Comparison

Perplexity vs You.com vs Genspark

A side-by-side look at three AI answer engines, drawn from their index records.

At a glance

Three products that are often compared but are not the same kind of tool: Perplexity is a cited answer engine, You.com sells search and research APIs alongside a consumer product, and Genspark produces research pages and agent output. Sourced rows carry a per-product verification state.

Scrolling keeps every product column reachable

Perplexity vs You.com vs Genspark
Dimension	Perplexity	You.com	Genspark
Company	Perplexity AI	You.com	Genspark
Category	Answer Engines	Answer Engines	Answer Engines
Business model	Freemium	Freemium	Freemium
Licence	—	—	—
Pricing	A free tier is available; Perplexity Pro adds more Deep Research queries, frontier model choice, and file limits.	You.com offers free credits for new API keys and usage-based pricing for its search APIs; enterprise plans add custom QPS limits and zero data retention. Pricing ↗	Prices are published in USD on Genspark's help centre: Free $0 with 100 credits per day (up to a lifetime allowance) and 1 GB of AI Drive storage; Plus $24.99/month, or $19.99/month billed annually at $239.99/year (from 10,000 monthly credits, 50 GB); Pro $249.99/month, or $199.99/month billed annually at $2,399.99/year (from 125,000 monthly credits, 1 TB); Team $35 per seat/month (10,000 credits per seat/month); Enterprise custom. Annual figures are the monthly equivalent when billed yearly, not a month-to-month rate. Benefits are stated as valid through 30 June 2027. Pricing ↗
Documentation	Documentation ↗	Documentation ↗	—
Launched	2022-12	2021-11	2024-06
Availability	Global	Global	Global
Core job	Cited web answers Not independently verified — Editorial characterisation written to compare the products; no single vendor page states it in these words.	Search and research APIs Not independently verified — Editorial characterisation written to compare the products; no single vendor page states it in these words.	Research pages / agents Not independently verified — Editorial characterisation written to compare the products; no single vendor page states it in these words.
Citation style	Inline sources on answers Not independently verified — Editorial characterisation written to compare the products; no single vendor page states it in these words.	Results plus AI overview Not independently verified — Editorial characterisation written to compare the products; no single vendor page states it in these words.	Structured research output Not independently verified — Editorial characterisation written to compare the products; no single vendor page states it in these words.
Pricing	Freemium — free tier with paid Pro plans (tiers not confirmed) Not independently verified — The help-centre article returned HTTP 403 to automated requests on 2026-10-09, so plan tiers could not be read.	Free 100 web searches/day via MCP; pay-as-you-go from $5 per 1,000 calls; enterprise plans Source ↗ Verified 2026-10-09	Free $0; Plus $24.99/mo, or $19.99/mo billed annually at $239.99/yr; Pro $249.99/mo, or $199.99/mo billed annually at $2,399.99/yr; Team $35/seat/mo; Enterprise custom. All prices USD; annual figures are the monthly equivalent when billed yearly. Source ↗ Verified 2026-10-13
API and developer access	Router, Agent, Search and Embeddings APIs Source ↗ Verified 2026-10-09	Web Search API, Answer/Research APIs, MCP, SDKs Source ↗ Verified 2026-10-09	Consumer membership plans; see the official help centre Source ↗ Verified 2026-10-09
Updated	2026-10-09	2026-10-10	2026-10-13

Fields taken from the product records use the record dates shown. Sourced claims are labelled per product: verified against the linked page on the date shown, taken from the product record without re-checking, or not independently verified.

Quick answer

Perplexity, You.com, Genspark can be used free of charge to start.

Where they differ — the rows worth reading first: Launched.
Identical on the record: Business model, Licence, Where it runs, Works offline, Runs on.

When to choose each

Perplexity — When you want a widely used cited-answer product with consumer and Pro research modes.
You.com — When you want search and research APIs to ground your own AI applications rather than a consumer answer app.
Genspark — When you want spark-page / agent-style research rather than a single short answer.

Each tool on the record

Perplexity

Perplexity is made by Perplexity AI. The record lists it as Freemium, first recorded in 2022, and fit for Research with citations, Search. Its values below carry their own source and date.

Perplexity is listed under Answer Engines: Services that answer questions directly by combining search with generative AI.

