in.
Stated on perplexity.aiCommunity or forum
A Discord community that the contact article says Perplexity is active on for quick questions and feedback. The support article says Pro users have access to it and that community managers are on hand.
Stated on perplexity.ai
Not listed on Perplexity’s pages: live chat, phone.
- When people answer
Its pages do not say.
- How fast it says it replies
Its pages do not say.
- What depends on your plan
The plan guide says the free tier has no premium support, Pro adds exclusive support channels, Max subscribers get priority support with dedicated infrastructure and faster response times, and Enterprise gets dedicated support. None of those is given an hour or a target in writing.
Stated on perplexity.ai
In your favour
- Billing and account questions go to the same portal as bugs, so there is one place to write.
- The help centre is large, kept current and published in 11 languages.
- A public status page lets you check for an outage before you write in.
Watch out for
- No page states hours or a reply time, so priority support is a promise without a number.
- There is no live chat with an agent and no phone line.
- The free tier is told outright that it has no premium support.
- Support asks you to wait out slowness and session problems first, since they usually clear within hours.
What these two grades rest on. Read on 18 October 2026: Perplexity's terms of service and its help-centre articles on refunds, cancelling, account deletion, needing support, contacting the team and choosing a plan, plus the help centre index. The help centre turns plain readers away, so it was read through the machine-readable versions it publishes. Nobody here cancelled a plan, asked for a refund or contacted its support. They are graded apart from the five that make the GPA. How we grade refunds and support.
Part 06 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Gemini Notebook
The 4 tools Perplexity is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.4GPA
ChatGPT
Free plan · from $8/mo
OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voice.
- Only Perplexity lists a browser extension.
- Only ChatGPT lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- 3.8GPA
Gemini
Free plan · from $4.99/mo
Google's AI assistant, tied into Gmail, Docs and other Google apps.
- Only Perplexity lists a browser extension.
- Only Gemini lists macOS and Windows apps.
- 3.0GPA
Claude
Free plan · from $17/mo
Anthropic's AI assistant for writing, analysis and coding.
- Only Claude lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- 3.4GPA
Gemini Notebook
Free plan · from $4.99/mo
Google's AI research assistant that answers from your own sources.
- Only Perplexity lists a browser extension.
- Gemini Notebook also covers notes.
Part 07 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
19
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Perplexity free?
Perplexity has a free plan. Free to use, with cited answers, follow-up threads and sync across devices.
How much does Perplexity cost?
Perplexity lists 4 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Perplexity work on?
Perplexity is available on Web, iOS and Android. It also has a browser extension.
Does Perplexity offer any discounts?
Perplexity publicly lists the following: Lower monthly cost with annual billing.
How is Perplexity rated?
Perplexity's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 out of 5 from 512,507 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 7, 2026.
Is Perplexity any good?
We have not tested Perplexity, so this is what reviewers say. Often praised: Reviewers and commenters like getting a direct answer with its sources listed, in place of working through a page of search results themselves.
Does Perplexity have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 4, 2026. Perplexity is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Perplexity have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 4, 2026. Perplexity is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Perplexity open source?
Perplexity is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 4, 2026.
Does Perplexity have an API?
Yes. Perplexity offers a public API, according to its own site.
Who makes Perplexity?
Perplexity is made by Perplexity AI, Inc. It dates from 2022.
What are the alternatives to Perplexity?
The closest alternatives to Perplexity in our directory are ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Gemini Notebook.
Does Perplexity give refunds?
The refunds article gives 24 hours from the purchase date on a monthly subscription and 72 hours on an annual one, with no exceptions after that, and says a second refund cannot be granted once a first has been.
How do I cancel Perplexity?
On a computer you open Settings, scroll to Subscription under Perplexity Pro, select Manage Subscription and then Cancel subscription.
What happens to my data if I cancel Perplexity?
The account reverts to the free version at the end of the current billing cycle, and the terms say paid access continues to the end of the period already paid for.
How do I contact Perplexity support?
Perplexity's pages list these ways to get help: contact form or ticket, help centre and community or forum.
How does Perplexity compare with other AI assistants?
Perplexity's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 30 of the 57 other AI assistants we grade, and level with 8.
Is Perplexity good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Perplexity C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $17 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 32 of the 38 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Perplexity?
To replace Perplexity you would be making a search engine with an AI model behind it.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Perplexity’s own pages on Oct 4, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Perplexity's own pages on 4 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Its plans page turned our reader away on 9 October 2026, so the prices were compared with its US App Store listing. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-09-22.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Perplexity AI, Inc. Prices change, so check perplexity.ai before you buy.
Part 08 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Perplexity, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/perplexity
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Perplexity: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 4, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/perplexity
Know someone choosing between AI assistants?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/perplexity/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded AI assistants after Perplexity, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- AI Assistants Insider's GuideEvery one of the 58 AI assistants we grade, compared
- Gemini Insider's GuideGoogle's AI assistant, tied into Gmail, Docs and other Google apps3.8 GPA
- Chatbox Insider's GuideAI chat client for your own API keys or a hosted model plan3.4 GPA
- ChatGPT Insider's GuideOpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voice3.4 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Perplexity’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Perplexity is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Perplexity AI, Inc. Prices and plans change: check perplexity.ai before you buy.