Perplexity vs Microsoft Copilot Search

Perplexity9.4Visit Microsoft Copilot Search8.5Visit

Higher score Perplexity #1 in AI Search Engines 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Perplexity

vs

Microsoft Copilot Search #7 in AI Search Engines 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Microsoft

• Perplexity fits best

  Broad research with citations and integrations

• Microsoft Copilot Search fits best

  Free mainstream web search answers

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Side by side

Feature	Perplexity 9.4/10 Visit ↗	Microsoft Copilot Search 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.5
Ranking	#1 in AI Search Engines	#7 in AI Search Engines
Best for	Broad research with citations and integrations	Free mainstream web search answers
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Mobile	Cloud
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web
Support	Email, Live chat, Community, Docs	Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business
Features Perplexity 0/4 · Microsoft Copilot Search 0/4
Deep research mode	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Source filters	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Browser extension	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
API access	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Citation format	Not checked yet	Source_list
Mobile apps	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Monthly query limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Real-time web search returns answers with inline citations Deep Research, file analysis, and multiple AI models support broader workflows Web, desktop, mobile, API, and productivity integrations extend access	Free access combines traditional and generative web search Summaries include cited sources, links, images, and videos Multi-turn searches retain context and suggest related topics
Cons	Free plan includes limited usage Pro costs $20 per month; Max costs $200 per month The broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple web searches	Feature availability may vary by market, device, or browser Citation formats can vary across results Not available as an open-source search engine
Our verdict	Perplexity is an AI answer engine for people researching the open web, asking follow-up questions, and working across online and local content. It searches in real time and presents conversational answers with inline citations. Access is… Read the review →	Microsoft Copilot Search is an AI-assisted web search experience built into Bing for people researching the public web. It combines traditional results with AI-generated summaries, contextual information, cited web sources, images, videos,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Perplexity — where it wins

  • Real-time web search returns answers with inline citations
  • Deep Research, file analysis, and multiple AI models support broader workflows
  • Web, desktop, mobile, API, and productivity integrations extend access

  Where it doesn't

  • Free plan includes limited usage
  • Pro costs $20 per month; Max costs $200 per month
  • The broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple web searches

• Microsoft Copilot Search — where it wins

  • Free access combines traditional and generative web search
  • Summaries include cited sources, links, images, and videos
  • Multi-turn searches retain context and suggest related topics

  Where it doesn't

  • Feature availability may vary by market, device, or browser
  • Citation formats can vary across results
  • Not available as an open-source search engine

• Perplexity9.4/10 · Free plan

  A broad research assistant combining cited web search, advanced models, files, and integrations.

  Visit PerplexityFull verdict →
• Microsoft Copilot Search8.5/10 · Free plan

  A free Bing search experience for concise, cited answers and contextual follow-ups.

  Visit MicrosoftFull verdict →