Head-to-head · profiles checked Sep 30, 2026
Pick Perplexity for research where every answer needs numbered source links; pick Google Gemini if you work in Gmail, Drive and Chrome or want image and video generation. Gemini has the lower confirmed paid entry: Google AI Plus is $4.99/mo. Perplexity's Pro price is unconfirmed; Max is $200/mo. Perplexity and Gemini both have a free plan.
Perplexity$10/mo (Education Pro (consumer, verified students/faculty))
vs 
Google Gemini$4.99/mo (Google AI Plus)
We based this comparison on our verified Perplexity and Google Gemini profiles, both checked on 2026-09-30; we ran no benchmark, used no third-party benchmarks and took no vendor payments.
Pick Perplexity if your main job is research where every answer needs numbered source links, or if you want a web search API for your own product. Pick Google Gemini if you live in Gmail, Drive and Chrome, want image and video generation, or want a low-cost first paid plan at $4.99/mo. Perplexity's Pro price could not be confirmed in its profile, while Max is $200/mo and Gemini's top individual tiers start at $99.99/mo. Perplexity and Google Gemini both train on consumer data by default unless you change a setting.
Based on our Perplexity and Google Gemini profiles, both verified on 2026-09-30; no benchmark was run.
Our own captures of each vendor's public pages. Click a frame for the full-size image.
If you only want the answer, this is the table. Everything below is the evidence from the two documented profiles.
| You want to | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fact-check a claim and see the original sources | Perplexity | Every Perplexity answer carries numbered citations to the sources used. |
| Write a long research report | Either | Perplexity Research and Gemini Deep Research both write multi-source reports. |
| Summarize a long PDF or document | Google Gemini | Gemini AI Pro has a 1M-token context window; Perplexity accepts files up to 50 MB. |
| Search across my own files and team drives | Perplexity | Perplexity Spaces connect Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, Box and Dropbox on Enterprise. |
| Draft or summarize emails in Gmail | Google Gemini | Gemini works inside Gmail, Docs and Calendar on paid plans. |
| Create images | Google Gemini | Image generation is included in Gemini's free tier; Perplexity offers it on paid plans. |
| Create video clips | Google Gemini | Gemini lists video generation on paid plans; Perplexity Enterprise Max includes 15 video generations a month. |
| Talk to an assistant by voice | Google Gemini | Gemini Live offers real-time voice conversation; the Perplexity profile does not describe voice. |
| Pick between models from different labs | Perplexity | Perplexity's model selector lets paid users choose GPT, Claude, Gemini or Nemotron per query. |
| Add web search to my own app | Perplexity | Perplexity's Search API costs $5 per 1,000 requests. |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity Standard (Free) | Perplexity | $0 | Practically unlimited basic searches; very limited Pro Searches; limited Research |
| Perplexity Pro | Perplexity | Not stated | Extended Pro Search; up to 50 files per Space; 50 MB file size |
| Perplexity Education Pro | Perplexity | $10/mo | Requires student or faculty verification |
| Perplexity Max | Perplexity | $200/mo | 10,000 Computer credits per month; up to 500 files per Space |
| Perplexity Enterprise Pro | Perplexity | $40/seat/mo | Extended limits vs Pro; files retained 7 days; 500 Computer credits per month |
| Perplexity Enterprise Max | Perplexity | $325/seat/mo | 15,000 Computer credits per month; 15 video generations per month |
| Perplexity API Platform (Search API) | Perplexity | $5 per 1,000 requests | 50 query units per second; no complimentary API credits |
| Gemini Free | Google Gemini | $0 | 32k token context; compute-based limits refreshing every 5 hours; 15 GB storage |
| Google AI Plus | Google Gemini | $4.99/mo | 2x Free usage limits; 400 GB storage |
| Google AI Pro | Google Gemini | $19.99/mo | 4x Free usage limits; 1M token context; 5 TB storage |
| Google AI Ultra (5x) | Google Gemini | $99.99/mo | 5x AI Pro usage limits; storage from 20 TB |
