Head-to-head · profiles checked Oct 1, 2026
Pick Perplexity for cited web research and Microsoft Copilot for help inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams. Both are free to start. Copilot's paid tiers are Microsoft 365 plans from $9.99/month (Personal) to $99.99/month (Pro).
Perplexity Max is $200/month and Enterprise Pro $40 per seat; the consumer Pro price could not be confirmed. Only Perplexity documents an API, with web search at $5 per 1,000 requests.
Perplexity$10/mo (Education Pro (consumer, verified students/faculty))
vs Microsoft Copilot$9.99/mo (Microsoft 365 Personal)
We based this comparison on our Perplexity profile verified 2026-09-30 and our Microsoft Copilot profile verified 2026-10-01, both built from official vendor pages; it uses no third-party benchmarks and no vendor paid for placement.
Perplexity fits people whose main job is finding and checking information: every answer carries numbered citations, Research mode writes multi-source reports, and a separate API sells web search per request. Microsoft Copilot fits people who already work in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, because paid Microsoft 365 plans put the assistant inside those apps and bundle 1 TB of storage on Personal. Both have a free tier. Copilot's training, retention and API terms are not stated on the pages we checked, while Perplexity documents an opt-out for consumers and no training on Enterprise data.
Based on our Perplexity profile verified 2026-09-30 and Microsoft Copilot profile verified 2026-10-01; Perplexity's pricing page blocked automated checks, Copilot's privacy and API terms were not stated, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Check a fact and see where it came from | Perplexity | Perplexity puts numbered citations to the original sources on every answer |
| Write a long research report | Perplexity | Perplexity Research mode reads hundreds of sources and writes an editable report |
| Draft a document in Word | Microsoft Copilot | Copilot drafts in Word on Microsoft 365 Personal or higher |
| Summarize my Outlook inbox | Microsoft Copilot | Copilot summarizes Outlook mail on Microsoft 365 plans with Copilot |
| Ask questions about a PDF or spreadsheet | Either | Perplexity takes files up to 50 MB; Copilot accepts uploads when signed in |
| Create an image | Either | Copilot includes image creation on the free tier; Perplexity has it on paid plans |
| Talk to the assistant by voice | Microsoft Copilot | Copilot offers voice and screen or camera assistance when signed in; Perplexity lists voice dictation |
| Compare answers from different AI models | Perplexity | Perplexity Pro lets you pick GPT, Claude, Gemini or Nemotron and rewrite with another model |
| Add web search to my own app | Perplexity | Perplexity sells a Search API; no Copilot API is stated |
| Share AI and Office apps with a household | Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft 365 Family covers 1-6 people, though AI is for the subscription owner only |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity Standard (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; files up to 50 MB |
| Perplexity Education Pro | Perplexity | $10/mo | Requires student or faculty verification via SheerID |
| Perplexity Max | Perplexity | $200/mo ($2,000/yr) | 10,000 Computer credits per month; 500 files per Space |
| Perplexity Enterprise Pro | Perplexity | $40/seat/mo ($400/yr) | 500 Computer credits per month; files retained 7 days |
| Perplexity Enterprise Max | Perplexity | $325/seat/mo ($3,250/yr) | 15,000 Computer credits per month; 15 video generations per month |
| Perplexity Search API | Perplexity | $5 per 1,000 requests ($1.00 Fast Search) | 50 query units per second; no complimentary credits |
| Copilot (free) | Microsoft Copilot | $0 | Some capabilities subject to usage limits |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | Microsoft Copilot | $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr | 1 person, 5 devices at once, 1 TB cloud storage |
| Microsoft 365 Family | Microsoft Copilot | $12.99/mo or $129.99/yr | 1-6 people, AI for the subscription owner only; 6 TB total storage |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | Microsoft Copilot | $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr | Extensive chat, image and audio usage; limited agentic AI usage |
| Microsoft 365 Pro | Microsoft Copilot | $99.99/mo | Monthly billing only; highest usage limits |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Oct 1, 2026. Perplexity pricing in full · Microsoft Copilot pricing in full
| Perplexity | Microsoft Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages / rate limits | Free: practically unlimited basic searches, very limited Pro Search; exact quotas not stated | Free: some capabilities subject to usage limits; exact quotas not stated |
| Context / file size | Files up to 50 MB; 50 files per Space on Pro, 500 on Max | Not stated |
| Seats / team | Enterprise Pro and Enterprise Max priced per seat | Family covers 1-6 people, AI for the owner only; business plans not documented |
| Agent tasks | Computer credits: none monthly on Pro, 10,000 on Max | Limited agentic AI usage on Premium, highest on Pro |
| Feature | Perplexity | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Cited web answers | Yes | Not stated |
| Image generation | Yes (paid plans) | Yes |
| Voice | Yes (dictation) | Yes |
| File upload | Yes | Yes (signed in) |
| Office app integration | No | Yes (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams) |
| Model choice | Yes (GPT, Claude, Gemini, Nemotron on paid plans) | Yes (OpenAI and Anthropic) |
| Agents / tools | Computer (credits) | Cowork |
| API | Yes, billed separately | Not stated |
| Mobile apps | Yes | Yes (iOS, Android) |
| Perplexity | Microsoft Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Free, Pro and Max: used unless you turn off AI data retention; Enterprise and API: never | Not stated |
| Retention | Threads kept until you delete them; thread files 90 days (7 days Enterprise); signed-out threads 14 days | Not stated |
| Business controls | SSO, SCIM, audit logs, configurable retention, SOC 2 Type II report | Not stated |
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
Microsoft's AI assistant app on web, Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, connected to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.
Free stops at: Some capabilities subject to usage limits
Verified copilot.microsoft.com (opens Microsoft Copilot website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $9.99/mo US · checked Sep 29
Copilot's cheapest paid step is Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99/month, which also includes Office apps and 1 TB of storage. Perplexity's consumer Pro price could not be confirmed; Education Pro is $10/month for verified students and Max is $200/month. Both have a free tier.
Perplexity documents numbered citations on every answer, and Pro users get 10x as many citations. Copilot's free tier lists chat and search, but the pages we checked do not describe how it cites sources, so we mark that as not stated.
Microsoft Copilot. Eligible Microsoft 365 plans put Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, for drafting documents and summarizing mail. Perplexity connects to files instead: Google Drive and Dropbox on Pro, plus SharePoint, OneDrive and Box in Enterprise Spaces.
Perplexity Free, Pro and Max may use queries for training unless you turn off the AI data retention toggle, and Enterprise data is never used. Copilot's training and retention terms were not stated on the pages we checked; Microsoft says existing privacy settings continue to apply.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
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