Perplexity vs ChatGPT vs Claude
Perplexity is built for cited search. ChatGPT and Claude are general assistants with coding agents. Plans, prices and connectors compared.
Pick Perplexity if you mainly look things up and want each answer to show its sources. Pick ChatGPT or Claude if you also write, analyse files and code.
ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro are both $20 a month (as of November 2026). Perplexity Pro lets you choose from models by several makers.
Good for
- Researchers who need answers with sources
- People choosing one paid AI plan
- Developers who want a coding agent in the plan
- Teams that want the assistant to reach their own tools
Side by side
Pick by job. Perplexity for cited research, ChatGPT or Claude for everyday work and code.
| Option | Claude | ChatGPT | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built around | Chat, Claude Code | Chat, Work, Codex | Search with citations |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Entry paid plan | Pro, $20/mo | Go $8, Plus $20 | Pro (price not on help center) |
| Top individual plan | Ultra, $200/mo | Pro, up to $500/mo | Max, $200/mo |
| Models available | Claude models | GPT models | GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Sonar (Pro) |
| Your own MCP server | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Which to pick
Our advice: pick Perplexity for research with sources and a choice of models. Pick ChatGPT for an all-round assistant with Codex included. Pick Claude for Claude Code and Anthropic's models.
Perplexity's help center pages we checked list no Pro price. ChatGPT Plus lists Codex usage as 5-hour estimates.
MoreLess
Claude Code needs a paid Claude plan.
Best for
- Perplexity: researchers who want citations on every answer
- Perplexity: students, with Education Pro at $10 a month after verification
- ChatGPT: people who want chat plus a coding agent on every plan
- Claude: developers who want Claude Code with a $20 Pro plan
- Any of the three: teams that connect their own MCP servers
Skip it if
- ChatGPT: you want no 5-hour estimates below Pro, since Plus lists them
- Claude: you need a free plan with a coding agent
Questions
Which is better, Perplexity, ChatGPT or Claude?
None wins outright. Perplexity is built for search with cited sources, while ChatGPT and Claude are general assistants. The vendors publish no head-to-head test, so try the same task in each free plan.
How much do they cost?
Claude Pro and ChatGPT Plus are $20 a month, and ChatGPT Go is $8 (as of November 2026). Perplexity Max is $200 a month or $2,000 a year, and Education Pro is $10 a month with verification. Perplexity's help center does not list the Pro price, so check perplexity.ai.
Is Perplexity just a search engine?
It describes itself as an AI-powered search engine that gives conversational answers backed by sources. Pro adds models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, plus file uploads and image and video generation.
Can Perplexity use Claude or GPT models?
Yes. Perplexity Pro lets you choose from models including GPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok, plus its own Sonar model. Model availability changes, so see its help center for the current list.
Do all three support MCP?
Yes. Claude takes custom remote MCP servers, ChatGPT on the web uses remote MCP tools through plugins, and Perplexity supports remote MCP servers via Plugins and Add custom. Perplexity's local MCP works only in its Mac app. See what MCP is.
Which one has a coding agent?
Claude has Claude Code on Pro and above. ChatGPT includes Codex in every plan, with a limited free version. Perplexity's plans centre on search, its Computer agent and the Comet browser. See Claude vs ChatGPT for coding.
Is there a free plan on each?
Yes. Perplexity's free Standard plan has practically unlimited basic searches and very few Pro searches. Claude Free and ChatGPT Free both have limited usage.
What about Gemini and Grok?
They are not in this table. See Claude vs ChatGPT vs Grok for Grok. Google lists Gemini plans on its subscriptions page.
Information
updated Nov 3, 2026
- Made by
- Anthropic
- Connector directory
- claude.ai/directory
Sources
Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.
Show all 9Hide
- Claude plans and pricing · claude.com
- Codex pricing · learn.chatgpt.com
- What is Perplexity? · perplexity.ai
- What is Perplexity Pro? · perplexity.ai
- Which Perplexity subscription plan is right for you? · perplexity.ai
- Perplexity Max · perplexity.ai
- Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP · support.claude.com
- Model Context Protocol (ChatGPT Learn) · learn.chatgpt.com
- Local and Remote MCPs for Perplexity · perplexity.ai