Pick Perplexity Free if…
you use Perplexity like a better search engine — a few lookups a day with sources attached.
Both plans give cited answers from the web. The gap is how many deeper Pro searches you get each day and which models write the answer.
Perplexity Free is enough for quick fact-checks: Quick searches are unlimited. Pay for Perplexity Pro ($20/mo) if five Pro searches a day isn't enough, or you want to pick GPT-5.6 or Claude and upload files without limits.
| Perplexity Free | Perplexity Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price / month | Free | $20/mo |
| What you get |
|
|
| Pro searches | 5 per day (Quick searches unlimited) | 300+ per day |
| Models | Standard model | GPT-5.6, Claude Sonnet 5, Sonar 2 |
| Extras | Search history | Unlimited file uploads, image generation, $5 API credits/mo |
Monthly prices in US dollars before tax, from each vendor's official pricing (US list price; weekly-billed plans converted to a monthly figure). Updated October 7, 2026
you use Perplexity like a better search engine — a few lookups a day with sources attached.
research is part of your job — you run many deep searches a day, analyse uploaded files, or want to choose the model behind each answer.
Yes. The free plan has unlimited Quick searches, 5 Pro searches a day, a standard model and search history.
Yes — annual billing works out cheaper than paying $20/mo month by month. Students should also check the Education Pro plan Perplexity added in April 2026.
How we choose: prices come from each vendor's official pricing page and are re-checked every week. We take no affiliate fees, so rankings aren't for sale.