S
SNotebookLM vs Perplexity AI
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
N
Choose NotebookLM if…
- you want a free plan to start with
- you're in its core audience: students, researchers
P
Choose Perplexity AI if…
- you need an API to build on
- you're in its core audience: researchers, knowledge workers
Side by side
Feature NotebookLM Perplexity AI
Pricing modelFreemiumPaid
Starting price——
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CategoryResearch AssistantsAI Search
CompanyGooglePerplexity
Based in——
Founded—2022
Part of——
Key features
N NotebookLM
- Notebooks organized around your uploaded sources
- Answers questions using a Gemini model
- Up to 600 sources per notebook on top tiers
- Notebook sharing, with advanced controls on Enterprise
- Workspace and Workspace for Education access
- Enterprise security controls via Google Cloud
P Perplexity AI
- Answers questions using live web search
- Search API with Standard and Fast Search modes
- Agent API running OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and other models
- Built-in tools: web, image, people and finance search
- Code sandbox sessions for agents
- pplx-embed embedding models
- Orchestrator API with per-token billing
- Decisions API that charges for input tokens only
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
NotebookLM
StandardFree
Plus (Google AI Plus)Price not stated
Pro (Google AI Pro)Price not stated
Ultra (Google AI Ultra)Price not stated
EnterpriseCustom
Perplexity AI
Search API$5.00 per 1K requests (Standard); $1.00 per 1K (Fast Search)
Agent API toolsFrom $0.50 per 1K calls
Embeddings API$0.004–$0.05 per 1M tokens
Decisions API$0.01–$0.02 per 1M input tokens
Strengths and limitations
NotebookLM
- Free Standard tier allows 100 notebooks and 50 sources per notebook
- Paid tiers raise limits to as many as 600 sources per notebook
- Available through Workspace, Workspace for Education and Google Cloud
- NotebookLM help page gives no prices; they sit on separate Google AI plan pages
- Watermarks stay on output in India, South Korea and Vietnam even on paid plans
- Google labels plan limits as subject to change
Perplexity AI
- Published per-request and per-token API pricing
- Requests rejected with a 429 error are not billed on the Orchestrator API
- Access to models from several vendors through one Agent API
- Decisions API output tokens are free
- Search API bills successful requests even when they return no results
- Per-token model rates are on separate pages rather than in the main pricing overview
More comparisons
Other options to consider
SS
Free
S
Free AI-powered search engine for scientific papers across all fields
Research AssistantsFree planAPI
C
CAI search engine that answers questions from peer-reviewed research papers
Free, from $20/mo
C
Free, from $20/mo
C
AI search engine that answers questions from peer-reviewed research papers
Research AssistantsFree planAPI
E
EAI research assistant for paper search, systematic reviews and evidence reports
Free, from $49/mo
E
Free, from $49/mo
E
AI research assistant for paper search, systematic reviews and evidence reports
Research AssistantsFree planAPI
K
KK
Free, from $12.99/mo
K
AI flashcards, notes and exam prep built from lectures, PDFs and videos
Learning & TutoringFree plan
C
CNote-taking app that organizes ideas as linked objects instead of folders
Free, from $9.99/mo
C
Free, from $9.99/mo
C
Note-taking app that organizes ideas as linked objects instead of folders
Notes & KnowledgeFree planAPI
E
EE
Free, from $14.99/mo
E
Notes, tasks and calendar in one app, with AI search and transcription
Notes & KnowledgeFree plan
Built from each vendor's public website; we haven't tested them hands-on. Editorial policy