Perplexity alternatives (2026)
Hobnob AI is the free Perplexity alternative — unlimited cited search on the free plan, faster Deep Research, and PDF upload up to ~1M tokens on Pro.
What's broken today
- ×Perplexity's free plan caps Pro Search at 5/day.
- ×Pricing jumped to $20/mo without major upgrades.
- ×No transparent TrustScore on sources.
How Hobnob fixes it
Unlimited free search
No 5-a-day cap. Use it as much as you want, forever.
TrustScore
Every source gets a 0-100 quality score in plain view.
Cheaper Pro
$7/mo Starter and $29/mo Pro vs Perplexity's $20/mo.
Try these prompts
Copy-paste straight into Hobnob to see the difference.
Best AI tools for Perplexity users
Start free as a Perplexity user
Unlimited cited search. No credit card. Cancel any time (you won't want to).
Open Hobnob AIFAQ
Is Hobnob actually free?
Yes. Unlimited cited AI search, no card, no daily cap that matters for normal use.
How is it different from Perplexity?
Same core idea (cited AI search), but with TrustScore, larger PDF context on Pro, and a real free tier that doesn't push you to paid after 5 queries.
Is my data private?
Yes. Hobnob runs in Incognito mode by default — your queries are not used to train any AI model, and Pro/Business plans get zero ad tracking.
Do I need a credit card?
No. The free plan gives you unlimited AI search forever, no card required. Upgrade only when you want Pro Search, Deep Research or larger file uploads.