Perplexity AI data uploads and research workflows explained

Perplexity AI has evolved into one of the most capable research tools available today, offering advanced features for document analysis, file processing, and deep contextual research. Its handling of file uploads, supported formats, and workflow automation varies significantly across subscription tiers, from the Free plan to Pro, Enterprise Pro, and API integrations. Understanding these differences is essential for selecting the right plan and optimizing Perplexity for both personal and professional projects.

Perplexity supports multiple file types with strict size limits

Perplexity allows users to upload a wide range of documents, images, videos, and audio files, enabling multimodal research and contextual analysis. However, upload limits depend on the plan tier.

File Type	Supported Formats	Size Limit	Usage Details
Documents	PDF, DOCX, TXT, code	40 MB	Indexed for contextual Q&A and retrieval
Images	JPEG, PNG, HEIF, PDF	40 MB	Processed locally; used in multimodal models
Audio	MP3, WAV, FLAC	40 MB	Transcribed for search and analysis
Video	MP4, MOV, AVI, WebM	40 MB	Audio content extracted for context, visual data excluded

Larger files beyond 40 MB require API-based uploads or access to Enterprise Pro, where the per-file limit increases up to 1 GB.

Upload allowances vary across Free, Pro, and Enterprise plans

Perplexity’s file handling capabilities scale with your subscription tier, influencing the number of files you can upload and the total storage available per Space or repository.

Plan	Per-File Limit	Upload Allowance	Space & Repository Rules
Free	40 MB	3 files/day	Up to 5 files per Space
Pro (Individual)	40 MB	Unlimited	Up to 100 files per Space
Enterprise Pro	Up to 1 GB	30 files/thread	Up to 500 files per Space and 5,000 files per user

• Free users are limited to light workflows and small datasets, making it ideal for casual research.

• Pro subscribers gain unlimited uploads, extended storage per Space, and faster indexing capabilities.

• Enterprise Pro introduces advanced repository features, allowing organizations to manage large volumes of structured and unstructured data securely.

Deep Research workflows scale with plan upgrades

Perplexity’s Deep Research capability unlocks larger context windows, enhanced model access, and more advanced file processing for Pro and Enterprise users.

Pro users gain:

• Up to 300 Pro Searches per day.

• Access to advanced models, including GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and Perplexity’s native Sonar.

• A 1M-token dynamic context window, ideal for analyzing lengthy documents and multi-file projects.

• Ad-free research and up to 90 days of history retention for ongoing projects.

Enterprise Pro adds:

• Context windows scaling up to 1M tokens, with 2M-token beta access for select accounts.

• Support for 1 GB per file and up to 5,000 persistent personal repository files.

• Private, organization-wide repositories that integrate directly into research workflows.

• Custom retention policies ranging from 24 hours to 365 days, essential for compliance-sensitive industries.

These upgrades are particularly valuable for researchers, legal professionals, and data teams working on complex multi-source analyses.

API access and RAG integration enhance automation

Perplexity’s API enables developers to build retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines and custom workflows:

• Supports PDF analysis via URL, summarization, Q&A, and document parsing.

• Handles documents up to 50 MB per file with response times capped at 60 seconds for synchronous calls.

• Default query token limits are 8,000 tokens (~20K characters), with automatic fallback to file-based ingestion for larger datasets.

For advanced research automation, this API functionality supports integration into corporate knowledge bases, private search engines, and custom analytics dashboards.

Optimizing file uploads and research workflows

To make the most of Perplexity’s capabilities:

• Segment large documents into smaller files to speed up indexing and improve response precision.

• Use Spaces to group related uploads and maintain contextual continuity across queries.

• For high-volume research, upgrade to Pro or Enterprise Pro to access extended storage, deeper context windows, and stronger model performance.

• Leverage the API for structured RAG pipelines when working with multiple knowledge sources.

Summary of Perplexity’s file and research capabilities

Plan Tier	Per-File Limit	Uploads Allowed	Context Window	Best For
Free	40 MB	3/day, 5 per Space	128K tokens	Light research, casual users
Pro	40 MB	Unlimited; 100 per Space	1M tokens	Professionals, content analysts
Enterprise Pro	1 GB	30/thread; 500 per Space; up to 5,000 repo files	1–2M tokens	Data teams, compliance workflows
API / Sonar	50 MB (via URL)	Automated ingestion	8K tokens default	Developers, custom RAG pipelines

Perplexity’s flexible file-handling system scales from casual research to enterprise-level data processing. Free users can perform light document queries, while Pro unlocks unlimited uploads and advanced Deep Research workflows. For organizations, Enterprise Pro provides high-capacity storage, enhanced compliance features, and secure collaborative research at scale, while API integration enables automation and structured RAG pipelines for knowledge-heavy workflows.

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