updated
Aug 13, 2026
363MB
file size
3.4K
downloads
Perplexity is a free Android app from Perplexity AI that answers questions in plain language by reading live web pages for you, footnoting every claim with a source link you can tap, with only the heaviest Pro Search runs metered.
Ask Perplexity a question in plain words and it reads across the live web, then hands back a short answer with numbered sources you can tap.
Every line in that answer carries a citation, so nothing rests on trust alone.
The build listed here is version 2.95.0, free to download and free to use, with a paid tier you can quite happily ignore.
What Perplexity Actually Does
A search engine hands you ten links and leaves the reading to you. Perplexity does the reading first, writes a short summary, and footnotes each part of it with a link back to where that bit came from.
Ask it the difference between AV1 and H.265 and you get a paragraph, not a results page. The numbered citations sit inline, so when the answer actually matters you can check the source in one tap.
It also holds on to the thread. Follow-up questions build on the last answer, so you can narrow something down without re-explaining the background every time.
Voice input is there if you would rather talk than type, and the Library keeps your past searches so you can pick a topic back up next week.
Who It Is For - and Who Should Look Elsewhere
This is the right app when you need a fact you can trace back. Students collecting sources, anyone checking a claim before they share it, and shoppers trying to work out which of two products is actually better are all well served.
The tell that you are in the wrong app is simple: you keep asking it to write something rather than find something. Perplexity answers questions well and drafts prose only adequately.
For writing, brainstorming and long coding sessions, ChatGPT feels more natural. If you want live social context in the answer, Grok reads the X feed as it replies.
And if you would rather not commit to one model at all, Poe AI puts GPT, Claude and Gemini behind a single login so you can put the same question to each.
How It Compares to the Other AI Apps
The AI shelf in our Android APK section is crowded now, and each app has a lane it is genuinely good in.
| App | Built around | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|
| Perplexity | Live web search with citations | You need a fact and a source for it |
| ChatGPT | A large trained model, plus web access | You are writing, drafting or coding |
| Grok | The live X feed | You want the take on something happening now |
| Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft 365 | Your day happens in Word, Excel and Outlook |
| DeepSeek | A small, fast, free model | You want coding help and no paid tier, and you are comfortable with data held on servers in China |
| Monica AI | Several models in one assistant | You want one app for general task help |
Where Perplexity wins is easy to state: answers you can check. When you need a fact rather than a paragraph of confident-sounding text, the citation trail is the whole difference.
What the Free Plan Actually Gets You
Ordinary questions, follow-ups, voice input and the Library all sit on the free side of the line, and none of them ask for a card.
What is metered is Pro Search, the slower mode that splits a big question into smaller ones and reads dozens of pages before it answers. Free accounts get a limited number of those in a day, and the paid Pro tier lifts that cap and adds a choice of underlying model.
The practical version. Most everyday questions never touch the Pro Search limit, so for the majority of people the free tier is the whole product rather than a teaser for it.
Installing the APK
- Tap the download button and save the APK to your phone.
- If Android asks, allow installs from that source, then open the file to install it.
- Sign in or create a free account, so your threads and your Library follow you between devices.
The build listed here is 363MB, which is large for a chat-style app, so start it on Wi-Fi. Perplexity also needs a live connection to work at all, because the searching happens out on the web rather than on your phone.
If you want to know what is inside the file before you install it, our APK Checker reads the manifest and reports the real Android requirement.
Run this build through Play Store Check and it comes back as a maybe: the app asks for the Play licensing permission, but none of the harder markers that force a Play Store handshake are in the file. On a phone without Google Play it will most likely open, and the only way to be certain is to install it.
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
One rule for APK files. Install only builds that come from the developer or from a source that publishes the file, and treat anything advertised as modded, cracked or unlocked as repackaged by a stranger.
Our walkthrough on installing an APK safely covers the checks worth doing, and if a download refuses to open at all, that is usually the file and not your phone.
If You'd Rather Have AI Inside Your Browser
Some people would rather not switch to a separate app at all, and want the assistant sitting in the page they are already reading.
Comet Browser is Perplexity's own desktop browser, running this same answer engine against whatever tab you have open. OpenAI tried the same idea with Atlas and gave up on it, switching the browser off in August 2026 and folding the features back into its app.
On the privacy side, Brave Browser ships its Leo assistant alongside the ad blocker, and Opera Browser bundles an AI helper with a built-in VPN.
The full shelf sits in Web Browsers, and if you would rather keep the VPN separate from the browser, Proton VPN is the standalone one on the site.
Perplexity is not a small operation these days either - it made a $34.5 billion bid for Chrome, which tells you roughly where its ambitions sit.
For the wider picture, our browser privacy roundup covers who collects what, and the piece on Brave, honestly is a fair look at the most talked-about of them.
If it is the search engine rather than the browser you want to replace, Qwant is the EU-built private alternative.
Quick questions
Is Perplexity free?
Yes. Searching, follow-up questions, voice input and the Library cost nothing, and you do not need to enter a card. The paid Pro tier raises the daily limit on Pro Search and adds a choice of model.
Do I need an account?
You can ask questions without one, but an account is what saves your Library and syncs it to your other devices. It is free to create.
Will it work on a phone without the Play Store?
Probably, but it is not guaranteed. This build asks for the Play licensing permission, so it may check in with the Play Store when it starts, although none of the stronger lock-in markers are present. Install it and see - if it refuses to open, that is what happened.
Perplexity or ChatGPT?
Perplexity for questions you need sourced, ChatGPT for anything you need written. Plenty of people keep both, because they are genuinely good at different jobs.
Does it work offline?
No. Every answer is assembled from pages read live at the moment you ask, so without a connection there is nothing for it to read.
Why is the download so large?
The package listed on this page is 363MB, which is much bigger than a plain chat app. Check the figure shown on the download page before you start, because it changes between releases.
Download Perplexity 2.95.0 and try it on a question you already know the answer to, so you can see how the citations hold up, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before.
