What is Perplexity Computer? How it works, what it costs and who it's for

Perplexity Computer is Perplexity’s AI agent: instead of answering a question with a list of sources, it takes on a whole task and works through it. Perplexity introduced it on February 25, 2026, describing it as a general-purpose digital worker that operates the same interfaces you do. It researches, writes, builds apps and reports, manages email and keeps working on a schedule. This guide explains what it does, the three versions, and how its credit system works.

Perplexity Computer at a glance

What Perplexity Computer does

Perplexity’s help center describes Computer as an independent digital worker that completes tasks and workflows instead of just providing information. It draws on:

• Search-native research: cited information from the web, including parallel searches across many items at once.
• Tool use: authenticated integrations with Gmail, Outlook, GitHub, Linear, Slack, Notion, Snowflake, Databricks and Salesforce.
• Creation: reports, presentations, apps, websites and rich media.
• Persistent memory: context kept across sessions and platforms.
• Scheduling and monitoring: recurring tasks and condition-based triggers, such as watching your email, calendar or flight status, plus morning briefings and deadline reminders.

Perplexity’s own summary of the difference: Perplexity answers your questions; Computer does your work. A single request can chain steps together — for example, research your top five competitors, compare their pricing, build a slide deck and email it to your team.

How Perplexity Computer works

1. You describe the outcome in plain language.
2. Computer splits it up. It creates sub-agents for the pieces, such as web research, document generation, data processing or calls to your connected services.
3. It works in the background, in a secure, isolated sandbox with its own files and browser, so you can do something else.
4. You iterate. Steer it as it goes, or start another task.

The models behind it are chosen automatically. Perplexity says Computer builds teams of agents across more than 20 frontier models and picks the best combination for each task. On September 4, 2026, for example, Perplexity added OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra to Computer for Pro and Max subscribers.

The three versions: Computer, Personal Computer and Portable Computer

Personal Computer is the superset. According to Perplexity, it does everything Computer does and can also work with your local machine: it reads, writes and searches folders you connect, operates native apps such as Mail and Finder on a Mac, takes voice commands and runs from a floating task bar. On a Mac mini it can run around the clock, and you can start or adjust tasks from an iPhone. On Windows, it works across local Word and Excel files, File Explorer and Outlook.

Portable Computer is for work you don’t want to leave your machine. It runs the model, planner and search index locally, so private data stays on the device and on-device work doesn’t use credits. Perplexity says it can escalate to the cloud, with your permission, for web access, connected apps or more advanced reasoning. Perplexity said on September 14 that Portable Computer is now available on Windows PCs with NVIDIA RTX GPUs.

How much Perplexity Computer costs

Computer runs on credits, and the plan you pay for decides how many you start with.

One dollar buys 100 credits. Perplexity gives typical ranges by task size, and stresses that they are examples, not guarantees:

The rules that matter:

• Ask searches don’t use credits. Neither does the Comet browser assistant in Search mode. In Comet, Work mode runs Computer and does use credits, so check the mode before you send a prompt.
• Credits are used in order: bonus first, then monthly, then purchased. Unused monthly credits don’t roll over; purchased credits expire if you don’t use Computer for a year.
• When credits run out, active tasks pause and resume automatically once you add credits or your monthly credits reset. New credit-using tasks are blocked until then.
• Auto-refill is off by default. If you turn it on, it triggers at 500 credits for Pro and 2,500 for Max.
• Max has a spending cap. The default is $200 a month, adjustable up to $5,000.
• On-device work is free. Portable Computer tasks handled by local models don’t use credits.
• Credits can’t be refunded, transferred or redeemed for cash.

What you can build with Computer

Perplexity’s gallery shows the range: interactive web apps, a rent-versus-buy calculator with a 30-year simulation, Excel workbooks with decades of market data, slide decks, animated charts and recurring monitors that flag anomalies. In Microsoft 365, Computer works in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook through a side panel, and it joined Microsoft Teams in May 2026.

Safety and control

Computer executes actions in an isolated sandbox with access to files and connected apps that you control. On Windows, Personal Computer alerts you before it does something sensitive, such as sending an email or deleting a file, and shows what it is doing so you can step in. On a Mac mini, sessions are protected with two-factor authentication. Portable Computer asks for permission before it sends anything from your device to the cloud.

As with any agent, connect only the apps a task needs, review documents before you share them, and be careful with irreversible actions.

Who Perplexity Computer suits

• Researchers and analysts who want cited research turned into a finished report or model.
• People who live in Microsoft 365 or Gmail and want an agent that works across email, documents and spreadsheets.
• Teams that need on-device options, through Portable Computer.

It is a poorer fit if you only need quick answers — Perplexity’s normal search costs no credits — or if you want a predictable monthly bill, since heavy tasks can cost several dollars each.

Perplexity Computer versus other agents

Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta offer agents of their own; see our guide to AI agents explained for how the category works more broadly. Claude’s is Claude Cowork, which is included with paid Claude plans, and OpenAI’s is ChatGPT Work. Perplexity’s differences are its search grounding, its multi-model approach and the credit meter. For a wider comparison of the two companies’ assistants, read Perplexity vs ChatGPT, or see our Perplexity profile. Perplexity also makes the Comet browser, which we compare with Chrome, Edge and Firefox in our guide to the best AI browsers.