Perplexity Computer in 2026: product forms, credit pricing, and where it fits

Perplexity Computer is an AI agent platform introduced by Perplexity on Feb. 25, 2026. A user describes a goal in one sentence, and the system breaks it into tasks and subtasks, assigns them to more than 20 frontier models and sub-agents, and keeps running in the cloud for hours or even months before returning a report, spreadsheet, slide deck, dashboard, or website.

ABMedia’s guide says the product expanded within about half a year from a Max-only cloud service into three forms: the cloud-based Computer, Personal Computer for Mac and Windows, and Portable Computer, a fully local version launched with NVIDIA near the end of August. The guide cites Perplexity’s official blog and help center, with information updated through Sept. 11, 2026.

How Perplexity defines Computer

In its launch post, Perplexity described Computer as a 「general-purpose digital worker」. In that framing, the chat interface gives answers, agents carry out tasks, and Computer is the system that builds and executes an entire workflow.

The process starts with a desired outcome. Computer turns that outcome into tasks and subtasks, creates sub-agents, and lets them work in parallel. Some handle web research. Some generate documents. Others process data or call APIs from connected services. While one agent drafts a document, another can gather the material it needs.

Coordination is automated, and work runs asynchronously. Users can run dozens of Computers at the same time. If a problem appears, the system can create more sub-agents to deal with it, only coming back to the user when needed. Each task runs inside an isolated compute environment with a real file system, a real browser, and real tool integrations.

Relationship with Perplexity Search and Comet

Perplexity said in a May explainer that Search, the Comet browser, and Computer sit on one continuum. Search is built to return accurate answers. Comet brings agents into the browser. Computer turns one question into a team of agents that keeps working over time.

The company also says it takes a model-neutral harness approach, replacing underlying models as they improve rather than tying the product to one model family.

How the model stack is split up

At launch, Computer used Claude Opus 4.6 for core reasoning and sent subtasks to the model best suited to each job. Perplexity’s examples were specific: Gemini for deep research and spawning additional sub-agents, Nano Banana for image generation, Veo 3.1 for video generation, Grok for lighter and faster tasks, and ChatGPT 5.2 for long-context memory and broad search.

Perplexity said this mix would change as models evolved. Users can also assign a model to a particular subtask and set a token budget.

The model count has varied across documents and product lines. A February changelog listed 19 models. Official documentation from March referred to more than 20. The August materials for Computer for Builders described more than 15 frontier models.

What Computer can do

ABMedia’s breakdown covers the main functions and when they were introduced:

• Multi-model orchestration and sub-agents: one-sentence goals are split into subtasks and run in parallel, with jobs able to continue for hours to months. Launch date: Feb. 25.
• Connectors and Skills: Gmail, Slack, Notion, calendars, and hundreds of other services are supported. The enterprise version lists more than 400 services. Users can also add custom Skills to teach the system how to work. Expansion started on Feb. 25.
• Slack, Teams, and Microsoft 365: users can assign work inside Slack direct messages or channels and schedule tasks; Teams integration arrived on May 4; sidebars for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook followed on May 28.
• Email tasking: introduced on Aug. 18. Users can send, forward, or cc messages to computer@perplexity.com. Computer reads the full thread and attachments, then replies in the same thread with deliverables such as Excel files, PDFs, and slide decks.
• Deep Research and Search as Code: integrated on June 11, bringing agentic multi-step search into Computer and allowing users to write search programs for each question, with thousands of steps running in parallel.
• Model Council: launched on July 28. Users can choose 2 to 8 models to form a “board,” have them weigh in on the same question, then let Computer summarize agreements and disagreements in a report or presentation.
• Projects and Brain memory: Spaces was renamed Projects on July 30 to centralize tasks and shared files. Brain, introduced in research preview, is a self-improving memory system that was free for Max users during the preview period.
• Licensed data sources: Statista, CB Insights, and PitchBook were added on March 12. On Aug. 25, Perplexity added more than 20 financial data sources including Dun & Bradstreet, Guidepoint, and IBISWorld, with source traceability for each figure.
• Vertical editions: releases from April through August included Computer for Taxes, personal finance with Plaid, professional finance, legal work through Counsel, and Computer for Builders with GitHub, Datadog, and Stripe.

The article notes that Chain News reported in March that a demo video showing Computer build a Bloomberg Terminal-like stock dashboard went viral on social media. By August, ABMedia says, that kind of “one sentence to a financial tool” workflow had official licensed financial data behind it.

