Berges AI vs Perplexity

Perplexity is an AI answer engine that searches the web. Berges AI is a private chat on open-weights models. Here's how they compare.

Perplexity is an excellent answer engine. It searches the web on every query and gives you cited summaries. Berges AI is a different kind of product: a conversational chat that doesn't browse the web, built on open-weights models, with every conversation encrypted at rest.

Picking between them is mostly picking between "I want sourced answers from today's web" and "I want a private chat that gets to the point". Different jobs, different tools.

At a glance

How they compare.

What it is
Berges AI
A private chat on open-weights models
Perplexity
An AI answer engine with web search
Web search per query
Berges AI
No, pure chat
Perplexity
Yes, citations on every answer
Underlying models
Berges AI
Kimi, DeepSeek, MiniMax (open weights)
Perplexity
Mix of closed models plus their own Sonar
Encryption at rest
Berges AI
AES-256 on every message and title
Perplexity
Per Perplexity's policy
Trains on your data
Berges AI
Never
Perplexity
Opt-out in settings
Pro plan price
Berges AI
$19 / month
Perplexity
$20 / month (Perplexity Pro)
Design choices

How they're different.

Two different jobs

Perplexity is best when you need citations and live web context. Berges AI is best when you want to draft, brainstorm, think out loud, or get a direct answer. Picking one over the other is mostly about which job you have today.

No browsing, on purpose

Perplexity's answers are built from the live web. That's its strength. Berges AI answers from the model alone, which means no SEO-spam in your replies but also no fresh news. Tradeoffs both ways.

Open weights and encrypted at rest

Berges AI runs on open-weights models, and every conversation is AES-256 encrypted at rest. We don't read them and don't train on them.

Direct output by default

Perplexity's research-style answers are detailed by design. That's appropriate for a citations-first format. Berges AI is tuned to give you the answer first and the elaboration on request.

Questions

Things people ask about Berges AI vs Perplexity.

Should I use Berges AI instead of Perplexity?

Use both. They're different tools. Perplexity for research that needs sources. Berges AI for drafting, thinking, and everyday questions.

Does Berges AI cite its sources?

No. We're not a search engine. If you need citations on verifiable claims, Perplexity is the right tool for that job.

Can Berges AI search the web?

No, by design. We're focused on being a fast, private chat. Going to the web on every turn would compromise both.