Perplexity Pro free: no trial, 12 partner deals dated, and 4 of them renew at full price

Does Perplexity Pro have a free trial?

No. Perplexity's pricing page, read on 12 October 2026, shows three plans and no trial anywhere, with Max at $167 a month billed yearly above Pro. The Pro page has a "LIMITED TIME" bonus of $40 in Computer credits, but you get that after you pay. Free Pro only comes through a partner, like a phone carrier, a phone maker or a payment app. The partner's terms then decide what happens when the free months run out.

We read the end terms of every free Pro deal that publishes them, and four of the eight turn into a paid plan. PayPal's footnote says the subscription "will renew at the then current rate". Bell's support page says it will "automatically convert to a paid plan", and SoftBank bills ¥2,950 a month from month 7. Airtel's free years were set to auto renew too, TechCrunch reported in August 2026. Four deals just stop. HKT's terms say the year ends and isn't renewed. Bouygues Telecom moved its customers to the free version unless they asked to pay, and SoftBank's 2024 year dropped people to the free plan with no charge. Motorola's Brazilian newsroom says owners of new phones can keep using the free version after their three months unless they sign up for Pro.

Renewal is Perplexity's default. The four that stop are exceptions the partners wrote. Perplexity's partner promotions page says it plainly: "Unless you cancel before the trial ends, your subscription will auto-renew at the standard rate for the plan you selected during redemption (monthly or annual)." It also says "A valid credit or debit card is required for all promotional and trial redemptions." The nearest thing to a trial is the Free plan. Perplexity's plan comparison gives it 3 Pro Searches a day and 1 Research query a month, with no card.

Which free Perplexity Pro offers are still open?

SoftBank's six free months in Japan is the only partner deal we could confirm open on 12 October 2026. Bell in Canada and Motorola's three months on new phones print no end date. Every other dated route has closed. We built the table from Perplexity's help center, the partners' own terms and the press they issued, all checked on 12 October 2026.

If you're in Japan, start with SoftBank. Its Perplexity page says the campaign began on 19 June 2025 and that the end date hasn't been set, and the six free months won't apply if you used SoftBank's 2024 free year or any other free Pro campaign. Bell's offer reaches eligible Bell Mobility lines by text message, and each code has to be used within three months. Vivo extended its deal to prepaid lines in October 2025, per Teletime, but its Perplexity page returned an error when we checked. Perplexity's own help page still names Bouygues Telecom and Vivo as carrier partners.

Motorola's deal only helps if you're buying a phone anyway. Perplexity's April 2025 announcement says "All users of new Motorola phones" get 3 months of Pro at no cost, including the razr and edge 60 lines. Motorola Brazil says you activate it during the phone's first setup. Neither page gives an end date, so check the setup screen on the exact model before you count on it.

Government staff get something different. Perplexity's September 2025 post says all US federal users get its most powerful models with "no contract or paid subscription needed". It doesn't say Pro, and it doesn't give a length. The free .gov year that deal sites describe isn't on any Perplexity page we found.

How do Perplexity Pro partner codes work?

A Perplexity partner code is a single use key that you redeem on the web, and it stays with the account that used it. Perplexity's partner promotions page sets these rules, read on 12 October 2026:

• Redeem it on the website. The mobile apps don't take codes.
• If you pay for Pro through the App Store or Google Play, wait for that subscription to end before you apply a code.
• Apply one code per billing cycle. An expired code can't be reactivated.
• Keep it to yourself. Codes are for individual use, and a redeemed one can't move to another account or email.
• Add a card when you redeem. Perplexity says you won't be charged at sign up, and billing starts when the free period ends.

Carrier apps can lag behind. If your carrier shows the offer as active and Perplexity shows Free, Perplexity tells you to sign in with the email you used to activate it, then check for a past due payment. Its page says to "Treat your Perplexity account status as the source of truth." Airtel's page added a wrinkle for people who already paid. Web subscribers got their 12 free months after the paid period ran out. App Store and Google Play subscribers had to turn off auto renewal first, or they'd keep paying and the promo wouldn't apply.

