Perplexity
Good for: Asking questions and getting AI answers with cited sources
SourcesMakerperplexity.ai
Details
MakerPerplexity AI
Use case🔎 Research & search
Free tieryes
Starting pricePro from $17/mo billed annually
Pricing checkedOct 14, 2026
StatusTested on free plan
Plan we testedFree plan
TestedOct 14, 2026
VerdictPass
Prices are from the official pricing page on Oct 14, 2026 and can change; check the pricing page before you buy.
Our test
Accurate, cited answers in a few seconds on the free plan. But source lists are padded with off-topic items, and the comparison relied on blogs rather than official pages. Model choice and Deep research are locked.
Tested on free plan · Oct 14, 2026 · verdict Pass (3/3 tasks passed)
What we tested
- Current-events question with citations PassAccurate answer with real, clickable sources (MacRumors, Wired, CNBC checked). Source list padded with off-topic items; one malformed link.
- Comparison table of Notion, Obsidian and Logseq free plans PassGood table, with caveats: every source was a secondary blog, no official pricing pages.
- Summarize a URL (Wikipedia page on MCP) PassFive accurate bullets.
What the free plan limited
No named model choice (all locked); Deep research locked (upgrade page); Model council is Max-only; frequent Upgrade-to-Pro banners. No usage counter shown. No card needed to sign up.