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Kimi vs Perplexity

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Verdict

Kimi and Perplexity are both AI Assistants tools. Perplexity scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.7 vs 7.9 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only Kimi is available on macOS. Only Perplexity is available on Android.

Best overall

Perplexity

  • Researchers
  • Students
  • Analysts
  • Journalists

Choose Kimi if

  • You want a tool built for Long-form research, generating slide decks and documents, parallel agent tasks, coding assistance with Kimi Code.
  • International USD plans start at $19/month and include Kimi Code and Agent Swarm.
  • Broad agent toolset: deep research, slides, documents, spreadsheets, website building and scheduled tasks.

Choose Perplexity if

  • You want a tool built for answering factual and current-events questions with checkable sources, and running multi-step web research.
  • Every answer links to numbered sources, so claims are easy to check.
  • Free plan includes search with citations.
Best for beginners
Perplexity
Best for business
Perplexity

Features

17 features compared.

  • Kimi K3 Assistant
    Kimi
    Available
    Perplexity
    Not available
  • Agent Swarm
    Kimi
    Available
    Perplexity
    Not available
  • Deep Research
    Kimi
    Available
    Perplexity
    Not available
  • Presentations and Documents
    Kimi
    Available
    Perplexity
    Not available
  • App and Website Builder
    Kimi
    Available
    Perplexity
    Not available
  • Scheduled Tasks and Projects
    Kimi
    Available
    Perplexity
    Not available
  • Kimi Code
    Kimi
    Available
    Perplexity
    Not available
  • Plugins
    Kimi
    Available
    Perplexity
    Not available
  • Goal Mode
    Kimi
    Available
    Perplexity
    Not available
  • Cited answers
    Kimi
    Not available
    Perplexity
    Available
  • Pro Search
    Kimi
    Not available
    Perplexity
    Available
  • Research
    Kimi
    Not available
    Perplexity
    Available
  • Model selection
    Kimi
    Not available
    Perplexity
    Available
  • File uploads
    Kimi
    Not available
    Perplexity
    Available
  • Perplexity Computer
    Kimi
    Not available
    Perplexity
    Available
  • Comet browser
    Kimi
    Not available
    Perplexity
    Available
  • Perplexity API
    Kimi
    Not available
    Perplexity
    Available

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Kimi
    Freemium
    Perplexity
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Kimi
    Yes
    Perplexity
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Kimi
    $0
    Perplexity
    $0
  • Plans
    Kimi
    5 plans
    Perplexity
    5 plans

Kimi plans

  • Free

    $0

    Entry tier of the consumer assistant

    • Chat
    • limited agent usage

  • Plus

    Most popular

    $19/month

    Entry paid plan for coding and research

    • Kimi Code
    • research
    • office tasks
    • Agent Swarm
    • rolling 5-hour Kimi Code limit with no weekly limit

  • Pro

    $39/month

    More credits and advanced agent features

    • Everything in Plus
    • more credits
    • Goal Mode
    • dedicated Kimi Claw

  • Max

    $99/month

    Heavy agent users

    • More credits
    • up to 4 parallel Agent tasks
    • 100 projects
    • 50GB storage
    • 20 scheduled tasks
    • 20 widget tasks

  • Ultra

    $199/month

    Highest-volume users

    • 10x Agent credits
    • up to 4 parallel Agent tasks
    • 100 projects
    • 50GB storage
    • 25 scheduled tasks
    • 25 widget tasks

Perplexity plans

  • Free

    $0

    Basic search with citations and limited daily usage.

    • Search with citations
    • 3 Pro Searches per day
    • 1 Research query per month
    • Limited file uploads

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $20/month

    Higher limits, advanced models and Perplexity Computer for individuals.

    • Extended Pro Search
    • Extended Research
    • Advanced AI models
    • Image generation
    • Create files and apps
    • Comet Assistant
    • Weekly Computer usage

  • Max

    $200/month

    Highest consumer limits, with monthly credits and priority support.

    • Everything in Pro
    • 10,000 monthly credits
    • Highest Comet Assistant limits
    • Brain (research preview)
    • Extended Create files and apps
    • Priority support

  • Enterprise Pro

    $40/user/mo

    Team plan with admin controls and organizational features.

