Comparison
Perplexity vs ChatGPT
Use this as a starting point, then test both with the same real task before committing.
Criteria
Perplexity
ChatGPT
Best for
Fast web research and source-backed answers
Broad everyday and professional AI assistance
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
Web, iOS, Android, Desktop
Pricing
Free + paid plans
Free + paid plans
Free option
Yes
Yes
Key features
web search, citations, research
multimodal, files, web research, coding, custom workflows
Watch out
Source quality still needs human checking for high-stakes work.
A generalist; specialist tools can be better for narrow workflows.