Three product forms

Cloud Computer

The basic form is the cloud version, where tasks run in Perplexity’s cloud sandbox. Perplexity’s product page says it is available to Pro and Max subscribers across desktop, mobile devices, Slack, and Microsoft 365.

Perplexity said in July that since the February launch, Computer had completed the equivalent of $9.4 billion in labor value for users. The article says that figure was calculated internally using consulting industry benchmarks.

Personal Computer

Personal Computer is the local agent version for Mac and Windows. It was announced on March 11, opened to Max users on April 16, expanded to all Mac users on May 7, and reached Windows on July 28.

This version brings Computer’s orchestration layer onto a user’s own machine. It can read and write local files, operate native applications, and work across connectors and web pages. On Mac, the examples listed are iMessage, Apple Mail, Calendar, and Notes. On Windows, they include Word, Excel, local files, and Office 365.

Perplexity has recommended setting it up on a Mac mini so it can remain available 24/7, then sending work to it from an iPhone. One example in the guide says pressing both CMD keys inside Notes can call it up to handle a to-do list.

Perplexity’s stated safety design includes approval for sensitive actions, an auditable and reversible action trail, and a kill switch.

Portable Computer

Portable Computer launched on Aug. 25 as a fully local version built with NVIDIA. Initial support is for the NVIDIA DGX Spark desktop AI computer, and Perplexity said support for PCs with NVIDIA RTX GPUs would follow soon.

The orchestrator, planner, tool router, scheduler, persistent task queue, and local search index all run on the device. Model options include Qwen 3.8 27B and PPLX 27B, a Perplexity post-trained model. NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning, a 30B open-source model, is listed as coming soon.

Work completed locally does not consume credits. If a task needs internet access, a browser, connected apps, or frontier reasoning, the local orchestrator can escalate to more than 15 frontier cloud models with user authorization, and it asks before data leaves the device.

Supported connectors include Google Drive, Gmail, Slack, and GitHub. Dictation mode uses Nemotron 3.5 ASR for on-device transcription. Portable Computer is included in Pro, Max, Enterprise Pro, and Enterprise Max plans.

Hybrid compute on Mac

Portable Computer does not support Apple silicon, so Perplexity introduced a different route on Sept. 1: hybrid compute in the Perplexity Mac app. The company added a small local model post-trained for Computer, allowing each task to be split between cloud and device.

The cloud side handles frontier reasoning, web search, and planning. The local model handles private files and device-level actions. A “privacy gate” on Mac uses Perplexity’s own classifier to detect names, addresses, account information, keys, and other sensitive content before data leaves the machine. It can mask the data, keep it local, reject the transfer, or ask for consent.

The guide gives two examples. An investment team can organize public filings and peer comparisons in the cloud while a local model cross-checks confidential trade documents. A lawyer can research case law online while summaries of privileged files remain on-device. The article says Apple’s newly announced Mac mini and Mac Studio were named by Perplexity as ideal platforms, with iPhone support for remote tasking.

Pricing and credits

Perplexity Computer is not sold as a standalone product. It is bundled into paid Perplexity subscriptions, but running tasks uses credits. According to the help center, 100 credits equals $1. Standard Ask searches do not consume credits; only Computer tasks and Comet Assistant’s Work mode do.

Credit usage depends on task complexity. The official reference ranges listed by ABMedia are:

• Light tasks: 100 to 350 credits, such as summarizing a transcript of an earnings call.
• Complex tasks: 350 to 950 credits, such as producing a competitor report with pricing and feature comparisons.
• Heavy tasks: 875 to 2,275 credits, such as a brand presentation that includes market size, financials, and competitor analysis.
• Large projects: 2,400 to 9,800 credits, such as building an analytics dashboard, gathering competitor data, or producing a video.

The article says these are examples, not guarantees.

Plan details

• Free: $0, no monthly credits, no one-time signup credits, and no access to Computer.
• Pro: $20 per month, or about $17 per month when billed annually. No fixed monthly credit allocation. Credits can be purchased separately. New users receive 4,000 credits to use within 30 days. Computer access on web and iOS began on March 12, and the plan includes Portable Computer.
• Max: $200 per month with 10,000 credits per month and a one-time 35,000-credit signup grant. It also carries a higher spending limit, Brain memory preview, and earlier access to new features.
• Enterprise Pro: $40 per seat per month or $400 per year, with 500 monthly credits and an 8,000-credit signup grant. Features include data not used for training, SAML SSO, and centralized management.
• Enterprise Max: $325 per seat per month or $3,250 per year, with 15,000 monthly credits and a 40,000-credit signup grant. Added features include SCIM, audit logs, data retention settings, and Brain.

