Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs
Google Gemini vs Perplexity vs Z.ai
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 who researches as part of their job and is sick of having ten tabs open.
Pick it if: Developers who want a cheaper engine for Claude Code and similar tools, and anyone who wants free access to a top open model.
Overview
| Attribute | Google Gemini | Perplexity | Z.ai |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Google's assistant, built into Gmail, Docs, Drive and Android phones. | Ask a question and get a short answer from the web, with links to every source. | Free chat with Zhipu's open GLM models, plus a cheap coding plan for Claude Code users. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | US$4.99/mo | $17/mo | $18/mo or $12.60/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Google Gemini | Perplexity | Z.ai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Google Gemini | Perplexity | Z.ai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Browser extension | Yes | Yes | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | No |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | Yes |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | Yes | No |
| Makes video | Yes | 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 | 16/ 17 | 15/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Google Gemini | Perplexity | Z.ai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Light use and seeing how it feels. | Free Free Everyday questions and quick fact-checks. | Chat Free Anyone who wants to try GLM or use Agent mode. |
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. | Coding Plan LiteOur pick $18/mo or $12.60/mo billed yearly Developers trying GLM inside their coding tool. | |
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. | Coding Plan Pro $80/mo or $56/mo billed yearly Daily agentic coding. | |
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. | Coding Plan Max $168/mo or $117.60/mo billed yearly Developers running agents for hours every day. | |
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. | 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. | For chat, it's free. Developers should start with Coding Plan Lite and code off-peak, because usage between 2pm and 6pm Singapore time on weekdays costs more credits. Move to Pro only if you hit the weekly cap. |
Key features
| Attribute | Google Gemini | Perplexity | Z.ai |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Google Gemini | Perplexity | Z.ai |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Google Gemini | Perplexity | Z.ai |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Google Gemini, Perplexity or Z.ai?
They tie on our overall rating (Google Gemini 4.2/5, Perplexity 4.2/5 and Z.ai 3.5/5). Google Gemini is best for searching and summarising your Gmail and drafting in Google Docs. Perplexity is best for fact-checking and quick research and competitor and market research. Z.ai is best for cheaper agentic coding in Claude Code or OpenCode and free chat with a top open model.
Which is cheaper, Google Gemini, Perplexity or Z.ai?
Google Gemini: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at US$4.99/mo. Perplexity: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $17/mo. Z.ai: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $18/mo or $12.60/mo.
Which is easier to use, Google Gemini, Perplexity or Z.ai?
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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