Got nerfed by Perplexity?
1 major change on record. Below: open-source replacements you can switch to today + tracked paid competitors ranked by who’s least likely to nerf you next. Step-by-step guides walk you through the actual install + config + API-key transfer — that part’s a Personal-tier feature.
Self-hosted, free, or freemium tools that cover the same workflow. Every entry is real software with a public repo and an active community.
Direct Perplexity replacement. Free if you BYO API key.
- Open-source Perplexity clone
- Multiple search modes (Academic, YouTube, Reddit)
- Self-host, BYO LLM + SearXNG
Docker compose with SearXNGUse under Perplexica/Morphic for the search backend, or just as a private Google.
- Privacy-respecting meta-search engine
- 70+ search backends
- Foundation for AI search tools
DockerLighter-weight Perplexica with prettier output.
- Generative UI search engine
- Streaming results with rich cards
- Vercel-deployable in 1 click
Other paid tools we track in the same category, ranked by current Nerf Index. Lowest = least likely to nerf you next.
No receipts yet.
2 receipts logged, none critical.
1 major change on record.
Perplexity → Perplexica
- OSS replacement recommendations (§ 02)
- Paid competitor rankings (§ 03)
- Nerf Index + 30d re-nerf forecast
- Receipts + sources for every silent change
- The (from → to) playbook with real commands
- Config-file diffs + API-key transfer scripts
- Verification test + rollback path
- Printable 1-page checklist
Perplexica installs as a single package. If you already have pipx or your platform’s equivalent, use that instead — it handles its own virtualenv so it won’t pollute your system Python.
Pull your existing key from Perplexity’s config and export it into Perplexica’s environment. Both tools authenticate against the same billing — no second subscription needed.
Perplexity respects an implicit ruleset. Perplexica reads its own config at repo root. The two formats are 1:1 mappable for the common flags — model, max-tokens, edit-format, auto-commits. Run the converter we ship to do it automatically, or copy the diff below by hand.
Run our verification suite against your real repo. We compare token usage + edit quality between Perplexity’s last response and Perplexica’s first response on the same three prompts. If output diverges by >20% you’ll get a structured diff.
Direct link to the cancel-tier page (yes, they hide it three menus deep). Includes the exact email template to send if they try to bill you a partial month.
Reverse playbook to undo the switch within 14 days without losing config history. Restores billing and reverts your repo’s .gitignore so cache directories don’t end up in your tree.