Perplexity AI Free Plans, Subscription Tiers, Model Access, and Feature Limits

Perplexity AI offers a highly flexible access structure, enabling users to choose from multiple tiers that balance cost, model selection, file analysis, and research productivity.

Whether using the free plan or upgrading to Pro, API, or Enterprise, users can unlock the right combination of language models and workflow features for their needs in late 2025/2026.

Understanding these tiers helps both individual and professional users maximize their results and control their spending.

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The free plan grants unlimited chat with core models but limits access to premium engines and file processing power.

Perplexity’s free tier provides no-cost, unlimited chat and Q&A via a rotating selection of top models: GPT-3.5 Turbo (OpenAI), Gemini 1.5 Flash (Google), and Perplexity Experimental (the platform’s custom rapid research model).

Model selection is instant; users may toggle engines mid-session to compare output or optimize for speed, context length, or research depth.

The free tier includes web search integration and concise research mode, but restricts file uploads to 5 MB per file and three files per day.

Higher-capacity models (like GPT-4 Turbo or Claude 3 Opus) are reserved for Pro or higher.

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Free Plan Model Access and Limits

Model	Provider	Strength
GPT-3.5 Turbo	OpenAI	General reasoning, default
Gemini 1.5 Flash	Google	Fast output, 128 K tokens
Perplexity Experimental	In-house	Blended web results, rapid Q&A

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Perplexity Pro unlocks GPT-4 Turbo, Claude 3 Opus, Gemini 1.5 Pro, and higher file quotas for advanced users.

A $20 per month Pro subscription enables access to GPT-4 Turbo, Claude 3 Opus, and Gemini 1.5 Pro — with context windows up to 200,000 tokens and outputs as long as 32,000 tokens.

Pro users also gain unlimited file uploads, with files up to 50 MB in size, and two custom-tuned engines: Perplexity File (for document analysis and extraction) and Perplexity Code (for programming and technical tasks).

Priority compute allocation, faster response times, and early feature releases are all bundled in Pro, making it ideal for researchers, academics, and professionals with larger or more demanding workloads.

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Pro Tier and Specialty Models

Model	Type	Specialty
GPT-4 Turbo	OpenAI	Deep reasoning, creativity
Claude 3 Opus	Anthropic	Multi-step research, summarization
Gemini 1.5 Pro	Google	File analysis, 200 K context
Perplexity File	In-house	PDF, doc, spreadsheet tools
Perplexity Code	In-house	Programming and code review

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API and Enterprise tiers provide additional model choices, batch automation, and compliance-ready features.

The API tier (usage-based) exposes all Pro models plus options such as Mistral 8x22B and Meta Llama 3, enabling developers to build workflows, automate RAG pipelines, and control token budgeting.

Enterprise customers gain higher file size limits (up to 250 MB), pooled quotas, SAML SSO, audit trails, usage analytics, and the option for private or on-prem deployment.

Batch upload, knowledge base connectors, and advanced compliance controls further position the Enterprise tier for regulated industries and large organizations.

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Subscription Tier Comparison

Tier	Monthly Price	Premium Models	File Quota	Key Features
Free	$0	None	5 MB/file, 3/day	Unlimited Q&A, basic models
Pro	$20	All major	50 MB/file, unlimited	File & Code engines, priority
API	Usage-based	All Pro + more	100 MB/endpoint	Batch, automation
Enterprise	Custom	All	250 MB, pooled	SSO, analytics, audit

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File size, token, and output limits still apply, even on paid tiers — plan for best results.

Large PDFs and datasets over 100 MB may require chunking to avoid timeouts or context loss.

Long-form outputs are typically capped at around 65,000 tokens to control cost and latency.

Image-based or scanned documents benefit from OCR conversion before upload for optimal data extraction.

Monitoring token counters and file size before each upload prevents interruptions during research or report generation.

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File and Output Limits

Tier	Max File Size	Output Length	Notes
Free	5 MB	8,000 tokens	Light Q&A
Pro	50 MB	32,000 tokens	Full doc analysis
API	100 MB	32–65 K tokens	Automation, batch
Enterprise	250 MB	65,000 tokens	High volume, audit

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Perplexity’s roadmap signals new features for both free and paid tiers, expanding research automation and collaboration.

The company is testing a Free-Plus tier: core chat remains free, while advanced file analysis and document credits can be purchased a la carte.

Forthcoming add-ons will include collaborative workspaces, pinned chat projects, and domain-specific model packs for specialized industries.

Core Q&A will stay unlimited for free users, but new multimodal features are likely to appear in Pro or Enterprise first, rewarding power users and researchers with advanced needs.

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