Perplexity vs Dia
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Perplexity is the better app overall, scoring 8.6 to 8.1. Perplexity wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Dia on 1, with 1 tied.
Researchers, students and curious people who want answers backed by sources
Office workers who juggle email, docs and meetings in the browser
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Perplexity | Dia |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI Assistants | AI Assistants |
| Category rank | #5 of 16 | #12 of 16 |
| Developer | Perplexity AI | The Browser Company |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | — |
| Android | ✓ | — |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ | — |
Common questions
Is Perplexity better than Dia?
Perplexity is the better app overall, scoring 8.6 to 8.1. Perplexity wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Dia on 1, with 1 tied.
Which is cheaper, Perplexity or Dia?
Perplexity: Free plan; Pro $20/month or $200/year; Max $2,000/year. Dia: Free browser has no AI; Better Answers is $10 a month and Better Days $100. On value for money, Perplexity scores higher.
Do Perplexity and Dia work on the same devices?
Only Perplexity runs on iPhone & iPad, Android, Web.
Which is more private, Perplexity or Dia?
Dia scores higher on privacy (8.2/10). History, chats and files are encrypted on your device, and Sync is end-to-end encrypted. AI partners can't train on your data. Dia keeps some unlinked content 30 days to improve itself unless you opt out.
Strengths and weaknesses
Perplexity
- Sources make answers easy to verify
- Fast, clean answers to factual questions
- Pro plan bundles models from several AI labs
- Weaker for long-form writing and creative work
- Cited sources can be low quality or misread
- AI data retention is on by default
Perplexity is built for finding things out. Every answer comes with linked sources, so you can check claims quickly, and paid plans let you switch between leading models from several AI labs. Deep Research writes longer reports, Projects keep work organized, and Perplexity Computer can carry out multi-step tasks for you. It is less suited to long creative writing. If most of your AI use is search, it can replace a lot of browsing.
Full Perplexity review
Dia
- Calm, uncluttered design from the makers of Arc
- Data is stored and encrypted on your device
- AI partners are barred from training on your data
- New users' free plan has no AI features
- Better Days plan costs $100 a month
- Windows version is still an early build
Dia comes from the team behind Arc and puts an AI chat beside your tabs that can read what's open and pull in context from Slack, Notion and Teams. Its Morning Brief, meeting prep and deck building are aimed squarely at office work. Privacy is better than most AI browsers, with your data stored on your device. Since August 2026, though, new users get no AI on the free plan, and the Windows version is still young.
Full Dia review
