Verdict
Perplexity answers questions with numbered links to its sources, so checking a claim takes one tap. PCMag rates it the best AI search tool it has tested, though testers still catch confident wrong answers. Pro costs £20 a month in the UK, and paying users in user reviews complain about new credit limits and constant upsells.
Privacy note. Trains on consumer chats by default with a clear toggle (a 3), marked down for five live publisher lawsuits and Cloudflare's 2025 stealth-crawler report
Best for
Questions where the source matters as much as the answer
Skip if
Anyone who wants a free tool with no upsell, or who objects to its fights with publishers
Key facts
- Category
- Search & quick answers
- Made by
- Perplexity AI, Inc.
- Based in
- United States
- Launched
- 2022
- Works on
- iPhone, Android, Web, Windows, Mac
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- £20 a month
- Free plan
- Free plan with unlimited basic searches and limited weekly use of advanced models and research
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Pro (billed annually) | $17 | month |
| Max (billed annually) | $167 | month |
What it does
- answers questions with inline citations to sources
- runs deep research on a topic
- lets users choose between AI models from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and xAI
- builds documents, apps and tools with its Computer agent
Ratings
What people say
Paying users still like it for straightforward cited search, but the loudest 2026 user threads complain about tighter Pro limits, a credit system and constant pushes toward its Computer agent. The 4.8 App Store average sits far above a 1.4 Trustpilot score, where billing complaints dominate.
“I'm happy paying for Perplexity Pro and it works well for my casual use case.”
Individual user review, 7 June 2026 · source
“if what you want is the pure OG use case of Perplexity, there is generally no major problems.”
Individual user review, 7 June 2026 · source
“The credit system in Perplexity is absolutely awful. I left them and went with Claude and never looked back.”
Individual user review, 16 June 2026 · source
“Perplexity Pro is an absolute joke now. You’re literally paying $20 a month for a duct-taped bundle of free tiers”
Individual user review, 9 September 2026 · source
“One day you made your last Perplexity search and never thought about it again”
Post on X, 3 October 2026 · source
Press reviews
- PCMag 2026-08-26
Picked as best for AI search; less conversational than other chatbots but excels at web search with generally accurate answers and an excellent interface.
- Tom's Guide 2026-01-28
Numbered citations make it one of the quickest ways to fact-check an AI answer; more of a research tool than its search bar suggests.
- MakeUseOf 2026-10-10
As an Android assistant it finished 8 of 10 chores but took about 45 seconds to start a weather answer, versus 2 seconds for Gemini.
- TechRadar 2025-02-18
Deep Research is fast and cheap but invented a wrong answer in one test; human checking is mandatory.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- Yes by default for Free, Pro and Max users ('AI data retention' is on by default); Enterprise data is never used
- Opt-out
- Account > Preferences > turn off 'AI data retention'. Applies only to data collected after opting out; earlier training data cannot be removed
- Retention
- Personal information kept while the account is active and removed within 30 days of account deletion; uploaded files kept 30 days
- Incidents
- Copyright and scraping lawsuits from Dow Jones/New York Post (2024), Encyclopaedia Britannica (Sep 2025), user reviews (Oct 2025; motion to dismiss mostly rejected 31 Jul 2026), New York Times (Dec 2025) and CNN (28 May 2026); Cloudflare reported undeclared 'stealth' crawlers in Aug 2025; Amazon sued over the Comet agent in Nov 2025 (injunction vacated on appeal). None are user-data breaches.
- Age limit
- 13+; under-18s need a parent or guardian to accept the terms. UK App Store rates it 18+
In court
Lawsuits and regulator actions involving Perplexity AI. Claims are the claimant's allegations unless a court or regulator has ruled. The privacy score above was reviewed against this record. Who runs Perplexity AI: Aravind Srinivas.
- Dow Jones v. PerplexityPending
The publishers allege Perplexity copied and used their protected news content without permission.
S.D.N.Y. · 1:24-cv-07984 · Discovery; sealed scheduling order entered 3 September 2026.
The publishers allege Perplexity reproduces their articles in answers and evaded website access controls.
S.D.N.Y. · 1:25-cv-07546 · Output-claim dismissal motion remained pending 2 September 2026.
- Reddit v. SerpApiPending
Reddit alleges Perplexity obtained its content through Google search results after Reddit blocked direct scraping.
S.D.N.Y. · 1:25-cv-08736 · Key claims survived dismissal on 31 July 2026; discovery continues.
- Amazon v. PerplexityPending
Amazon alleges Perplexity's Comet shopping agent accessed Amazon through user accounts without authorisation.
N.D. Cal.; Ninth Circuit · 3:25-cv-09514 · Ninth Circuit vacated injunction; amended complaint filed 21 September 2026.
The Times alleges Perplexity copied and distributed its articles, including paywalled material, without authorisation.
S.D.N.Y. · 1:25-cv-10106 · No merits ruling identified as of 12 October 2026.
- CNN v. PerplexityPending
CNN alleges Perplexity copied CNN material and generated answers that reproduced or falsely attributed CNN content.
S.D.N.Y. · 1:26-cv-04427 · Filed 28 May 2026; no merits ruling identified.
Official videos
- Perplexity for iPhone 2023-03-31
FAQ
Is Perplexity free?
Yes. The free plan covers ordinary searches with sources. Pro costs £20 a month on the UK App Store and adds more advanced models and research.
Is Perplexity better than Google?
For questions that need a summary with sources, testers at PCMag and Tom's Guide prefer it. For maps, bookings and shopping, Tom's Guide found it often hands back to Google.
Does Perplexity use my searches to train its AI?
Yes by default on free and paid personal plans. It can be turned off under Account, Preferences, 'AI data retention', but only for data collected after that.
Is Perplexity Pro worth it?
individual reviewers who mostly search say yes. Heavier users complain that 2026 changes added credit limits and pushes toward the Computer agent.
Can children use Perplexity?
Its terms set a minimum age of 13, with parental consent needed under 18. The UK App Store rates the app 18+.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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