    • 400 Pro Searches per week
    • 50 Research queries per month
    • 80 Comet Assistant queries per month
    • 500 monthly credits
    • File uploads and sharing

  • Enterprise Max

    $325/user/mo

    Highest enterprise limits with SCIM, audit logs and priority support.

    • 4,000 Pro Searches per week
    • 500 Research queries per month
    • 15,000 monthly credits
    • 15 videos per month
    • SCIM and audit logs
    • Priority support

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Kimi
7.9overall
Perplexity
8.7overall

  • Ease of Use

    Kimi
    8.0
    Perplexity
    Not rated

  • Feature Depth

    Kimi
    8.5
    Perplexity
    Not rated

  • Value for Money

    Kimi
    8.0
    Perplexity
    Not rated

  • Performance & Speed

    Kimi
    8.0
    Perplexity
    Not rated

  • Documentation & Support

    Kimi
    7.0
    Perplexity
    Not rated

  • Live Web Search & Citations

    Kimi
    Not rated
    Perplexity
    9.2

  • Real-time Factuality & News

    Kimi
    Not rated
    Perplexity
    8.6

  • Source Transparency

    Kimi
    Not rated
    Perplexity
    9.0

  • Document & Research Analysis

    Kimi
    Not rated
    Perplexity
    8.3

  • Search Speed & Responsiveness

    Kimi
    Not rated
    Perplexity
    8.5

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Kimi

Pros

  • International USD plans start at $19/month and include Kimi Code and Agent Swarm.
  • Broad agent toolset: deep research, slides, documents, spreadsheets, website building and scheduled tasks.
  • A separate pay-per-token API with a 1M-token context window on K3.
  • Rated 4.7 out of 5 from 5.3K ratings on the US App Store.
  • Earlier K2-family models were reported to have downloadable weights, which suits self-hosting teams.

Cons

  • Free-tier limits are not clearly published on the help pages.
  • Plan structure is changing: legacy plan names (Moderato, Allegretto, Allegro, Vivace) coexist with Plus, Pro, Max and Ultra, which can confuse buyers.
  • Credits do not roll over, and one shared pool covers chat, agents and Kimi Code.
  • The site interface and several help pages default to Chinese; I found no confirmed Android or Windows client.

Perplexity

Pros

  • Every answer links to numbered sources, so claims are easy to check
  • Free plan includes search with citations
  • Paid plans offer a choice of advanced models from several providers
  • Available on web, iOS, Android and through a developer API
  • Separate Comet browser integrates the assistant into browsing

Cons

  • Free plan is limited to 3 Pro Searches per day and 1 Research query per month
  • Pro and Max limits are described as weekly or monthly allowances rather than fixed numbers
  • Max costs $200 per month, and Enterprise Max costs $325
  • Answers can still contain errors, so the cited sources need checking

Platforms

  • Web
    Kimi
    Supported
    Perplexity
    Supported
  • Windows
    Kimi
    Not supported
    Perplexity
    Not supported
  • macOS
    Kimi
    Supported
    Perplexity
    Not supported
  • iOS
    Kimi
    Supported
    Perplexity
    Supported
  • Android
    Kimi
    Not supported
    Perplexity
    Supported
  • API
    Kimi
    Supported
    Perplexity
    Supported
  • Browser Extension
    Kimi
    Not supported
    Perplexity
    Not supported

Integrations

Kimi

4 integrations
  • Plugins marketplace
  • Kimi Browser Extension
  • Kimi Office Extension
  • Kimi Open Platform API

Perplexity

No integrations listed.

Company

  • Company
    Kimi
    Moonshot AI
    Perplexity
    Perplexity AI, Inc.
  • Founded
    Kimi
    2023
    Perplexity
    2022
  • Headquarters
    Kimi
    Beijing, China
    Perplexity
    San Francisco, CA
  • Listing
    Kimi
    Claimed
    Perplexity
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Kimi better than Perplexity?

It depends on your workflow. Kimi is built for Long-form research, generating slide decks and documents, parallel agent tasks, coding assistance with Kimi Code. Perplexity is built for answering factual and current-events questions with checkable sources, and running multi-step web research.

What are the key feature differences between Kimi and Perplexity?

Kimi: Chat, research and agent assistant from Moonshot AI, built on its Kimi K3 model. Perplexity: AI answer engine that searches the live web and cites its sources.

Does Kimi or Perplexity have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Kimi is freemium and Perplexity is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Kimi or Perplexity?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.