Free tier available at perplexity.ai — no card required. Pro plan is $20/month for real-time web search and more powerful models.
Open perplexity.ai in your browser. You can use it without an account for basic searches, or sign up for a free account to save your research history.
Type your question naturally. Perplexity works best for specific questions: 'What are the most effective treatments for chronic lower back pain in 2026?' rather than vague searches.
Every claim in the answer has a numbered citation. Click the numbers to see the original source. Always verify important facts at the primary source.
Click the globe icon to select a focus: Web (general), Academic (papers), YouTube (video), Reddit (community discussion). Academic mode is especially useful for research.
Like a conversation, ask follow-up questions to go deeper. 'What does the research say about [specific aspect]?' or 'Can you compare these two approaches?'
Yes — the free tier is useful for most research tasks. Pro at $20/month gives access to more powerful models and unlimited real-time searches.
For complex, multi-part research questions: yes. For quick lookups and finding specific websites: Google is still faster. See our AI alternatives guide.
Always verify important claims at the cited primary source. Perplexity reduces hallucination by citing sources, but AI can still misinterpret or misquote source material.