Head-to-head · profiles checked Oct 1, 2026
Pick Perplexity for cited web research and Grok for a chat assistant with X search, images, video and voice. Perplexity has a free plan with numbered citations, a $200/month Max tier and $40 per seat Enterprise Pro. Grok is free to try and its API costs $2.00 input and $6.00 output per 1M tokens, but its SuperGrok prices and privacy terms are unconfirmed.
We based this comparison on our Perplexity profile verified 2026-09-30 and our Grok profile verified 2026-10-01, both built from official vendor pages; it uses no third-party benchmarks and no vendor paid for placement.
Perplexity is the better pick when you need answers you can check: every answer carries numbered citations, the free plan allows practically unlimited basic searches, and its plans, API prices and privacy terms are documented in detail. Grok is the better pick when you want one chat assistant that also generates images, video and voice, searches the web and X, and shares its models with a per-token API. The catch is that we could not see Grok's SuperGrok prices or privacy terms, and Perplexity's consumer Pro price was also unconfirmed, so the two cannot be compared on subscription cost.
Based on our Perplexity profile verified 2026-09-30 and Grok profile verified 2026-10-01, both from official vendor pages. Perplexity's pricing page blocked automated checks, Grok's privacy page returned 404, and 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 with original sources | Perplexity | Perplexity puts numbered citations on every answer; Grok documents no citation format |
| Produce a long research report | Perplexity | Perplexity Research mode reads hundreds of sources and writes an editable report |
| Follow breaking news and posts on X | Grok | Grok has a server-side X Search tool alongside Web Search |
| Generate images or short video | Grok | Grok Imagine makes images up to 2K and video up to 15 seconds |
| Talk to an assistant by voice | Grok | Grok lists speech-to-speech and text-to-speech; Perplexity's profile lists no voice mode |
| Ask questions about your own PDFs and files | Perplexity | Perplexity accepts text, code, PDF, images, audio and video up to 50 MB; Grok lists image input only |
| Compare models from several AI labs | Perplexity | Perplexity Pro lets you pick GPT, Claude, Gemini or Nemotron models per query |
| Search across company files with admin controls | Perplexity | Perplexity Enterprise has Spaces with file connectors, SSO and SCIM; Grok's business plan details are unknown |
| Build an app on a model API | Either | Perplexity offers a Search API and Agent API; Grok offers grok-4.7 with tool calling |
| Use an assistant free before paying | Either | Both have a free plan; Perplexity documents its limits, Grok does not |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity Free | Perplexity | $0 | Practically unlimited basic searches; very limited Pro Search; limited Research |
| Perplexity Pro | Perplexity | Not confirmed (US price) | Extended Pro Search; 50 files per Space; no monthly Computer credits |
| Perplexity Education Pro | Perplexity | $10/mo | Verified students and faculty only |
| Perplexity Max | Perplexity | $200/mo ($2,000/year) | 10,000 Computer credits per month; 500 files per Space |
| Perplexity Enterprise Pro | Perplexity | $40/seat/mo | Files retained 7 days; 500 Computer credits per month |
| Perplexity Enterprise Max | Perplexity | $325/seat/mo | 15,000 Computer credits per month; SCIM and audit logs |
| Perplexity Search API | Perplexity | $5 per 1,000 requests ($1 for Fast Search) | 50 query units per second |
| Grok Free | Grok | $0 | Limits not stated |
| SuperGrok | Grok | Not confirmed | Chats 5x longer than Lite; Expert mode on the best model |
| SuperGrok Heavy | Grok | Not confirmed | Maximum usage at the fastest speed |
| grok-4.7 API | Grok | $2.00 / $6.00 per 1M input / output tokens | 500k token context |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Oct 1, 2026. Perplexity pricing in full · Grok pricing in full
| Perplexity | Grok | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages / rate limits | Free: practically unlimited basic searches, very limited Pro Search; Search API 50 query units per second | Free limits not stated; SuperGrok chats are 5x longer than Lite |
| Context / file size | Files up to 50 MB; 50 files per Space on Pro, 500 on Max | 500k-token context on grok-4.7; images up to 20MiB each |
| Seats / team | Enterprise Pro $40 per seat per month; Enterprise Max $325 per seat per month | Business plan details not stated |
| Feature | Perplexity | Grok |
|---|---|---|
| Image generation | Yes (Pro and above) | Yes (up to 2K) |
| Voice | Not stated | Yes |
| File upload | Yes (up to 50 MB) | Image input only (jpg or png) |
| Web search | Yes, with citations | Yes (Web Search and X Search) |
| Reasoning mode | Yes (Pro Search and Research) | Yes (configurable reasoning in the API) |
| Agents / tools | Computer, paid per task in credits | Agentic tool calling in the API |
| API | Yes, billed separately | Yes, billed per token with credits |
| Mobile apps | Not stated | Yes (iOS and Android) |
| Perplexity | Grok | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Consumer plans may be used unless you opt out; Enterprise never | Not stated |
| Retention | Threads kept until you delete them; thread files 90 days, 7 days on Enterprise | Not stated |
| Business controls | SSO, SCIM, audit logs, SOC 2 Type II report | Enterprise terms, DPA and BAA linked from the site |
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
AI assistant from xAI with chat, image and video generation, voice, and a developer API.
Free stops at: Limits not stated on the pages checked
Pricing US price unconfirmed
Perplexity, if you need to verify what you read. It attaches numbered citations to every answer and offers a Research mode that reads hundreds of sources and writes a report. Grok has Web Search and X Search tools that bring in current events, but we found no documented citation format or report mode.
Yes, with limits. Grok is free to try on web, iOS and Android, but its free usage limits are not stated on the pages we checked. SuperGrok raises limits and unlocks the best model, and its price was not visible in the locale we viewed.
Perplexity has a free plan, Education Pro at $10/month, Max at $200/month and Enterprise Pro at $40 per seat per month; the consumer Pro price is unconfirmed. Grok has a free plan, but SuperGrok and SuperGrok Heavy prices are unconfirmed. Only API prices are published for Grok: $2.00 input and $6.00 output per 1M tokens for grok-4.7.
Perplexity consumer accounts (Free, Pro, Max) may be used for training unless you switch off the AI data retention toggle, and the opt-out applies only to future data. Enterprise data is never used for training. Grok's training and retention terms are not stated, because its privacy page returned 404.
Grok. It generates and edits images up to 2K and video up to 15 seconds in chat, with Imagine API prices from $0.02 per image and $0.05 per second of video. Perplexity lists image and video generation on Pro and above, but we did not verify output sizes.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
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