| Google AI Ultra (20x) | Google Gemini | $199.99/mo | 20x AI Pro usage limits; storage from 20 TB |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Sep 30, 2026. Perplexity pricing in full · Google Gemini pricing in full
| Perplexity | Google Gemini | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages / rate limits | Free: practically unlimited basic searches, very limited Pro Searches; Pro has extended access that may be limited in heavy-usage weeks | Compute-based limits that refresh every 5 hours until a weekly limit; Plus 2x, Pro 4x Free; Ultra 5x or 20x Pro |
| Context / file size | Files up to 50 MB; 50 files per Space on Pro, 500 on Max | 32k tokens on Free; 1M tokens on AI Pro and Ultra; up to 10 files per prompt |
| Seats / team | Enterprise Pro $40/seat/mo; Enterprise Max $325/seat/mo; SSO, SCIM and audit logs | Gemini Enterprise Business up to 300 seats at $21/seat; Standard / Plus unlimited seats, contact sales |
| API limits | Search API 50 query units per second; Agent API 1 to 33 QPS by usage tier | Free tier has lower rate limits; paid tier uses Tier 1-3 by cumulative spend |
| Feature | Perplexity | Google Gemini |
|---|---|---|
| Image generation | Yes (paid plans) | Yes (including Free) |
| Video generation | Yes (Enterprise Max lists 15 per month) | Yes (paid plans) |
| Voice | Not stated | Yes (Gemini Live) |
| File upload | Yes (text, code, PDF, images, audio, video up to 50 MB) | Yes (up to 10 files per prompt) |
| Web search | Yes (real-time, with citations) | Yes (Deep Research analyzes hundreds of sources) |
| Agents / tools | Yes (Computer, credit-based) | Yes (Gemini Spark, Gems and skills) |
| API | Yes (Search, Agent, Embeddings; billed separately) | Yes (Developer API with free and paid tiers) |
| Mobile apps | Yes | Yes |
| Perplexity | Google Gemini | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Consumer plans: queries may be used for training unless you turn off AI data retention; Enterprise never trained on | Personal accounts with Keep Activity on are used for training; paid API and Gemini Enterprise are not |
| Retention | Threads kept until you delete them; thread files 90 days (7 for Enterprise) | Auto-delete after 18 months by default; temporary chats kept 72 hours |
| Business controls | SSO, SCIM, audit logs, configurable retention; SOC 2 Type II report | Enterprise data not used for training; Standard / Plus add VPC-SC, CMEK and data residency |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
AI answer engine that searches the web and replies with cited sources, plus developer search APIs.
Free stops at: Practically unlimited basic searches, Very limited amount of Pro Searches
Verified perplexity.ai (opens Perplexity website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $10/mo US · checked Sep 30
Google's multimodal AI assistant, available free with higher limits through Google AI subscriptions.
Free stops at: Varying access to 3.1 Pro, Standard compute-based usage limits; refresh every 5 hours until weekly limit
Verified gemini.google.com (opens Google Gemini website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $4.99/mo US · checked Sep 30
Gemini has the lower paid entry point: Google AI Plus is $4.99/mo and AI Pro is $19.99/mo. Perplexity's Pro price was not confirmed in the profile, though Education Pro is $10/mo and Max is $200/mo. Both have a free plan.
Perplexity returns numbered citations on every answer, and Pro users get 10x as many citations. Gemini's Deep Research analyzes hundreds of sources, but the profile does not describe per-answer citations the same way.
Yes, Perplexity and Gemini both can on consumer plans. Perplexity uses queries for training unless you turn off the AI data retention toggle; Gemini uses activity with Keep Activity on. Perplexity Enterprise and Gemini Enterprise state that data is not used for training.
Yes, Perplexity and Gemini both have an API, billed separately from chat plans. Perplexity's Search API costs $5 per 1,000 requests with no complimentary credits. Gemini's Developer API has a free tier and a paid tier priced per 1M tokens.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
compare>