Do free Perplexity Pro codes from coupon sites work?

We found no coupon site code we could confirm as working, and Perplexity's rules make a reused one worthless. Perplexity says its codes come "through our partners, authorized and official channels, and on our website". Each code is single use, so a code someone already redeemed won't apply to your account. Sharing one breaks Perplexity's Terms of Service, its help page says.

The free year guides that rank for this query list the same partner deals as the table above. Most of those deals closed between June 2025 and April 2026. A seller offering "a year of Perplexity Pro" for a few dollars is selling a partner code or an account, and Perplexity ties each code to the account that redeemed it.

What happens when a free Perplexity Pro year ends?

A free Perplexity Pro year renews at the standard Pro price on the card you added, unless the partner's terms say otherwise. You pick monthly or annual billing when you redeem. Bell's page says that choice decides the first charge: up to $30 a month or up to $300 a year. Pick annual by accident and month 13 costs a full year.

Perplexity can also ask for a card partway through. Its billing FAQ says existing promotion users who get that prompt have 7 days to add a card, or the account drops to Free. Access comes back once you add one. The lost days don't, since "any missed days will not be added back to your trial period."

India is where the first big wave of free years ran out. Airtel's 12 months were open to all of its customers until 16 January 2026, a deal Perplexity valued at ₹17,000. The earliest of those years ended in July 2026, and users had to opt out of auto renewal to avoid a charge, TechCrunch reported on 18 August 2026. Sensor Tower told TechCrunch that Perplexity's in app revenue in India from February to mid August 2026 rose about 60% on the months the offer was open. TechCrunch noted that some of that may be people who didn't cancel in time.

How do you stop a free Perplexity Pro year from renewing?

Cancel on the Perplexity website before the free period ends. Perplexity's cancel page says you can cancel any time and that "Your account will be reverted back to the free version after the end of the current billing cycle." These steps follow Perplexity's billing help as of October 2026:

1. Sign in at perplexity.ai with the account that redeemed the offer. Search your inbox for the "Welcome to Pro" email if you aren't sure which one.
2. Click your profile icon, then Account, and find the Subscription row.
3. Click Manage Plan, then Cancel Subscription.
4. If you also pay through the App Store or Google Play, cancel that subscription in the store. Perplexity's cancel page sends you there.

SoftBank works differently because you subscribe through your phone bill, and its terms say that ending the service during the free months forfeits whatever is left of them. Check the end date in My SoftBank, My Y!mobile or MyMenu and cancel close to it.

Missed the date? Perplexity's refund rules, as we read them in September 2026, allow 24 hours on a monthly charge and 72 hours on an annual one. Buyers in the EU, the UK and Turkey get 14 days. Our Perplexity Pro refund guide has the request path, and how to cancel Perplexity Pro covers the app store routes.

Is Perplexity Pro free for students?

No. Students pay $10 a month for Education Pro after SheerID verification, per Perplexity's students page as of October 2026. Perplexity's help page also says the Student Referrals program, which once stretched free Pro to 24 months, "has been discontinued". Our Perplexity Pro student discount page lists every student deal that has closed since 2024.

What is the cheapest way to pay if no free offer fits?

Pro billed yearly is the cheapest Perplexity plan for anyone who isn't a student, at $17 a month as of October 2026. Whether that's worth it depends on volume. Our Perplexity Pro value page prices it against Perplexity's own API, and Perplexity Pro limits shows what the weekly cap allows.

Whizi, which publishes this page, has no free year either, and for Perplexity alone it loses. Its free tier gives 10 messages a day on Whizi AI, Auto or Claude Haiku 5.5. Starter costs $15.99 a month, or $0.99 for the first week, with web search on by default. Perplexity's Sonar Pro sits on Whizi Pro at $29.99, where it costs 20 credits a message. Whizi fits someone who wants Claude and GPT next to cited search, not someone who only wants Perplexity.