Credit usage order is signup grants first, monthly allotments second, purchased credits last. Credits are non-refundable and non-transferable, and they expire after one year without Computer usage. If credits run out, active tasks pause rather than cancel and can resume after credits are added.

Auto top-up is off by default. Unless users buy more credits or turn on auto top-up, there are no extra charges. Usage and per-thread credit consumption can be viewed at perplexity.ai/account/usage. ABMedia says Pro and Max pricing comes from Perplexity’s pricing page, while Enterprise pricing comes from the help center.

How to get started

1. Subscribe to Pro or Max. The guide says Pro works as a trial entry point because of the 4,000-credit signup grant, while Max is more suitable for people assigning work every day because it includes 10,000 credits per month.
2. Open the Computer tab on the web or in the iOS app and connect the services you need. Listed connectors include Gmail, Google Drive, Slack, Notion, and GitHub.
3. Describe the outcome, not the steps. Perplexity’s examples include: “Research the best time to visit Japan, make a 10-day itinerary with flights and hotels, and output a PDF with maps and links,” or “Here is our Q1 sales CSV; analyze the trends, create charts, write a summary, and turn it into slides.”
4. Let the task run in the background. Users can add instructions or change direction while it is running. The “Usage” dropdown on each task shows credit consumption.
5. If local files or native apps are needed, install the Perplexity Mac app or the Windows version to use Personal Computer. If sensitive data must stay on the device, Mac users can use hybrid compute, while users with NVIDIA hardware can use Portable Computer.

Comparison with Claude Cowork and OpenClaw

ABMedia compares Perplexity Computer and Personal Computer with Claude Cowork and OpenClaw across model strategy, execution location, interaction method, pricing, and security responsibility.

• Models: Perplexity takes a model-neutral route with more than 20 models and lets users assign models to subtasks. Claude Cowork uses Anthropic’s Claude family. OpenClaw is open source and can be configured with models such as Claude and Gemini.
• Where they run: Perplexity is centered on a cloud sandbox, with Personal linking into local files and apps, Portable running fully on-device, and hybrid compute available on Mac. Claude Cowork is a desktop application that uses visual recognition and simulated mouse-and-keyboard interactions. OpenClaw can run locally for long periods, with the host environment chosen by the user.
• How they operate: Perplexity connects directly to systems and native apps for data exchange, can stay active in the background on Mac, and can be tasked remotely from an iPhone. Claude Cowork needs the screen to remain open for capture, while Dispatch enables remote interaction from a phone. OpenClaw is message-driven and integrates WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram, and Slack.
• Pricing: Perplexity uses subscription fees plus credits, with 100 credits equal to $1. Claude Cowork is included in a Claude subscription. OpenClaw is free software, but users pay their own model API costs.
• Security responsibility: Perplexity lists approval for sensitive actions, audit trails, and a kill switch, while the enterprise version includes SOC 2 Type II. Anthropic manages Claude Cowork. OpenClaw grants high privileges, leaving responsibility largely with the user.

The guide argues that the difference between the three is less about raw intelligence than about where the agent sits and who bears responsibility. It describes Perplexity’s route as cloud orchestration first, then expansion toward local execution. Claude Cowork puts Claude on the desktop to operate software directly. OpenClaw is a self-hosted open-source option where security responsibility stays with the user.

The article also mentions OpenAI’s Agents API, launched on Sept. 10, describing it as a developer-facing layer that turns the harness and sandbox into an API rather than a consumer product.

Who it suits, and where the limits are

ABMedia says Perplexity Computer is best suited to work that is multi-step, tool-heavy, and expected to produce a deliverable. Examples listed are research reports, financial models, presentations, dashboards, data collection, and scheduled monitoring. The guide says the target audience clearly includes finance, legal work, small engineering teams, and knowledge workers.

It is not presented as the best fit for simple Q&A, since Ask can handle that without consuming credits. It may also be a weak fit for users with strict budget limits who still need heavy tasks at high frequency. The article notes that “mega” tasks can reach 2,400 to 9,800 credits, equal to about $24 to $98.

