{
  "study": "Perplexity Alternatives in 2026: Best AI Research Tools by Price and Limits",
  "url": "https://provenbrief.com/story/perplexity-alternatives-in-2026-best-ai-research-tools-by-price-and-limits",
  "publisher": "ProvenBrief",
  "contentUpdatedAt": "2026-09-28T23:20:49.781Z",
  "terms": "Free to use with attribution to ProvenBrief and a link to the source page.",
  "tables": [
    {
      "key": "twenty-dollar-lane",
      "title": "The $20 lane: flagship subscription prices, US billing, monthly plan",
      "measure": "monthly subscription price for the paid flagship tier of each service, US billing, monthly plan",
      "unit": "USD per month",
      "rows": [
        {
          "key": "perplexity-pro",
          "label": "Perplexity Pro",
          "value": 20,
          "note": "cited search, advanced models, expanded Computer access",
          "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/pricing"
        },
        {
          "key": "chatgpt-plus",
          "label": "ChatGPT Plus",
          "value": 20,
          "note": "OpenAI's own announcement prints ChatGPT Plus at $20 USD/month",
          "source": "https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-go/"
        },
        {
          "key": "google-ai-pro",
          "label": "Google AI Pro",
          "value": 19.99,
          "note": "$199.99/year annual option; 5 TB storage bundled",
          "source": "https://one.google.com/about/ai-premium"
        },
        {
          "key": "microsoft-365-premium",
          "label": "Microsoft 365 Premium (Copilot's paid flagship)",
          "value": 19.99,
          "note": "combines Microsoft 365 Family and Copilot Pro per Microsoft's October 2025 blog",
          "source": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/pricing/individuals"
        },
        {
          "key": "consensus-pro",
          "label": "Consensus Pro",
          "value": 20,
          "note": "$144/year billed annually, equivalent to $12/month",
          "source": "https://help.consensus.app/en/articles/10087865-subscription-plans"
        },
        {
          "key": "kagi-ultimate",
          "label": "Kagi Ultimate",
          "value": 25,
          "note": "sits above the $20 lane; Assistant Research mode with flagship models from several labs",
          "source": "https://kagi.com/pricing"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "key": "cheap-rungs",
      "title": "The cheaper rungs: prices below $10 or at zero, US billing, monthly plan",
      "measure": "monthly price of each free or low-cost rung, US billing, monthly plan",
      "unit": "USD per month",
      "rows": [
        {
          "key": "google-ai-plus",
          "label": "Google AI Plus",
          "value": 4.99,
          "note": "June 2026 cut from $7.99; 400 GB storage",
          "source": "https://9to5google.com/2026/06/08/google-ai-plus-price-drop/"
        },
        {
          "key": "kagi-starter",
          "label": "Kagi Starter",
          "value": 5,
          "note": "300 searches per month; about 1.7 cents per search",
          "source": "https://kagi.com/pricing"
        },
        {
          "key": "microsoft-365-personal",
          "label": "Microsoft 365 Personal",
          "value": 9.99,
          "note": "1 TB storage, desktop apps, Copilot chat usage higher than free",
          "source": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/pricing/individuals"
        },
        {
          "key": "kagi-professional",
          "label": "Kagi Professional",
          "value": 10,
          "note": "unlimited searches, larger Assistant monthly allowance",
          "source": "https://kagi.com/pricing"
        },
        {
          "key": "copilot-free",
          "label": "Microsoft Copilot free tier",
          "value": 0,
          "note": "paid plans sold as usage higher than free",
          "source": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/pricing/individuals"
        },
        {
          "key": "consensus-free",
          "label": "Consensus free tier",
          "value": 0,
          "note": "basic paper search, 10 Pro messages and up to 3 Deep reviews per month",
          "source": "https://consensus.app/pricing/"
        },
        {
          "key": "open-webui",
          "label": "Open WebUI (self-hosted)",
          "value": 0,
          "note": "no license cost; you pay only for model usage if you point it at hosted APIs",
          "source": "https://docs.openwebui.com/"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}