Perplexity plans compared
A search tool that answers your question in plain words and shows you where each fact came from. Perplexity currently sells 3 plans in the US, from $0 a month. Here is what each one includes and who it suits.
Which Perplexity plan is right for you?
Answer a few plain-English questions and we'll check your answers against every plan. Takes about a minute. No account needed.
Current Perplexity plans and prices
Verified September 21, 2026 from Perplexity's official pages. Prices are before tax and can change.
Free
$0 a month
Best for: Looking things up now and then and seeing where the answer came from.
- How much you can use it before it makes you waitA small number each week
- How smart the answers areThe basic answering system
- Choosing which answering system is usedNot included
- Long, thorough research reportsNot included
- Getting new features firstNot included
Pro
$20 a month
Best for: Most people who look things up every day and want proper research reports.
- How much you can use it before it makes you waitAbout ten times the free amount
- How smart the answers areThe leading systems from OpenAI, Google and Anthropic
- Choosing which answering system is usedIncluded
- Long, thorough research reportsIncluded
- Getting new features firstNot included
Max
$200 a month
Best for: Researchers and professionals who use it for hours a day and want the highest limits.
- How much you can use it before it makes you waitThe highest limits offered
- How smart the answers areThe very newest systems, including the slow careful ones
- Choosing which answering system is usedIncluded
- Long, thorough research reportsThe most thorough kind
- Getting new features firstIncluded
What actually differs between the plans
Only 5 things change as you move up the Perplexity plans: how much you can use it before it makes you wait, how smart the answers are, choosing which answering system is used, long, thorough research reports, getting new features first. Everything else is the same on every plan, so those are the only questions worth asking yourself.
| Plan | Price | How much you can use it before it makes you wait | How smart the answers are | Choosing which answering system is used | Long, thorough research reports | Getting new features first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | A small number each week | The basic answering system | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Pro | $20/mo | About ten times the free amount | The leading systems from OpenAI, Google and Anthropic | Included | Included | Not included |
| Max | $200/mo | The highest limits offered | The very newest systems, including the slow careful ones | Included | The most thorough kind | Included |
Head-to-head comparisons
Common questions about Perplexity plans
How is this different from just using Google?
It writes you an answer in plain sentences instead of a list of links, and it puts a small numbered reference next to each fact so you can click through and check where it came from.
Is the free version enough?
For looking something up a few times a week, yes. The free plan is search only: you do not get the long research reports, and you cannot choose which answering system is used.
Is Max worth ten times the price of Pro?
Only for people who use it constantly for research work. The features are broadly the same; what you are buying is far higher limits, the most thorough research mode and early access to new things.
Can I pay for a year at a time?
Perplexity's pricing page shows monthly prices only. If a yearly option exists it was not published there when this was checked, so ask before assuming a discount.
Where this information comes from
- Pricing – Perplexity ↗ – checked September 21, 2026
Checked 21 September 2026. Only monthly prices are published on Perplexity's pricing page; annual prices were not shown and have deliberately been left out rather than estimated. Perplexity does not publish exact daily search limits, deep research caps, image counts or file upload limits for any tier — the comparison table uses relative wording such as "10x" and dashes — so the ordinal levels here reflect that wording rather than measured numbers. The credit figures are quoted exactly as Perplexity states them; note that Pro's 4,000 and Max's 35,000 are described as bonus credits, while only Max is described as also receiving 10,000 credits every month.
BetterTier is not affiliated with Perplexity. Plan names are used only to identify the plans being compared.