ABMedia highlights four constraints and risks:

• First, credits are a variable cost. More complex tasks cost more, and the published figures are examples only.
• Second, Portable Computer currently supports NVIDIA hardware but not Apple silicon, leaving Mac users with hybrid compute rather than a full local stack.
• Third, agents directly handle accounts and files. Perplexity has approval and audit controls, but the more services that are connected, the broader the permission surface becomes. The guide references Chain News coverage in May of Bumblebee, an open-source security scanning tool from Perplexity aimed at MCP and supply-chain poisoning risks.
• Fourth, Amazon obtained a court injunction in March to block Perplexity agents from shopping on its platform. The article presents that as a sign that legal and platform-policy questions around agent actions on third-party sites are still unresolved.

2026 timeline

• Feb. 25: Perplexity Computer launches for Max users, with orchestration across 19 models and 10,000 monthly credits for Max.
• March 11: Perplexity announces Personal Computer, positioned around a 24/7 Mac mini setup, along with Computer for Enterprise and Comet Enterprise. Internal research cited by the company said four weeks of usage completed 3.25 years of work and saved $1.6 million in labor costs.
• March 12: Computer opens to all Pro users on web and iOS; the enterprise version lists more than 400 connected apps; Statista, CB Insights, and PitchBook are added.
• April 1 to April 9: Computer in Slack, Computer for Taxes, and personal finance features tied to Plaid are introduced.
• April 16: Personal Computer for Mac launches for Max users; on May 7 it expands to all Mac users.
• May 4 to May 28: Teams integration, the professional finance edition, security documentation, data science features, open-source Bumblebee, and the Microsoft 365 sidebar arrive.
• June 11 to June 24: Deep Research and Search as Code move into Computer, self-improving memory is introduced, and Computer for Counsel launches.
• July 15 to July 30: SPACE agent sandbox, Personal Computer for Windows, Model Council, and the renaming of Spaces to Projects are rolled out.
• Aug. 6: Computer for Builders launches.
• Aug. 18: Email-based tasking goes live.
• Aug. 25: Portable Computer launches with NVIDIA, alongside more than 20 licensed financial data sources.
• Sept. 1: Hybrid compute for Mac and the privacy gate are introduced.

Key FAQ points from the guide

What is Perplexity Computer?

It is Perplexity’s AI agent platform launched in February 2026. A one-sentence goal can activate more than 20 models and sub-agents to complete a full workflow and deliver reports, spreadsheets, presentations, dashboards, or websites, with tasks able to run from hours to months.

Is it free?

No. It requires a Pro or Max subscription, and tasks consume credits. Pro is priced at $20 per month and Max at $200 per month. Pro has no fixed monthly allocation but includes a 4,000-credit signup grant for new users, while Max includes 10,000 credits per month. Standard search does not use credits.

How are credits calculated?

At the rate listed in the help center, 100 credits equals $1. Light tasks are around 100 to 350 credits, complex tasks 350 to 950, heavy tasks 875 to 2,275, and large projects 2,400 to 9,800. If credits are exhausted, tasks pause and resume after replenishment. Auto top-up is off by default.

How do users access it?

After subscribing, users can open the Computer tab on the web or in the iOS app, connect services, and describe the result they want. They can also assign work through Slack, Teams, Microsoft 365, or by email to computer@perplexity.com. If local files need to be handled, they can install Personal Computer on Mac or Windows.

What are the main features?

The guide lists multi-model orchestration, hundreds of connectors and custom Skills, scheduled tasks, Deep Research, Model Council, Projects, Brain memory, licensed financial data sources, and tasking through email, Slack, Teams, and Microsoft 365.

What is the difference between Personal Computer and Portable Computer?

Personal Computer is a local agent for Mac and Windows that can read and write files and operate native apps, but reasoning remains mostly in the cloud. Portable Computer is the local NVIDIA-based version where the orchestration stack and models run on DGX Spark or RTX GPU hardware. Work completed locally does not use credits, and cloud escalation happens only when needed.

How does it differ from Claude Cowork?

Perplexity Computer is built around cloud-based multi-model orchestration and direct system and native app connections, with 24/7 background operation on a Mac mini as one of the official examples. Claude Cowork uses Claude and interacts with desktop software through visual recognition and simulated controls, requiring the display to stay on.

What are the main limitations?

The guide lists variable credit costs, lack of Apple silicon support for Portable Computer, account and file permission risks when agents are granted access, and unresolved legal or platform-policy questions around agent actions on third-party sites.