Both start at $17/mo billed yearly. Both have a free plan. Every plan from both vendors, the limits each one actually publishes, and what changed recently, with a source on every line.
Beyond price and free access, the deciding factor is which models and features you need; we track the money, not the model quality.
| Fact | Claude | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free tier | Free tier |
| Cheapest plan | Pro · $17/mo billed yearly | Pro · $17/mo billed yearly |
| Top plan | Max 20x · $200/mo | Max · $167/mo billed yearly |
| Plans tracked | 4 | 4 |
| Yearly discount | up to 15% | Yearly prices only |
| Allowance periods | 5-hourWeekly | WeeklyMonthly |
| Latest change | benefit added | None logged |
| Last checked |
One vendor only publishes billed-yearly prices, so this page compares per-month prices billed yearly where offered.
| Tool | Plan | Price | Limits as stated & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude | Pro | $20/mo | More usage than Free per five-hour session plus a weekly limit across all models (resets at a fixed weekly time per account). Message counts not published; vary by message length, attachments, model. Claude Code included, sharing the same limits. Source: support.claude.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Claude | Max 5x | $100/mo | 5x the Pro per-session usage allowance; session limit resets every five hours; weekly limit across all models; separate weekly limit for Fable. Includes $100/month API credits. Source: support.claude.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Claude | Max 20x | $200/mo | 20x the Pro per-session usage allowance; five-hour session reset; weekly limit; separate Fable weekly limit. Includes $200/month API credits. Source: support.claude.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Claude | Enterprise | $20/mo | Usage billed at API rates. Source: claude.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Perplexity | Pro | $17/mo billed yearly | Pro Searches, Research queries, Comet assistant and file/app creation all 'weekly/monthly limits (average use)'; numbers not published. Limited-time +$40 Computer credits. Source: perplexity.ai · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Perplexity | Max | $167/mo billed yearly | 'Unlimited usage'; 10,000 monthly credits; limits '(advanced use)' not quantified. Limited-time +$450 Computer credits. Source: perplexity.ai · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Perplexity | Education Pro | $10/mo | Everything in Pro for verified students/educators (SheerID). Source: perplexity.ai · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Perplexity | Enterprise Pro | $40/mo | 400 Pro Searches/week; 50 Research/month; 80 Comet queries/month; 100 file-upload sessions/week. Source: perplexity.ai · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Tool | Free? | What you get for $0 & source |
|---|---|---|
| Claude | Free tier | Free $0: chat on web/desktop/mobile, web search, file creation & code execution, memory, connectors, Artifacts, up to 5 Projects. Sonnet and Haiku models (no Opus); no Claude Code. Usage limits reset on a rolling five-hour session window; message counts not published. Source: claude.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Perplexity | Free tier | Free (Standard): 'practically unlimited basic searches'; Pro Searches 3/day; Research queries 1/month; no advanced models or image generation; limited file uploads. Source: perplexity.ai · checked 2026-10-16 |
Anthropic's platform release notes: 'Claude Max and Team plans now include monthly API credits.' Credits don't cover interactive Claude Code and don't roll over.
Announced July 28, 2025, effective Aug 28: an overall weekly limit and an Opus weekly limit, both resetting every 7 days. Anthropic estimated <5% of subscribers affected.
Neither at the entry level: Claude Pro and Perplexity Pro both cost $17/mo billed yearly. The top plans are Claude Max 20x at $200/mo and Perplexity Max at $167/mo billed yearly.
Claude: Yes. Free $0: chat on web/desktop/mobile, web search, file creation & code execution, memory, connectors, Artifacts, up to 5 Projects. Sonnet and Haiku models (no Opus); no Claude Code. Usage limits reset on a rolling five-hour session window; message counts not published. Perplexity: Yes. Free (Standard): 'practically unlimited basic searches'; Pro Searches 3/day; Research queries 1/month; no advanced models or image generation; limited file uploads.
Claude Pro ($20/mo): More usage than Free per five-hour session plus a weekly limit across all models (resets at a fixed weekly time per account). Message counts not published; vary by message length, attachments, model. Claude Code included, sharing the same limits. Perplexity Pro ($17/mo billed yearly): Pro Searches, Research queries, Comet assistant and file/app creation all 'weekly/monthly limits (average use)'; numbers not published. Limited-time +$40 Computer credits.
Claude: up to 15% off when billed yearly (Pro: $17/mo instead of $20). Perplexity: only billed-yearly prices are published.
7 Oct 2026, Claude: Claude Max now includes monthly API credits ($100 on Max 5x, $200 on Max 20x). 28 Aug 2025, Claude: Claude Pro and Max get weekly usage limits on top of 5-hour limits.