Perplexity vs. ChatGPT: which one to choose for work?

In brief

Perplexity is built for searching: every sentence of its answer points to the page it comes from, and basic searches are almost unlimited without paying. ChatGPT is a general-purpose assistant: it drafts, reads your files, creates images, and also searches the web. The recommended plan costs $20 per month with either one: try both for free on a real question before you pay.

Two tools, two jobs

PerplexitySourced answers, and an agent that does the work

Free plan: Yes
Recommended plan: Pro, $20 per month, or $17 per month billed yearly (€22 on the French App Store)
Page checked on: October 21, 2026

People who need to verify a piece of information or prepare a briefing: sales, marketing, finance, management.

See the Perplexity page

ChatGPTThe all-purpose assistant: write, search, analyze, create

Free plan: Yes
Recommended plan: Plus, $20 per month
Page checked on: October 21, 2026

Everyone at the office. It is the first tool to try when you are starting out.

See the ChatGPT page

Perplexity, made by Perplexity AI, is an answer engine. You ask a question, it searches the web right then and writes a short answer. Every sentence carries a small number: one click opens the original page. Think of a research librarian who hands you the file with the right pages already flagged.

ChatGPT, made by OpenAI, is an assistant you write to the way you would a coworker. It drafts, summarizes, reads your files, creates images, talks out loud, and also searches the web, citing its sources.

What they both do: search the web, return a full report on an in-depth question, and connect to your tools.
What Perplexity puts first: the source of every statement, visible without asking.
What ChatGPT puts first: the text you need to produce, from a draft email to a finished document.

A cited source is not a well-read source. Both tools can get a number or a date wrong: open the links that matter before you quote anything.

What sets them apart

The differences come down to search, what the free plan counts, and what each paid plan unlocks. Prices and plans come from Nova’s tool pages, checked on October 12, 2026 on the vendors’ pages.

Criterion	Perplexity	ChatGPT
What it is	An answer engine, with sources	A general-purpose assistant: write, search, analyze, create
Sources	A number on every sentence, which opens the original page	Links are cited when it searches the web
Without paying	Basic searches with almost no limit, 3 “Pro Search” per day, 1 “Research” report per month	Writing is unlimited. Files, images, voice, and deep research have a limit. Ads may be shown
Recommended plan	Pro, $20 per month ($17 if billed yearly)	Plus, $20 per month
A full report	“Research” mode: a report in 3 to 5 minutes, to export as a PDF or a document	Deep research: a report you can export to Word or PDF
Your files	Limited uploads on the free plan, 40 MB per file	PDF, Word, or spreadsheet, with a daily limit on the free plan. It draws charts
Images	Image creation is included in Pro	It creates and edits them, from the free plan with a limit
A recurring task	“Automations” from the Computer agent, paid for in credits	Scheduled tasks: 3 on the free plan according to OpenAI’s help center, 5 with Plus
For a team	Enterprise Pro, $40 per user per month	Business, $25 per user per month ($20 billed yearly), two people minimum

Both vendors publish their prices in dollars. On the French App Store: €22 per month for Perplexity Pro, €22.99 for ChatGPT Plus. With Perplexity, the Computer agent is paid for in credits: 100 credits are worth $1, a task uses from 100 to several thousand, and Pro grants only 4,000, once, valid for 30 days.

Which one for which use

There is no winner in absolute terms. The right choice depends on what you do most often: find reliable information, or produce text.

You check a number before you quote it: Perplexity. Ask for the number and its official source, click the number in the answer, note the date of the page.
You prepare for a meeting: Perplexity. A one-page briefing on the company, every piece of information with its link.
You keep a watch on a topic (competitors, regulations, your industry): both. Perplexity keeps your searches in one project per topic; ChatGPT reruns the search at a set time with a scheduled task.
You write a lot (emails, memos, meeting notes): ChatGPT. Writing is not metered, even without paying.
You work on your own files (a sales export, a contract, a presentation): ChatGPT. It reads the file, answers questions about it, and returns a document.

Both together, without paying

Search in Perplexity and open the sources that matter.
Copy the checked facts, with their links, into ChatGPT.
Ask it to turn them into the memo, email, or deck you need.

Nova’s job pages show these uses step by step: the monthly legal watch of an in-house counsel, the competitor review of a marketing manager, the industry overview of a financial analyst, the morning news watch of a journalist.

The privacy setting to change in both

On personal plans, your conversations can be used to train the AI with either vendor, unless you turn that setting off. Do it on day one.

In Perplexity: account settings, “Preferences” page, then turn off “AI data retention.” This applies to your future searches.
In ChatGPT: profile icon, “Settings,” “Data controls,” then turn off “Improve the model for everyone.”
For a sensitive, one-off question: incognito mode in Perplexity, a temporary chat in ChatGPT.

With Enterprise Pro at Perplexity or Business at ChatGPT, your data is not used for training. Before you put a customer file into either one, read what not to share with AI at work.

The test to run before you pay

Both free plans are enough to form an opinion. Take a question you really have to handle this week, and ask both.

Choose a question whose answer can be checked: a figure from your industry, a rule, a customer’s latest news.
Write a single prompt: what you are looking for, for whom, in what format, and “give the source for each piece of information.”
Send the same prompt to Perplexity and to ChatGPT.
Open three sources from each answer: does the page really say what the tool claims?
Then ask both to turn it into a five-line email, and compare.
Keep the one that needs the fewest corrections. Pay only on the day its free limit stops you several times a week.

For the prompt, see how to write a good prompt. To compare ChatGPT with the other major assistant, see ChatGPT vs. Claude.

What Nova brings

Nova is subscription software that shows what these tools can do in your job. You will find the up-to-date pages for Perplexity and ChatGPT (plans, prices, check date), demos to recreate step by step with the prompt ready, and a path to learn ChatGPT for work. Try the interactive demo.

Frequently asked questions

Is Perplexity free?

Yes. Basic searches are almost unlimited without paying. The free plan also gives you 3 “Pro Search” per day and 1 “Research” report per month. Pro costs $20 per month, or $17 per month billed yearly (prices checked on October 12, 2026).

Does ChatGPT give its sources?

Yes, when it searches the web: it cites the pages it used, and its deep research returns a report with its links. With Perplexity, the source is on every sentence, without asking.

Can you use Perplexity and ChatGPT at the same time?

Yes: the two free plans complement each other. Perplexity to find and check, ChatGPT to write from what you checked. After that, a single paid subscription is enough, for the tool you use every day.

Can Perplexity get things wrong?

Yes. It can misread a page or cite an unreliable site. Its numbers are there so you can check: open the sources that matter before you reuse a figure.

Which one should a team choose?

Perplexity Enterprise Pro costs $40 per user per month. ChatGPT Business costs $25 per user per month, $20 billed yearly, from two people. In both, your data is not used for training. Choose based on the team’s main use: searching, or producing text.

Sources

Perplexity pricing, Perplexity AI
ChatGPT pricing, OpenAI
What is Research mode?, Perplexity AI, help center
How credits work (in French), Perplexity AI, help center
Data collection at Perplexity, Perplexity AI, help center
Deep research in ChatGPT, OpenAI, help center
Data controls FAQ, OpenAI, help center

Perplexity or ChatGPT: which one to choose for work?