Independent AI buying guide
No paid rankings
Last checked 26 Oct 2026
Head to head
Gemini or Perplexity? Compared on independent test scores, prices and free plans. Every price links to its source, and we re-check everything every week.
The short answer
Calculated from independent tests
Higher scores
Gemini
Gemini scores higher in 3 of the 4 topics where we can compare both.
Cheaper
No clear winner
The cheapest paid plans: Gemini Google AI Plus at €4.99/mo, and Perplexity Pro at $17/mo, billed yearly. Their prices are in different currencies or equal, so we don't call a winner on price.
Better free plan
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We have no test scores for the free plans of Gemini or Perplexity yet.
Each tool's best subscription per topic, scored out of 100. Higher wins; a tie is a tie.
| Topic | Gemini | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98 (higher)Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon | 82Pro · Gemini 3.1 Pro |
| Coding | 82Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon | Not ranked here |
| Writing | 98Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon | Not ranked here |
| Research & searchTie | 89Google AI Pro · Gemini 3.1 Pro | 89Pro · Gemini 3.1 Pro |
| Maths & hard problems | 97 (higher)Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon | 89Pro · Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Studying | 100 (higher)Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon | 89Pro · Gemini 3.1 Pro |
| Business & office | 100Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon | Not ranked here |
Every plan we track, with the official source and the date we checked it.
Opinion, not test scores: how each one feels to use.
The obvious pick if you already live in Gmail and Google Drive. The cheap AI Plus tier is hard to beat on price.
Reviewed 7 Oct 2026
A search engine that answers instead of listing links. Great for research, less so for writing or coding projects.
Reviewed 7 Oct 2026
Scores come from independent benchmarks, the same ones behind our rankings. Read how we rank for the formula.