Perplexity focuses on AI-powered conversational search with real-time web results and citation tracking, while You.com emphasizes user privacy and customizable search with options for different AI models. Perplexity has stronger funding ($500M+ valuation) and more polished interface, while You.com offers more control over data and model selection.
Perplexity vs You.com — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
AI-powered research engine with real-time web search and comprehensive source citations
Privacy-focused customizable search engine with flexible AI model selection and no query tracking.
Funding & Valuation. Primary Focus. Citation Accuracy Rate. Model Options. Data Privacy Policy. Active Monthly Users. Free Tier Limitations
Choose Perplexity if you prioritize polish, funding stability, real-time web integration, and don't mind data usage for model improvement—it's become the more mature product with stronger market traction. Choose You.com if privacy is your primary concern, you want full control over which AI models power your searches, and prefer unlimited free queries without artificial limits.
Perplexity AI: Included with unlimited quick searches | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Custom Skills for task automation | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Model Council (multiple simultaneous) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Extended with Context Compaction | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Live web integration for latest data | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Strong aggregation, moderate synthesis | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 200,000 (GPT-5.5) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Not publicly disclosed | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: AI-generated paragraph with citations | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 5-12% (LLM generation) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Full context memory across turns | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Inline citations directly in answer text | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: $0-200 (free tier + Pro) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 5 pro searches/day | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: No native integration | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Multi-model (Claude 3.5, GPT-4o, Llama) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Default on every query | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Comprehensive citations (95-100%) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Browser extension only | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 10+ million (as of 2025) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 5 searches/day | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 100% of responses cited | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 3+ models (Claude, GPT-4, Mistral) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: ~5 million (2026) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Limited (web access) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 64,000 tokens | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Yes (live search) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: URLs with inline attribution | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 5 MB per file | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: $1.00 (Pro API) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: JPEG, PNG, WebP (basic analysis) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 5+ million | You.com: 0.5+ million
Perplexity AI: 4 searches/day | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Yes, unlimited searches | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Claude 3.5 Sonnet (via selection) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Yes (default on all answers) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Limited (growing slowly) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Real-time (updated within hours) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Proprietary + GPT-4 option | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 8-15 citations | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Unlimited (basic) + 5 Pro searches | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 82.9% (Perplexity model) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 3 (Web, browser extension, API) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: iOS/Android (full-featured) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: AI-synthesized paragraph with citations | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Yes (free & paid tier) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: Real-time crawl (dynamic) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 20 queries/day | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 200,000,000 | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 5 searches | You.com: Unlimited
Perplexity AI: 3 primary models | You.com: 4+ models
Perplexity AI: Retained for model training | You.com: Zero retention, no tracking
Perplexity AI: 5 Pro searches (standard: unlimited basic) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 95%+ (every claim cited) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 1 (web browser plugin only) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 3 selectable (GPT-4, Claude 3, Llama 2) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: 4.6/5 (iOS App Store, 22,100 reviews) | You.com: N/A
Perplexity AI: N/A | You.com: Unlimited (fair use)
Perplexity AI: N/A | You.com: $10.50/month (annual)
Perplexity AI: N/A | You.com: Zero tracking, no data retention
Perplexity AI: N/A | You.com: 5+ specialized modes
Perplexity AI: N/A | You.com: Sources listed separately at bottom
Perplexity AI: N/A | You.com: Web-based only, responsive design (3.8/5)
Perplexity AI: N/A | You.com: 12-24 hours
Perplexity AI: N/A | You.com: Full API with comprehensive documentation
How to choose between Perplexity AI and You.com
Perplexity vs You.com — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Perplexity vs You.com. Contains 89 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Perplexity vs You.com — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Perplexity vs You.com.
Which AI search engine is better for privacy?
You.com is significantly better for privacy—it has a zero-retention policy and doesn't use your queries to train models. Perplexity retains query data to improve its models, which some users may find concerning. If privacy is your top priority, You.com is the clear choice.
Can I use both Perplexity and You.com for free?
Yes, both offer free tiers. Perplexity allows 5 free searches per day in its free tier, while You.com offers unlimited free searches but with access to basic models only. For unlimited free use, You.com is more generous.
Which has better source citations and accuracy?
Perplexity has a higher citation accuracy rate at 92% compared to You.com's 88%. Perplexity also offers more transparent source attribution and better integration of real-time web results. For research requiring precise citations, Perplexity is the stronger choice.
What's the difference in AI models available?
You.com offers more model flexibility, allowing you to choose between Claude, GPT-4, Llama, and others on a per-query basis. Perplexity offers Claude, GPT-4, and its own custom models, but with less granular control. Power users preferring model selection should choose You.com.
Which service is more stable and likely to last?
Perplexity has stronger financial backing with $500M+ Series B funding versus You.com's $20M Series A, suggesting Perplexity has greater long-term stability. Perplexity also has 10x more monthly active users (5M vs 500K), indicating stronger market adoption and sustainability.
How to Choose Between Perplexity AI and You.com
Funding & Valuation: Perplexity AI has $500M+ Series B (2024), while You.com has $20M Series A (2022).
Primary Focus: Perplexity AI has AI-powered conversational search, while You.com has Privacy-first customizable search.
Citation Accuracy Rate: Perplexity AI has 92% accurate citations, while You.com has 88% accurate citations.
Model Options: Perplexity AI has Claude, GPT-4, Perplexity custom models, while You.com has Claude, GPT-4, Llama, custom selection.
Data Privacy Policy: Perplexity AI has Standard retention, improves model training, while You.com has No data retention, no model training on queries.
Active Monthly Users: Perplexity AI has 5M+ (estimated 2024), while You.com has 500K+ (estimated 2024).
Free Tier Limitations: Perplexity AI has 5 daily searches, limited AI models, while You.com has Unlimited searches, limited to basic model.