Glossary · Platforms
Perplexity Pro vs. Free
The difference between Perplexity's free tier and its paid Pro subscription, mainly in query volume, model choice, and access to advanced search modes.
The difference
The free tier gives limited daily use of Perplexity's more advanced search and reasoning modes and defaults to a standard model, while Pro unlocks higher usage limits, a choice of underlying models, and features like Focus modes and deeper research tools. Both tiers can browse the web and cite sources; Pro mainly expands depth and volume rather than changing the citation mechanism itself.
Why it matters for tracking
Answers and cited sources can differ between tiers because Pro often runs more thorough, multi-step searches, so a brand's visibility on the free tier isn't necessarily representative of what Pro users see. AI-visibility tools should note which tier they queried against, since it affects both answer depth and source selection.
See more terms in the full glossary, or read the AI Visibility 101 guide for the full picture.