Perplexity review: the search engine ChatGPT should have been
Perplexity is what we use when we need an answer with sources we can verify. The Pro plan unlocks better models and Spaces, and it's now our default for research.
Perplexity reinvented search by making sources first-class. Every answer cites its sources inline, you can drill into them, and Pro Search runs multi-step research that genuinely beats Google for most questions. For anyone who does research professionally, this is essential.
Last updated Jun 2, 2026
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Pros & cons
PROS
- Inline citations on every claim
- Pro Search runs multi-step research
- Excellent Spaces for project research
- Choice of models (GPT-5.5, Claude, etc)
- Generous free tier
CONS
- Citation quality varies — verify the source
- Pro Search can be slow
- Mobile app misses some web features
- File upload limits on Pro
What we tested
30 days on Pro ($20/mo). Used for product research, competitor analysis, and fact-checking blog posts.
Search quality
For 'what is the current state of X', Perplexity beats Google because it reads the top results for you. For 'what's the URL of Y', Google still wins.
Sources
The citation panel is the whole product. Good sources = good answer. We caught it citing low-quality blogs about 1 in 10 times.
Spaces
Upload PDFs + URLs into a Space, then ask questions across the whole collection. Genuinely useful for literature reviews.
Pricing
- Free: limited Pro Search
- Pro $20/mo: unlimited Pro Search, choice of models, file uploads
- Enterprise: custom
Verdict
Research professionals should pay for Pro. Everyone else gets a lot from the free tier.
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