Bottom line: Comet is Perplexity’s AI browser, and since October 2025 it has been a free download for everyone — no subscription needed to install it, browse, and use its built-in assistant at a basic level. The browser itself is the free product; Perplexity Pro and Max mostly buy you higher assistant limits and more advanced models. For research-heavy browsing, it is one of the most useful free AI tools you can install today, with one real caution: an assistant that can act inside your logged-in tabs deserves careful handling.
What is Comet?
Comet is a Chromium-based web browser from Perplexity AI, first released on July 9, 2025 for Windows and macOS, with Android following in November 2025 and iOS in March 2026. Because it is built on Chromium, it supports Chrome extensions and imports your existing bookmarks and data. The difference from Chrome is the Comet Assistant, a sidebar that understands the page in front of you: it can summarize articles, answer questions about the current page, compare information across tabs, draft emails, and carry out multi-step tasks you describe in plain language.
What is actually free with Comet?
- The browser download itself is free on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
- You can browse without an account and try limited basic AI features; a free Perplexity account adds saved history, sync, and additional AI capability.
- Full normal browsing: tabs, bookmarks, translation, data import, and Chrome extension support cost nothing.
- The sidebar assistant’s page-aware summaries and questions are available on the free plan, within limits Perplexity does not publish as a fixed number.
What do the paid plans add?
Perplexity Pro ($20/month) adds paid Comet Assistant usage with higher limits, advanced models, and broader research and media features. Perplexity Max ($200/month) raises browser-agent limits further and adds the highest-tier assistant. In other words, paying does not unlock the browser — it unlocks more and stronger assistant usage inside it. Because Perplexity does not state a standard free assistant allowance, heavy agent users should expect the ceiling to move as the product evolves.
What is the catch?
Two, and both are worth knowing before you make Comet your only browser. First, the free assistant allowance is unspecified — “limited” is the official shape of it, and limits can change. Second, security researchers have flagged the risk class that comes with any agentic browser: LayerX Security disclosed a “CometJacking” attack vector in 2025 in which malicious content could try to trick the assistant into exposing user data; Perplexity disputed the severity at the time. The practical takeaway is to treat Comet as a powerful research browser, not the place you stay logged into banking and other sensitive accounts.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Completely free browser with a genuinely built-in, page-aware AI assistant.
- No account required to start browsing; free account adds sync and history.
- Chromium base means your Chrome extensions and bookmarks come with you.
- Summaries and cross-tab comparisons save real time on research tasks.
Cons
- Free assistant limits are not published as a clear number and can change.
- Agentic browsing has documented prompt-injection risks — keep sensitive accounts elsewhere.
- The strongest assistant features and highest limits sit behind Pro and Max subscriptions.
- No Linux version listed among the supported platforms.
Who is Comet best for?
Comet is best for researchers, students, journalists, and comparison shoppers who live in tabs all day and want summaries and answers without copy-pasting pages into a separate chatbot. It also suits Perplexity users who want the search assistant woven into browsing itself rather than living on one website.
FAQ
Is Perplexity Comet really free?
Yes. Comet became a free download for all users in October 2025. The browser and basic AI features are free; Pro and Max subscriptions raise assistant limits and add advanced models.
Do I need a Perplexity account to use Comet?
No. You can download Comet and browse without an account. Signing in with a free account unlocks saved history, sync, and more AI capability.
Which platforms does Comet run on?
Windows 10 or later, macOS Big Sur or later, Android 12 or later, and iOS 18 or later.
Is Comet safe for banking and sensitive work?
Security researchers have documented prompt-injection style risks in agentic browsers, including a disclosed “CometJacking” vector that Perplexity assessed differently. The cautious pattern is to use Comet for research and general browsing and keep sensitive accounts in a separate browser.
Research-based review: release, platform, and free-access details checked against Comet’s Wikipedia record and current plan summaries in October 2026. No hands-on testing is claimed.