Both are free to try and both sell a twenty-dollar month, but they answer different questions: one writes and reasons with almost no sourcing, the other searches and shows where every claim came from.
TL;DR
ChatGPT is a general assistant with a free tier, Go at $8, Plus at $20 and Pro from $100 a month, gating specific models so GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra start at Plus, alongside expanded deep research, memory and Codex. Perplexity is a search-and-answer tool: free for limited daily use with citations in every answer, Pro at $20 for deep research, top-model access and 4,000 bonus credits, and Max at $200 for expert-level research, frontier models and 10,000 monthly credits. ChatGPT meters plan limits and context windows; Perplexity meters credits and usage multipliers.
ChatGPT is a general assistant sold in four individual rungs. Free is $0 and runs GPT-5.6 Luna for unlimited text chats with limited uploads, image creation, voice, deep research, memory and Codex access. Go is $8 a month and raises those limits while noting the plan may include ads. Plus at $20 a month unlocks advanced reasoning models with GPT-6, expanded deep research and memory, projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs, and expanded Codex and ChatGPT Work across desktop, web and mobile. Pro, from $100 a month, adds a choice of three usage tiers, Pro reasoning on GPT-6 Astra, the longest Codex and Work sessions, an always-on Dot agent and maximum deep research. Business and Enterprise are priced per user per month; the pricing page read here carries no public figure for them.
Perplexity is a search engine with an answer layer. Free is $0 a month for limited daily usage and simple questions, with citations in every answer and access to basic AI models. Pro at $20 a month adds Perplexity Computer, deep research, access to top AI models with a preferred-model selection, search across the web, files and apps, and 4,000 bonus credits. Max at $200 a month steps to maximum Computer usage, expert-level research, frontier AI models, 35,000 bonus credits, 10,000 monthly credits and priority access to new features. Perplexity orchestrates several top models per query, and Pro and Max let you select one.
| Feature | ChatGPT | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Free $0 with unlimited text chats on GPT-5.6 Luna and limited uploads, images, voice, deep research and Codex | Free $0 for limited daily usage and simple questions, citations in every answer, basic AI models |
| Cheapest paid tier | Go $8 a month with more messages, uploads, images, voice and memory; may include ads | Pro $20 a month, the only paid step above free |
| Main tier | Plus $20 a month with GPT-6 reasoning, projects, tasks, custom GPTs and expanded deep research | Pro $20 a month with deep research, top models, model selection and 4,000 bonus credits |
| Heavy tier | Pro from $100 a month with three usage tiers, GPT-6 Astra reasoning and an always-on Dot agent | Max $200 a month with expert-level research, frontier models and 10,000 monthly credits |
| Model access | Gates models by tier: GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 Sol Pro start at Plus, with more access on Pro | Orchestrates top models including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Nemotron; Pro and Max select a preferred model |
| Citations | The pricing page lists search and a built-in browser on every plan but describes no inline citation behaviour | Citations in every answer on Free; Pro and Max add PitchBook, Statista and S&P Capital IQ |
| Deep research | Limited on Free, expanded on Plus, maximum on Pro | Deep research arrives on Pro; Max steps up to expert-level research |
| Usage metering | Plan-level limits and context windows: 27K on Free, 54K on Go and Plus, 128K on Pro; Pro offers three usage tiers | Credits and multipliers: Pro 4,000 bonus credits, Max 35,000 bonus plus 10,000 monthly; web answers 10x, video 5x |
| Apps and extensions | Plugins, apps connecting to internal tools on Plus and Pro, and Office and Google Sheets extensions | 400+ app connectors plus Comet Assistant and Comet Agent |
Pick ChatGPT if
ChatGPT's free tier covers unlimited text chats, Go at $8 lifts the limits, Plus at $20 adds GPT-6 reasoning, projects, tasks and custom GPTs, and Pro from $100 puts coding and research sessions on one bill. It searches and browses on every plan, but the pricing page makes no promise about citations.
Pick Perplexity if
Perplexity's free tier returns citations in every answer for limited daily use; Pro at $20 adds deep research, top-model access and 4,000 bonus credits; Max at $200 reaches expert-level research and frontier models with 10,000 monthly credits. Nothing below Pro is built for heavy use.
We collected no independent reviews, ratings or user quotations for ChatGPT or Perplexity in this run; model names, credit allowances and citation behaviour are the vendors' own. Prices were read from the OpenAI ChatGPT pricing page and the Perplexity pricing page on the date shown above.
Yes at the paid entry: ChatGPT Go is $8 a month against Perplexity Pro at $20, since Perplexity has no tier between free and Pro. At the main tier they match, with ChatGPT Plus and Perplexity Pro both $20 a month, while the heavy tiers diverge: ChatGPT Pro from $100, Perplexity Max $200.
OpenAI's pricing page lists search and a built-in browser on every plan, including Free, but it does not describe inline citation behaviour. Perplexity's page states that every answer, including on Free, carries inline citations showing exactly where each claim comes from.
ChatGPT describes deep research as limited on Free, expanded on Plus and maximum on Pro. Perplexity puts deep research on Pro and expert-level research on Max, with Max adding 35,000 bonus credits and 10,000 monthly credits.
Both are $0. ChatGPT Free gives unlimited text chats on GPT-5.6 Luna with limits on uploads, images, voice, deep research and Codex. Perplexity Free gives citations in every answer and basic models, and its own page calls it good for limited daily usage and simple questions.
ChatGPT Go $8 lifts message, upload and voice limits; Plus $20 adds GPT-6 reasoning, projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs; Pro from $100 adds three usage tiers and GPT-6 Astra. Perplexity Pro $20 adds deep research, top-model selection and 4,000 bonus credits; Max $200 raises limits and credits.
Max is $200 a month. It includes maximum Perplexity Computer usage, expert-level research, frontier AI models, 35,000 bonus credits, 10,000 monthly credits, the highest usage limits and memory, and priority access to new features.
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