Company: Perplexity AI
Category: Answer Engines
Business model: Freemium
Licence: proprietary
Launched: 2022-12
Availability: Global
Tasks it fits: Research with citations, Search
How you use it: Web app
Runs on: Web
Where it runs: Vendor cloud
Works offline: Not recorded
Commercial use: Not recorded

Pricing on the record: A free tier is available; Perplexity Pro adds more Deep Research queries, frontier model choice, and file limits.

Sources on the record: Official website, Perplexity AI (Wikipedia), Overview - Perplexity.

Not recorded for Perplexity: Works offline, Commercial use. An empty field is reported as unknown rather than guessed.

You.com

You.com is made by You.com. The record lists it as Freemium, first recorded in 2021, and fit for Research with citations, Search. Its values below carry their own source and date.

You.com is listed under Answer Engines: Services that answer questions directly by combining search with generative AI.

Company: You.com
Category: Answer Engines
Business model: Freemium
Licence: proprietary
Launched: 2021-11
Availability: Global
Tasks it fits: Research with citations, Search
How you use it: API
Runs on: Web
Where it runs: Vendor cloud
Works offline: Not recorded
Commercial use: Not recorded

Pricing on the record: You.com offers free credits for new API keys and usage-based pricing for its search APIs; enterprise plans add custom QPS limits and zero data retention.

Sources on the record: Official website, You.com (Wikipedia), Enterprise AI solutions, Official pricing, API documentation.

Not recorded for You.com: Works offline, Commercial use. An empty field is reported as unknown rather than guessed.

Genspark

Genspark is made by Genspark. The record lists it as Freemium, first recorded in 2024, and fit for Research with citations, Search. Its values below carry their own source and date.

Genspark is listed under Answer Engines: Services that answer questions directly by combining search with generative AI.

Company: Genspark
Category: Answer Engines
Business model: Freemium
Licence: proprietary
Launched: 2024-06
Availability: Global
Tasks it fits: Research with citations, Search
How you use it: Web app
Runs on: Web
Where it runs: Vendor cloud
Works offline: Not recorded
Commercial use: Not recorded

Pricing on the record: Prices are published in USD on Genspark's help centre: Free $0 with 100 credits per day (up to a lifetime allowance) and 1 GB of AI Drive storage; Plus $24.99/month, or $19.99/month billed annually at $239.99/year (from 10,000 monthly credits, 50 GB); Pro $249.99/month, or $199.99/month billed annually at $2,399.99/year (from 125,000 monthly credits, 1 TB); Team $35 per seat/month (10,000 credits per seat/month); Enterprise custom. Annual figures are the monthly equivalent when billed yearly, not a month-to-month rate. Benefits are stated as valid through 30 June 2027.

Sources on the record: Official website, Membership Plans — Genspark Help Center, MainFunc (parent company).

Not recorded for Genspark: Works offline, Public API, Commercial use. An empty field is reported as unknown rather than guessed.

Frequently asked questions

Which of these has been available longest?

You.com — first recorded in 2021.

Which of these can I start using for free?

Free to start: Perplexity, You.com, Genspark.

Which of these is open source?

None of these is open source; every tool in this comparison is proprietary.

Which of these works offline?

None of these is recorded as working offline.

Which of these has a public API?

A public API is recorded for Perplexity, You.com.

Which platforms do these run on?

Recorded platforms — Perplexity: Web · You.com: Web · Genspark: Web.

Can any of these be self-hosted or run locally?

None of these is recorded as self-hosted or local; all run as a hosted service.

Are these the same as ChatGPT with browsing?

They are built as search/answer products first. General assistants with a browse tool overlap but are indexed under AI assistants.

Do they replace academic search?

Not by themselves. Paper-oriented tools are grouped separately in the answer-engines guide.

Are these three the same kind of tool?

No. The index records Perplexity as an answer engine built around cited answers, You.com as offering search and research APIs as well as a consumer product, and Genspark as producing research pages and agent output rather than a single short answer. Treat the rows as descriptions, not scores.

How to use a comparison

Start from the task, not the brand: filter the index by what you need to get done.
Check the evidence: a value marked “verified” names the source page and the date it was checked.
Prefer the vendor’s own page for the final decision: prices and limits change without notice.

Related guides

Sources and record dates

Record dates describe index updates, not independent product tests. Check linked documentation for current features and pricing.