Perplexity vs Consensus
Plans, free access, limits and intended use side by side, taken from each vendor’s own pages. No score and no winner: the facts show where the two differ.
Change tools
From a question to sources you can open.
Explore research papers with cited answers and study filters.
- Free access
- Perplexity: Free access
- Consensus: Free access
- Paid from
- Perplexity: USD 17 per month
- Consensus: USD 12 per month
- Plans listed
- Perplexity: 7
- Consensus: 6
- Public API
- Perplexity: Yes
- Consensus: Yes
Where Perplexity and Consensus differ
- PlansPerplexity lists 7 plans and Consensus lists 6.
Head to head
Each value from the tool’s profile and the vendor’s own pages
| Perplexity | Fact | Consensus |
|---|---|---|
| Access and price | ||
| Free access availableFree | Free accessSame | Free access availableFree |
| USD 17 per monthPro · billed annually · USD 20 billed monthly | Lowest listed paid plan | USD 12 per monthPro (annual) · billed annually · USD 144 a year |
| Free + paid | Pricing model | Free plan; Pro from USD 12/month billed annually |
| 7 | Plans listedDiffers | 6 |
| Yes | Public APISame | Yes |
| Not confirmed | Card to start | Not confirmed |
| No | Open sourceSame | No |
| What it is for | ||
| Web research with linked sources | Built for | Finding and synthesizing published research |
| Research & sources | CategorySame | Research & sources |
| Platforms |
|
| Works with | Not listed |
| How current | ||
| Profile sources checked | ||
| Pricing review due · Oct 8, 2026 | Pricing checkSame | Pricing review due · Sep 24, 2026 |
Official source check for both tools. No hands-on testing and no score: “Differs” marks a documented difference, not a better tool.
Plans and prices
Perplexity
Pricing review due · Oct 8, 2026- FreeFree
- ProUSD 17 per monthbilled annually · USD 20 billed monthly
- MaxUSD 167 per monthbilled annually · USD 2,000 a year; USD 200 billed monthly
- Education ProUSD 10 per month
- Enterprise ProUSD 34 per seat per monthbilled annually · USD 400 per seat a year; USD 40 per seat billed monthly
Show 2 more plans
- Enterprise MaxUSD 271 per seat per monthbilled annually · USD 3,250 per seat a year; USD 325 per seat billed monthly
- Enterprise customContact provider
Consensus
Pricing review due · Sep 24, 2026- FreeFree
- Pro (annual)USD 12 per monthbilled annually · USD 144 a year
- Pro (monthly)USD 20 per monthbilled monthly
- Deep (annual)USD 45 per monthbilled annually · USD 540 a year
- Deep (monthly)USD 65 per monthbilled monthly
Show 1 more plan
- Team and EnterpriseContact sales
Strengths and limits
Perplexity
Strengths
- Traceable answers: Every answer links to the web pages it drew on, so each claim can be opened and checked.
- Useful Free plan: Basic search with citations is available without a subscription.
- Built-in research tools: Research mode, Spaces and scheduled Tasks cover reports, shared workspaces and recurring alerts.
Limits to plan around
- Source links still need checking: A link shows where a sentence came from; you still have to open the page and confirm the passage and its date.
- Free research is tight: The pricing page describes Free only as limited usage, and the plan comparison table allows a single Research query a month.
- Pro and Max limits are not published as numbers: Individual plans describe weekly and monthly limits for average or advanced use, so heavy users need to watch their account usage.
Consensus
Strengths
- Large research index: Answers draw on a search of more than 220 million peer-reviewed papers, per the pricing page.
- Fine-grained study filters: Filters for study design, population, sample size and journal rank, plus a preprint switch, narrow results before you read.
- Reference-manager exports: Search results export to CSV, RIS or formatted bibliographies, and Deep reports export to PDF.
Limits to plan around
- Abstract-only evidence: When full text is unavailable, a cited paper may have been read from its abstract alone, so methods and caveats can be missing.
- Small Free allowance: Free has up to 3 Deep reviews monthly, each also consuming a Pro message. Official Pro-message allowances differ; confirm the available count in account settings.
- Team prices not listed: The Team and Enterprise tab of the pricing page shows no amounts; larger licenses are quoted by sales.
See both products
Start from your task, not from a winner.
Run both tools on the same real task, then compare the result, how much editing it needs and how fast it uses your plan’s allowance.
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Comparing tools from different categories is fine, and often useful — a writing assistant and a research tool solve different halves of the same job. The table will show you exactly where they diverge.
Questions about comparing tools
How does the comparison work?
Add two tools to the comparison tray from any tool card, then open this page. The table pulls each tool's verified plan details, platforms, strengths and limits from its profile, so both columns carry the same kind of evidence, with a separate source-check date for each tool.
Do you declare a winner?
No. The table sets two tools against each other on documented facts, not on a score. Which one wins depends on your task, your budget and your usage volume — three things we cannot see from here.
Why are some cells empty or marked unverified?
Because we could not confirm that detail on the vendor's own pages. Rather than filling the gap with a figure from elsewhere, we mark it and say why on the tool's profile.
Can I compare more than two tools?
Not at once. Two columns keep the differences readable and force a real decision. Remove either selected tool to replace it, or clear both to start a new pair.
Every figure in the table above comes from the linked profile, where the source and the verification date are listed. Browse all tools or read the editorial policy.