TL;DR: Perplexity provides direct answers with sources. Google excels at broad discovery and established infrastructure. Use Perplexity for research questions; Google for general browsing and shopping.
Comparison
| Feature | Perplexity | |
|---|---|---|
| Answer Quality | Direct, synthesized | Links to sources |
| Citations | Inline sources | URLs to click |
| Freshness | Real-time | Real-time |
| Ads | None (free tier) | Yes (many) |
Winner
Best for Research: Perplexity
Best for General Search: Google
