Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs
Google Gemini vs LMArena vs Perplexity
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
Pick it if: People whose work already runs on Gmail, Google Workspace or an Android phone.
Pick it if: Anyone choosing between AI tools, and people who want to know which model is leading right now.
Pick it if: Anyone who researches as part of their job and is sick of having ten tabs open.
Overview
| Attribute | Google Gemini | LMArena | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Google's assistant, built into Gmail, Docs, Drive and Android phones. | Free site where you compare AI models side by side and see which ones people rate best. | Ask a question and get a short answer from the web, with links to every source. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Free | Freemium |
| Starting price | US$4.99/mo | Free | $17/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | No | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Google Gemini | LMArena | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.2 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 3.0 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Google Gemini | LMArena | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | No | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | No | Yes |
| Browser extension | Yes | No | Yes |
| API access | Yes | No | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | No | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | No | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | No | 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 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | No | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | No | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 16/ 17 | 7/ 17 | 15/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Google Gemini | LMArena | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Light use and seeing how it feels. | FreeOur pick Free Everyone. | Free Free Everyday questions and quick fact-checks. |
Google AI Plus US$4.99/mo Casual users who want Gemini in Gmail and more storage. | ProOur pick $17/mo billed yearly Anyone who researches as part of their job. | ||
Google AI ProOur pick US$19.99/mo Anyone who works in Google Workspace every day. | Max $167/mo billed yearly Power users running the Computer agent all day. | ||
Google AI Ultra From US$99.99/mo Heavy creative and agent users. | Enterprise Pro $34/seat/mo billed yearly Teams that need admin controls and data protection. | ||
Enterprise Max $271/seat/mo billed yearly Research teams working with large datasets and files. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Skip the free plan for anything serious now that it's Flash-Lite only. AI Pro (US$19.99, or A$32.99 in Australia) is the one to buy: it's the cheapest way to get Gemini 4 Argon plus Gemini in Docs and Gmail, and the 5 TB of storage offsets a Google One bill. Ultra is for people generating video all day. | There's nothing to buy. Use it free, and pay for whichever assistant comes out best for your work. | Start free and see how often you hit the Pro search limit. If you research most days, Pro pays for itself in saved tabs. Its 4,000 bonus Computer credits are a one-off and run out after about 30 days, so don't count them as a monthly allowance. Max only makes sense if you're using the Computer agent heavily enough to burn through the credits. |
Key features
| Attribute | Google Gemini | LMArena | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Google Gemini | LMArena | Perplexity |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Google Gemini | LMArena | Perplexity |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Google Gemini, LMArena or Perplexity?
They tie on our overall rating (Google Gemini 4.2/5, LMArena 3.8/5 and Perplexity 4.2/5). Google Gemini is best for searching and summarising your Gmail and drafting in Google Docs. LMArena is best for choosing between AI models with your own prompts and checking which model leads after a launch. Perplexity is best for fact-checking and quick research and competitor and market research.
Which is cheaper, Google Gemini, LMArena or Perplexity?
Google Gemini: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at US$4.99/mo. LMArena: It's free to use. Perplexity: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $17/mo.
Which is easier to use, Google Gemini, LMArena or Perplexity?
Perplexity rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who researches as part of their job and is sick of having ten tabs open.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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