Perplexity’s $200 Browser That Suddenly Became Free

Perplexity launched its AI browser, Comet, at $200 a month earlier this year. Just months after the tool’s inception, it has now been made free for everyone to use. That kind of U-turn raises big questions. Either almost no one was willing to pay or the company decided to go aggressive before bigger players (Like Google or OpenAI) dominate the space. 

Either way, if a company has to slash the price of its “Premium”  products to zero in a matter of a few months, it suggests that adoption is weak or the business model relies on growth hype rather than customer demand.  

Chromium Clone

Comet is built on chromium, the same base that is used by edge, chrome, brave and dozens of others. That means the only USP for it was its AI tool. But if your main selling point is an AI sidebar, you may not be ready to take on the competitors. Because Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic can add the same features to the browsers that people already use.  

In this scenario, competition is not the real problem for comets, its scale. Google has billions of users and it can roll out Gemini integration on a movement’s notice, while Anthropic and OpenAI have stronger models and deeper resources. 

Hence, Comet’s technical edge feels small and maybe that’s why they have decided to offer their premium service for free to stay ahead of the competition. 

Paying The Publisher?

Another factor to look at this move could be that it is a way to establish mass popularity and convert attention. Comet Plus charges $5 a month and says that part of it goes to the publishers like CNN, BBC, and Washington Post. 

On the surface, it sounds fair that finally IA is giving back to the creators it learns from. After being accused of scraping news content without permission, Perplexity can now say, “We Pay the Publisher” But without actual numbers it’s tough to say if publishers actually get a meaningful cut or most of the revenue just covers Perplexity’s own costs. 

It’s similar to what Spotify, the music app is allegedly doing: where creators see pennies while the platform keeps most of the money.

Pivot The Problem

Making Comet free may accelerate the adoption, but it won’t solve the underlying problem: Users are already locked in Chrome, Edge, or Safari. Launching an AI browser in 2025 puts Perplexity up against the giants like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. All of them can run browsers at a cash burning cost while layering in AI features. Perplexity doesn’t have that luxury. That is why the “$200 a month to free” move is quite revealing. 

Without a clear path to sustainable revenue, the move risks becoming a short term land grab that burns cash without building lasting loyalty. Growth alone won’t guarantee survival, especially when the competitors control the platforms people already use everyday.