You.com Research vs Perplexity AI
A side-by-side look at scores, pricing and features — with RECATOOLS' ASEAN-aware verdict for each.
You.com Research
You.com's Research API — cited multi-step web research, billed per cal...
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Perplexity AI
Answer engine that cites its sources, now with a browser and an agent
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| RECATOOLS Score | 6.8 / 10 | 8.4 / 10 |
| Capability | ||
| Value for money | ||
| Ease of use | ||
| ASEAN readiness | ||
| API quality | ||
| Pricing | Usage_based | Freemium |
| Free tier | $100 in free API credit to start; consumer chat closed to new users | Free plan: answers with citations and basic AI models, for limited daily usage |
| Paid from | Research API from $12 per 1,000 calls (Lite) | $20/month or $200/year (Pro); Max $200/month or $2,000/year |
| Has API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free to use | ✗ | ✓ |
| Users | — | 30M+ standalone monthly active users (100M+ across all products, 2026) |
| Founded | 2024 | 2022 |
| Maker | — | Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, Andy Konwinski |
| Verdict | You.com has stopped selling research to individuals: its free plan ended in April 2026, and from 4 August chat closed to new subscribers, leaving the Research API as the product. That API is reasonable infrastructure for... |
Perplexity is still the quickest way to get a sourced answer: each reply links to the pages behind it, so verification takes seconds. Pro at $20 a month adds Deep Research, model choice and Computer credits; Max at $200... |
| Full review → | Full review → |
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Comparisons cover up to 4 tools. Scores are RECATOOLS editorial assessments; verify current pricing on each vendor's site.