A Perplexity Alternative for People Who Also Need to Think
Search is a step in the work, not the whole job.
Perplexity is excellent at one thing: answering a question with sources attached. The trouble starts at step two, when you want to take those findings and actually do something — draft the memo, model the numbers, write the code, generate the chart. Clade gives you cited web search as a tool inside a full multi-model workspace, so research and the work that follows happen in one thread.
The step-two problem
Watch how research actually gets used and the pattern is always the same. You ask a question, get a well-sourced answer, and then copy it into a different tool to do anything with it. Every copy-paste loses context, and the model on the other side has no idea where the facts came from.
Treating search as a tool the assistant can call — rather than as the product itself — collapses that whole loop. The model that found the sources is the model that drafts from them, and it can go back for more mid-draft.
What Clade gives you that a search-first tool does not
- Cited web search on demand, powered by Perplexity Sonar models — the same citation quality, available as a step rather than a destination
- 50+ reasoning models to process what search returns: GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek
- Autonomous agents that research a topic across many queries and hand back a structured brief
- File upload, so your own PDFs and spreadsheets join the same investigation
- Image generation and code execution in the same conversation
- Artifacts — turn a finished research thread into a shareable document with a link
Where Perplexity still wins
- Pure lookup speed. For a one-shot factual question with sources, Perplexity's interface is hard to beat and Clade does not try to.
- Its discovery feed and Spaces are genuinely good if browsing curated topics is part of your routine.
- Deep-research report generation is a mature, well-tuned feature there.
- If literally all you do is ask sourced questions, a dedicated tool is the cleaner fit.
A research workflow that stays in one thread
- Ask the question with web search on — get an answer with live citations.
- Switch to Claude in the same thread to turn the findings into a structured brief.
- Upload your own data file and ask GPT to reconcile it against what search found.
- Run the analysis in the code interpreter and generate a chart.
- Publish the whole thing as an artifact and share the link.
Search-first tool versus a research workspace
| Perplexity Pro | Clade | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $20 / mo | from $9.99 / mo |
| Cited web search | Yes — core product | Yes — built-in tool |
| Choice of 50+ chat models | Limited selection | Yes |
| Autonomous multi-step agent | No | Yes |
| Image generation | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Limited | Yes |
| File analysis | Yes | Yes |
| Shareable artifacts | Limited | Yes |
Models you can use for this
MiMo-V2-Flash256K
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Reasoning)128KDeepSeek-V3.2128K
Qwen3-Max256KQwen3.5-Plus1M
Command A Reasoning256KCommand A256K
MiniMax M2197KFrequently asked questions
Does Clade have web search with citations?
Yes. Web search is a built-in tool backed by Perplexity Sonar models, and answers come back with linked sources you can open and verify.
Is Clade a search engine?
No. Clade is an AI workspace where search is one tool among many — alongside 50+ chat models, agents, image generation, file analysis and code execution.
Which is better for research, Perplexity or Clade?
For a single sourced question, Perplexity is faster. For research that turns into a document, an analysis or a piece of code, Clade wins because the whole job stays in one thread with one set of context.
Can I use Perplexity models on Clade?
Yes — Perplexity Sonar models are available in the model selector and power the built-in web search tool.
How much does Clade cost compared with Perplexity Pro?
Clade starts at $9.99/month versus $20/month for Perplexity Pro, and includes every major lab's models rather than a curated subset.
Keep reading
Research it, then actually use it
Cited search plus 50+ models in one conversation. Free tier, no card.