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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

ChatGPT vs Perplexity

ChatGPT 4.8★ · Free + IAP 75
Winner ChatGPT
Perplexity 4.8★ · Free + IAP 50

ChatGPT is generally preferred for its conversational capabilities and broader utility, despite recent complaints about updates, while Perplexity struggles with accuracy and a restrictive credit system for paid users.

Full reviews: ChatGPT · Perplexity

ChatGPT offers a more versatile and reliable conversational AI experience, often praised for its assistance in various tasks from writing to research. Perplexity, while fast and good for initial research, frequently disappoints users with inaccurate information, restrictive credit systems, and issues with image and video generation.

Head to head

Features and Capabilities edge: ChatGPTR1R2R3R5
ChatGPT ChatGPT is lauded for its wide range of applications, including professional writing, research, brainstorming, and even personal advice R5. Users appreciate its ability to assist with complex tasks and provide detailed information R2. However, recent updates have removed intelligence and model selectors, leading to frustration with automatic selections and a need for constant corrections R1. Image generation is a mixed bag, with some users enjoying it for creative purposes but many finding it horrible for specific requests, prone to errors, and limited in free usage R3R10R12R30.
Perplexity Perplexity is praised for being fast, concise, and providing detailed explanations with cited sources, making it useful for quick research and understanding topics . However, it struggles significantly with image and video generation, with users reporting broken links, poor quality, and an inability to edit simple requests . Users also report that Perplexity hallucinates facts and provides inaccurate or fabricated information, especially for finance forecasts and complex coding R66R67R73R84. Some users also note issues with accessibility and the inability to upload photos for explanation without paying .
Ease of Use and Reliability edge: ChatGPTR6R7R9R15
ChatGPT ChatGPT is generally considered easy to use and reliable for conversational tasks . However, recent updates have introduced issues like voice glitches and switching R15, slower performance, and less precise information . Users report problems with the app not listening to instructions, wasting generations, and not doing what is asked R6R7R9. There are also complaints about missing conversations and the app becoming horrible over the last year . Some users experience issues with uploaded photos not showing and text being lost .
Perplexity Perplexity is often described as easy to use and quick for responses . However, it suffers from significant reliability issues, including the search bar taking forever to load after updates and constant interruptions during conversations, answering before questions are complete . Many users report that the app frequently provides wrong answers and apologizes, only to give another wrong answer . Data integrity concerns are also raised, with users reporting being kicked out and losing data or prompts . There are also complaints about persistent pop-ups and constant upgrade pages that are difficult to bypass .
Price and Value edge: ChatGPTR3R10R16R25
ChatGPT ChatGPT offers a free tier, but many users express frustration with limitations, such as only getting a few image generations per day before needing to pay R3R10. Paid users (ChatGPT Plus) complain about increased prices, limited access, and new payment tiers R25. Some paying users report that the quality of conversational chat has declined since recent updates R16 and that paying for image generation did not deliver promised results R28. There are also complaints about ads appearing even for higher models .
Perplexity Perplexity has a free tier, but many features, like read-aloud, are paywalled . Pro account users are highly dissatisfied, reporting that they still have to pay for certain actions or are hampered by 'credits' despite paying for the app R61. Users feel it's a scam to pay for a pro account and still face limitations, with some comparing it unfavorably to free tiers of other apps R61. The $20/month subscription is seen as not providing access to all advertised AI models and image generation often doesn't work .
Support and Guardrails edge: ChatGPTR4R13R18R21
ChatGPT ChatGPT's guardrails are a significant point of contention. Users report ideological bias, character assassination, and hypocritical guardrails R4. The app is criticized for being politically correct to the point of nausea and often giving lame, long-winded excuses when incorrect information is addressed R18. Some users are frustrated by restrictions on content creation, even for mature topics like erotica or specific words for creative projects R13R21.
Perplexity Perplexity also faces criticism for its guardrails, with users complaining about warnings and political correctness that waste time . One user reported reaching out to support but receiving no response . The app is also accused of fighting with users and lying R73.
Pick ChatGPT if

Pick ChatGPT if you need a versatile AI for general conversational tasks, writing assistance, research, and brainstorming, and are comfortable with its free tier limitations or occasional inconsistencies in paid features .

Pick Perplexity if

Pick Perplexity if you prioritize fast, concise answers with cited sources for initial research and understanding topics, and are willing to navigate its credit system and potential accuracy issues .

Evidence note: Many recent negative reviews for both apps focus on issues with updates, pricing, and specific feature failures, which might skew the perception compared to lifetime ratings. For Perplexity, there's a strong theme of paid users feeling scammed by credit limitations, which is a significant factor in its lower score despite positive reviews for its core search function.

