A general assistant with web research and a research-first answer engine, compared for finding and checking source-backed information. This guidance is based on company pages linked from the profiles below.
Research needs to continue into file analysis, data work, images, or drafting in one account.
Look elsewhere if: You need source links on every ordinary answer without using Search or Deep Research, or cannot confirm the Deep Research allowance on your plan.
Your first need is current web research with visible links back to the original sources.
Look elsewhere if: Research must stay inside a closed, self-hosted environment, or every long uploaded file must be analyzed in full; uploads are capped at 40 MB, and Perplexity extracts what it considers important from long files without publishing the cutoff.
| Detail | ChatGPTOpenAI | PerplexityPerplexity AI |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | General assistant | Research assistant |
| US price | Free; Go $8/mo (may include ads); Plus $20/mo; Pro from $100/mo (opens in a new tab) Full ChatGPT plan detailsA free plan is available. In the US, Go is $8 monthly and Plus is $20 monthly. Pro is $100 monthly for 5× Plus usage or $200 monthly for 20×. Go, Plus, and Pro are billed monthly only. ChatGPT Business standard seats are $25 per user monthly or $20 per user monthly when billed annually, with a two-seat minimum. Usage limits apply. | Free; Pro $20/mo; Max $200/mo (opens in a new tab) Full Perplexity plan detailsCore search is free. Pro is listed at $20 monthly or $200 yearly. Max is $200 monthly or $2,000 yearly; annual Max billing is available only on the web. |
| Ways to use it | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android | Web, macOS, iOS, Android |
| Access | Cloud service with web, desktop, and mobile apps. | Web, a native macOS app, and mobile apps for iOS and Android. |
| Where it runs | Online service from OpenAI. | Online service from Perplexity AI. |
| Profile evidence | Capabilities · Access · Limits · collected Aug 1, 2026 | Capabilities · Access · Limits · collected Aug 1, 2026 |
OpenAI says ChatGPT Work creates and edits documents, slide decks, spreadsheets, charts, PDFs, images, and other deliverables. On all plans, it runs in the macOS and Windows desktop apps; Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu can also use it on web and mobile. It can match an existing file, master deck, or reusable template. ChatGPT Deep Research exports completed reports as Markdown, Word, or PDF. Perplexity Research exports its final report as a PDF or document, or a Perplexity Page. Paid Perplexity plans also create DOCX or PDF documents, XLSX spreadsheets, PPTX presentations, and HTML apps. Perplexity says it cannot currently apply specific slide layouts or templates, so set those after export. Perplexity documents include automatic citations, but the company does not make that citation claim for spreadsheets, presentations, or apps.
Company sources: ChatGPT Work files (opens in a new tab) · ChatGPT Work (opens in a new tab) · ChatGPT Deep Research (opens in a new tab) · Research mode (opens in a new tab) · Creating assets with Perplexity (opens in a new tab)ChatGPT Deep Research proposes a plan you can review and edit before research begins. While it runs, you can follow progress, interrupt it to refine the focus, and change which sources it may access. Perplexity Advanced Deep Research asks clarifying questions before it starts, accepts follow-up questions while it runs, and shows the sources being read and key findings as they emerge. Perplexity’s linked guides do not document an equivalent user-editable pre-run plan, interrupt control, or mid-run source-access changes, so treat those controls as unknown. ChatGPT can also restrict web research to only the sites or domains you enter, or prioritize those sites while allowing broader web search. Perplexity Project owners can add web links and domains to prioritize, but its public Projects guide does not document an equivalent site-only restriction. The linked company pages do not establish which tool handles conflicting evidence more reliably. If that matters, give both tools the same two disagreeing sources and check whether each names the conflict and cites both positions. In either tool, open the decisive citations before relying on the result.
Company sources: ChatGPT Deep Research (opens in a new tab) · Perplexity Advanced Deep Research (opens in a new tab) · Research mode (opens in a new tab) · Perplexity projects (opens in a new tab)ChatGPT Deep Research follows the same data-handling and privacy settings as regular ChatGPT conversations. OpenAI says individual ChatGPT content may train models unless you opt out; after opt-out, new conversations are not used. Business-product inputs and outputs are not used for training by default. Perplexity says AI Data Retention is on by default for Free, Pro, and Max; its opt-out applies only to data collected afterward, and previously collected training data cannot be removed. Enterprise data is never used or retained for training. Set the control before adding private material.
Company sources: ChatGPT Deep Research (opens in a new tab) · How OpenAI uses data to improve models (opens in a new tab) · Perplexity data collection (opens in a new tab)Perplexity Free includes 3 Pro Searches per day and 1 Research query per month; its company pages conflict on whether Pro Search is unlimited and give no count for Pro Research. Perplexity Research selects its models automatically; you cannot manually choose a specific model in that mode. It caps uploads at 40 MB each, but says it extracts what it considers the most important parts from long files and does not publish the cutoff. OpenAI's file-upload FAQ conflicts: it says uploads are available to Plus, Pro, and Enterprise, yet the same FAQ limits Free users to 3 uploads per day. Confirm upload access in the account before relying on Free. Each ChatGPT file is capped at 512 MB, with additional type-specific and token limits. Confirm paid research limits before subscribing.
Company sources: ChatGPT file uploads (opens in a new tab) · Perplexity overview (opens in a new tab) · Perplexity plan comparison (opens in a new tab) · Research mode (opens in a new tab) · File uploads (opens in a new tab)