Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs
Claude vs Perplexity vs Microsoft Copilot
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Claude
4.6Pick it if: Anyone who writes, researches or makes decisions for a living, plus anyone curious about Claude Code.
Perplexity
4.2Pick it if: Anyone who researches as part of their job and is sick of having ten tabs open.
Microsoft Copilot
3.6Pick it if: Businesses and people who spend their day in Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams.
Overview
| Attribute | Claude | Perplexity | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Anthropic's chat assistant, at its best on careful writing and long documents. | Ask a question and get a short answer from the web, with links to every source. | Microsoft's assistant, free on Windows and built into Word, Excel and Outlook. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $20/mo | $20/mo | $9.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Claude | Perplexity | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.6Winner | 4.2 | 3.6 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow much it can do, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Claude | Perplexity | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | No | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | No | Yes | No |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | No | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 14/ 17 | 15/ 17 | 14/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Claude | Perplexity | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Trying it out and light daily use. | Free Free Everyday questions and quick fact-checks. | Free Free Trying Copilot chat on Windows or your phone. |
ProOur pick $20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly Anyone who uses it most days. | ProOur pick $20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly Anyone who researches as part of their job. | Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99/mo, or $99.99/yr One person who wants Office plus some Copilot. | |
Max From $100/mo Heavy users and people living in Claude Code. | Max $200/mo, or $167/mo billed yearly Power users running the Computer agent all day. | Microsoft 365 PremiumOur pick $19.99/mo, or $199.99/yr Sole traders and households who want the full Copilot in Office. | |
Team From $20/seat/mo billed yearly Businesses with 2 to 150 people. | Enterprise See website Teams that need admin controls and data protection. | Microsoft 365 Copilot (business add-on) $30/user/mo billed yearly Businesses already on a Microsoft 365 business plan. | |
| Which plan to pick | Start on Free to see if the writing suits you. Most people who stick with it move to Pro within a month; only go to Max if you hit the Pro limits every day or you're running Claude Code for hours at a time. | Start free and see how often you hit the Pro search limit. If you research most days, Pro pays for itself in saved tabs. Max only makes sense if you're using the Computer agent heavily enough to burn through the credits. | If you're a sole trader or a household already paying for Microsoft 365, Premium is the easy upgrade. For a business, the $30 add-on only makes sense for the people who live in Excel, Outlook and Teams meetings; give everyone else the free Copilot Chat and a Claude or ChatGPT seat. |
Key features
| Attribute | Claude | Perplexity | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | Claude | Perplexity | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | Claude | Perplexity | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
|
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability. The "Visit" buttons may use affiliate links, which never affect a score.
Swap in another tool
More ai assistants & llms tools from the library.
