Kimi Deep Research vs Perplexity
Kimi Deep Research
kimi.aiPerplexity
perplexity.aiSide by side
| Figure | Kimi Deep Research | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $20/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 15 |
| Spec score · AI Research Assistants | 7.8 (#20) | 8.9 (#6) |
| Support | The Kimi Help Center has a Deep Research section covering research, search tips, report generation, downloads, and saving. | Max subscribers receive priority support with dedicated infrastructure and faster response times. |
Plans
Perplexity
- FreeFree
- Pro$20 a month
- Max$200 a month
- Education ProPriced on request
- Education ProPrice not published
- Enterprise Pro$40 a month
- Enterprise Max$325 a month
- FreeFree
- Pro$20 a month
- Max$200 a month
In their own words
Kimi Deep Research
Kimi Deep Research turns a research question into a cited report by clarifying its scope, making a plan, searching sources, and synthesizing findings. It searches the open web and professional databases spanning news, government, academic, corporate, financial, and economic material. Reports can contain charts and traceable citations from web research and uploaded files. Users can follow up within the same session, with additional sources gathered in light of earlier context and findings. Deliverables include Markdown, PDF, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and interactive HTML. Users may upload background files and review the agent’s queries and fetched URLs while it works. The feature lists use cases in finance and investment, academic and market research, consulting, business analysis, and due diligence. It is available on Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, web, and as an extension. The free plan has a limited monthly allowance, with usage measured by token consumption rather than a fixed query count; paid plans start at $19/mo. The privacy policy says prompts and uploaded files may be processed to provide and improve services, including training and optimizing AI models.
Perplexity
Perplexity is an answer engine that searches the open web and returns answers with inline citations. It can search files and connected apps alongside the web, and can select among more than 20 leading models, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Nemotron. Deep Research conducts searches across many sources and produces a report. Access is available on Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows, with an API also listed. The free plan has limited weekly use for simple questions. Pro costs $20 a month and adds Computer, premium data sources, web search, files, apps, model council, and model selection. Max costs $200 a month and offers higher limits for Deep Research, resource generation, file uploads, and monthly video creation. Enterprise Pro is $40 a month per seat; Enterprise Max is $325 a month per seat. Enterprise plans bill by seat, and API use requires separate credits. Perplexity lists more than 400 app connectors.