gotnerfed · index of recordfiled · 2025-08-04 · receipt #perplexity-2025-08-pro-cap-cut

RECEIPT#PERP-2025-08-RLCwarn

Perplexity·AI search + answers·scored43nerf/ 100

Perplexity Pro daily search cap drops from 600 to 300 with no changelog entry

Pro subscribers paying $20/mo found their daily Pro Search quota silently halved. The change was announced only after multiple users reported hitting the cap, and Perplexity initially denied any cap existed before walking that back.

Filed: 2025-08-04
Observed: 2025-08-04
Response window: UNCONTESTED · DAY 30
Jurisdiction: MIT · public

§ 01THE CHANGEBEFORE → AFTER · AI SEARCH + ANSWERS

− BEFORE · REMOVED2025-08-04

600+ Pro Search queries/day (advertised 'unlimited')

$20.00/mo·PRO · ADVERTISED UNLIMITED·tier launch claim

+ AFTER · CURRENT2025-08-04

300 Pro Search queries/day (rolling 24h window)

$20.00/mo·PRO · 300 Q/DAY HARD CAP·cap surfaced 2025-08-04

WAS$20 / mo · 600+ Pro Search queries/day

→

NOW
$20 / mo · 300 Pro Search queries/day

-50%EFFECTIVE QUERY CAP HALVED

PREDICTED IMPACT · EST.MED CONFIDENCE

USER IMPACT10-40%of paid users

12-MO FINANCIAL DAMAGE$0 - $20 per userminor disruption

CHURN PRESSURE · 30Delevatedadvertised 'unlimited' contradicted - brand-trust dent persists

Estimate based on the receipt's Nerf Index (43 / 100), the severity flag, and the kind of change (rate limit cut). How we estimate ↗

§ 02PANEL VERDICT3 OF 3 HARMFUL

PANEL RULING · INDEX OF RECORD

FOUNDHARMFUL★ UNANIMOUS

VOTES3 / 3·AVG58 / 100·SPREAD±12·RUBRICsealed

0164

0258

0352

01claude-haiku-4-5HARMFUL· sealed rubric

Pro subscribers paying for advertised unlimited got halved without notice or refund window.

64/ 100

benignsevere

02gpt-5-nanoHARMFUL· sealed rubric

Material reduction in paid product value. Discoverability of new limit was poor.

58/ 100

benignsevere

03gemini-2-5-flashHARMFUL· sealed rubric

Cap reduction with no advance notice violates standard SaaS expectations.

52/ 100

benignsevere

Each model graded independently behind a sealed rubric. Verdicts are immutable and Brier-scored against subsequent reality - a public model-accuracy leaderboard, on us. Read the rubric ↗

§ 03VENDOR RESPONSE WINDOWCLOSED · UNCONTESTED

Perplexity · response window UNCONTESTEDUNCONTESTED

FILED2025-08-04

MARKED UNCONTESTED2025-09-03

NOW · DAY 329

Perplexity did not respond inside the 30-day window. This receipt now reads as uncontested in the public record.

How the window works ↗Subscribe to updates

§ 04EVIDENCE TRAIL2 SOURCES

CONTEXT · NARRATIVEfiled by gotnerfed · 2025-08-04

Perplexity Pro shipped with an advertised 'unlimited' Pro Search tier at $20/mo.

Perplexity Pro shipped with an advertised 'unlimited' Pro Search tier at $20/mo. Power users started hitting daily caps around early August 2025. The change appeared in support forum responses before any official notice. Perplexity's CEO later acknowledged the cap exists but did not commit to public quotas going forward.

DETECTED2025-08-04KINDRATE LIMIT CUTSEVERITYMAJORSOURCES2VENDOR REPLYNONE

PRIMARY SOURCES · CHRONOLOGICAL02 / 02

r/perplexity_ai discussion threads ↗Reddit thread

DOC

Perplexity Pro pricing page ↗Source · perplexity.ai

§ 05NEXT STEP · ESCAPE POD3 RANKED ALTS

◆ FREE / OPEN-SOURCE ALTERNATIVES3 ranked replacements for Perplexity.avg score 90 / 100

Perplexica↗FREE / OSS

MIT·★ 19k

Direct Perplexity replacement. Free if you BYO API key.

SearXNG↗FREE / OSS

AGPL-3.0·★ 17k