Perplexity - AI Search & Chat

Perplexity Review: Cited Answers, but Credits Cost Extra

Three Free Pro Searches a Day, Eight Models on Pro

The help center's plan table gives the free tier three Pro Searches a day and one Research query a month, with a setting called Best choosing the model. Pro, listed by Apple at $20, opens a selector with eight entries: the company's own Sonar 2, GPT-5.6 Terra, Gemini 3.7 Flash, Claude Sonnet 5, Kimi K3, GLM 5.3, Grok 4.6 and Nemotron 3 Ultra. Max, at $200 a month, adds GPT-5.6 Sol and Claude Opus 5. The list is a September snapshot, and models are added and retired as providers release them. Screenshots show Pro Search's step counter and a row of source icons above each answer.

Pro Search Asks Before It Searches

Type a broad request such as a trip to Thailand and the thread opens with a Pro Search card marked Understanding question: chips for Beaches, Temples, National Parks and Cities, a free-text box, and Skip or Continue buttons. Under each answer a Related block turns suggested questions into the next search with one tap on the plus sign. Deep Research repeats the habit for bigger jobs: it asks clarifying questions first, shows which sources it is reading, accepts follow-ups while it runs, and streams the report into a file that can be edited and shared. Finished threads go to the Library, which has Pages and Collections tabs.

Credits: 500 for $5, and None Monthly on Pro

Ask searches never use credits. They are spent only when Computer takes a job, the agent behind the autopilot update in the App Store listing that repeats tasks on a schedule, at most hourly. A dollar buys 100 credits; in-app packs are 500 for $5, 1,000 for $10, 2,500 for $25 and 5,000 for $50. Pro has no monthly allowance, only a one-time 4,000-credit bonus that expires after 30 days, while Max includes 10,000 a month. Auto-refill starts off and triggers at 500 credits on Pro. Recent Google Play reviews keep returning to this gap. Prices are US listings and can change.

An 18+ Rating, an Advertising Flag and Two Privacy Cards

Apple rates the app 18+, listing infrequent mature or suggestive themes, medical information, sexual content or nudity and weapons, and flags advertising; Google Play rates it Teen and shows no ads badge. Apple's privacy label links purchases, location, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics to the user, while Google Play says app activity, performance data and device IDs may be shared with third parties. Queries are used to improve the company's models unless the AI Data Usage toggle in Settings is off. Incognito threads expire within 24 hours, and Memory can be reviewed and cleared in Settings.