Frequently asked

Is ChatGPT good for image generation?
ChatGPT's image generation is a mixed experience; while some users enjoy creating images for fun, many find it horrible for specific requests, prone to errors, and limited in free usage, often requiring payment for more than 8-20 images per day R3R10R12R30.
Does Perplexity provide accurate information?
Perplexity's accuracy is a significant concern for users; while it cites sources, many reviews indicate it frequently hallucinates facts, provides wrong answers, and fabricates information, especially for complex topics, making it unreliable for critical tasks R66R67R73R84.
Are the paid versions of these apps worth it?
For ChatGPT, paid users report declining conversational quality and issues with image generation not delivering as promised, despite paying $20 a month R16R25R28. For Perplexity, paid users frequently feel scammed by a credit system that limits usage even after paying $20 a month or up to $200 for a subscription, with many essential features still paywalled R61.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] ChatGPT 1/5 · US New update is bad: You would expect when you pay for something you get more freedom they took away your intelligence selector and model selector and claim to “automatically select which model and intelligence is best for the conversation” it’s very inconvenient when you gotta sit there and correct something 100 times. When before it wasn’t like this.
  2. [R2] ChatGPT 5/5 · US Ancestry Research: Amazing Information and Details
  3. [R3] ChatGPT 3/5 · US it has so much potential: this app has so much potential but you have to pay for more I know I know that it’s a lot of money and stuff to make images, but I only get eight images and then I have to wait till tomorrow for more. You guys should probably put like 20 images a day.
  4. [R5] ChatGPT 5/5 · US Rick: Es el mejor amigo, maestro, consejero, mecánico, jaja todo! Eres increíble G ⛩️🪴🌩️
  5. [R6] ChatGPT 3/5 · US Why: Also if I say I want something DO IT
  6. [R7] ChatGPT 1/5 · US Not as smart as people think: Does not listen wastes generations on things you don’t ask F
  7. [R9] ChatGPT 3/5 · US P: It won’t do what I say
  8. [R15] ChatGPT 3/5 · US Voice Glitching and Switching: The voices are now switching on their own and even mid conversation. It can go from male to female without your editing the settings. It’s annoying when you select a voice you like and its changes and never changes back. Please fix this. It started changing this week. And the old Arbor I had last week for over a month is now gone!
  9. [R10] ChatGPT 2/5 · US It’s a cool app but: I like using the app, but I don’t like how it says. I used all my images even though they only made me one image and refused to make me the other image. It’s dumb and it’s stupid. Because they didn’t even make me an image to only made me one. And the only way I will make you three images is when you pay sometimes it makes you for images. Why am I lying? It only makes you three
  10. [R16] ChatGPT 2/5 · US Great for work, worse for conversation: I’m a ChatGPT Plus user, and since GPT-5.6, the quality of regular conversational chat has noticeably declined. Medium and High often don’t follow custom instructions, memory, or the selected communication style reliably. The replies feel drier, more formal, and worse at picking up humor and emotional context. Not everyone uses ChatGPT only for work, coding,
  11. [R25] ChatGPT 1/5 · US $20: I paid $20 a month for limited access and now they want me to pay $100 for some type of access or $200 for another type of access. I think they should actually just be free. I’m not understanding why they even want you to pay one pen.
  12. [R4] ChatGPT 1/5 · US Systemic Failure Report: Ideological Bias, Character Assassination, and Hypocritical Guardrails: As a college student studying computational physics and linguistics, I am submitting formal feedback regarding a massive, dangerous failure in ChatGPT’s core programming and safety guardrails. During a neutral, objective discussion about the grammatical mechanics of tenseless indigenous languages (spec
  13. [R13] ChatGPT 2/5 · US …: Let me write sex, smut, erotica and etc for my fanfics…
  14. [R18] ChatGPT 3/5 · US Tired of excuses: Aside to being politically correct to the point of nausea, It’s very often wrong. When you address the bad information, it vomits up lame, long winded excuses. It does translate well for specific regions and that is the only reason I haven’t dumped it
  15. [R21] ChatGPT 3/5 · US Optional: I like how I’m able to make random photos but then I’ll try the same prompt on the same picture and it won’t sketch it out since it’s supposedly against guidelines even tho it’s makes the picture then like 10 min later I won’t be able to use the same prompt cuz it’s offensive
  16. [R12] ChatGPT 3/5 · US Good at chats, but horrible at specific image creation.: While ChatGPT is good at chats, it is horrible at very specific image creation. I spend literally days trying to get just one correct image, and it still does it wrong.
  17. [R30] ChatGPT 3/5 · GB Not quite there yet: Doesn’t always get it quite right and makes some strange decisions based on what you request when generating images, also when you stop generating as you realise you make a mistake it sometimes still generates your previous request as well as the one you rethought
  18. [R66] Perplexity 3/5 · US Finance and coding: It’s good for reasonably simple tasks but starts hallucinating for finance forecasts and complex coding. It’ll be good to have a seamless export to excel feature instead of I copying python code and executing in VS Code
  19. [R67] Perplexity 1/5 · US Lies in the answers: The app has gone downhill, photos can't be uploaded, it invents facts, and you have to pay for every little thing. · translated
  20. [R73] Perplexity 1/5 · US Horrible AI: This AI we’ll fight with you and lies all the time
  21. [R84] Perplexity 3/5 · GB Good for free: God pro version with Revolut. Using it but as all AI giving lot of false answers
  22. [R28] ChatGPT 1/5 · US Upgrade Scam: I paid the $19.99 to upgrade to generate more images. However, after I paid, it stopped generating images!!
  23. [R61] Perplexity 1/5 · US Buyers beware it’s a scam.: I paid for a pro account and it wants to charge me to do things. Why when I have a pro account I can go on Gemini with a pro account and do it I can go on Claude with a free account and do a lot of it. Why am I paying for Perplexity? no refunds available even for same-day purchase… It’s a scam.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store