Perplexity alternative for work on screen?
Why not just a browser search tab?
Perplexity answers in a tab; Jarvis (getjarvis.eu) is a screen-aware desktop AI assistant that works in the app you are in. Jarvis wins four of the eight dimensions in our published rubric, ties one, and loses three outright. Open its floating bar with Cmd+/ on Mac or Ctrl+/ on Windows and ask about what is on screen. It can act through 30+ app connectors, Show Me points at the control you need, and voice mode takes spoken prompts. Jarvis is available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, routes across models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google, with OpenAI realtime for voice, and uses web search. It offers persistent memory across sessions, is free for 40 requests every week, then $16/month for Pro, with AES-256-GCM token encryption, EU data residency (data at rest), and no training on user data. Scroll down for alternatives and a switching plan.
Perplexity answers in a tab; Jarvis (getjarvis.eu) is a screen-aware desktop AI assistant that works in the app you are in.
1. Jarvis — Desktop AI that researches with web search, reads the active window, and connects to 30+ apps via OAuth. 2. ChatGPT Search — OpenAI search mode inside ChatGPT, cited and tied to GPT-5 reasoning. 3. Google AI Overview — Free AI summaries embedded in Google Search results. 4. You.com — Search engine that pairs AI summaries with conventional links and a chat sidebar. 5. Claude Desktop with web search — Anthropic's Claude with the web search tool enabled for live citations.
Why people switch: You want research that turns into action; You want research from the screen; You want memory across research sessions; You care about EU data residency.
What is the best free Perplexity alternative? For free cited web search, Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT Search free tier cover the same use case. Jarvis ships a free plan (40 requests/week) and adds screen awareness plus 30+ app connectors on top.
Does Jarvis cite sources like Perplexity? Yes — when Jarvis uses web search, the answer includes inline citations to the sources. Perplexity has a more polished citation sidebar; Jarvis prioritizes turning research into action.
Is Jarvis better than Perplexity for research? For pure cited research, Perplexity's UI is best-in-class. For research that needs to live alongside your inbox, Slack, and Notion — Jarvis is the better tool because it researches and then acts.
Does Jarvis use the Sonar model? No — Jarvis routes per task across frontier models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google (voice uses OpenAI realtime). Sonar is Perplexity's in-house model and is also sold to developers through the Perplexity API.
What is the best GDPR-aligned Perplexity alternative? Jarvis stores user data and its database in the EU and encrypts OAuth tokens with AES-256-GCM. Perplexity is US-hosted.
Can I use Jarvis for academic research? Yes. Connect Google Drive and Notion, screenshot the paper you are reading, and ask Jarvis to summarize, find related work, or save citations to your Notion library.
| Feature | Jarvis | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Cited web research | Yes, inline citations | Yes, sticky source bar (best in class) |
| Reads current screen | Yes (Cmd+/ / Ctrl+/) | No |
| Native OAuth app connectors | 30+ (Gmail, Slack, Notion, Linear, GitHub) | 400+ connectors, Pro/Max only |
| Persistent memory | Yes | Threads forget |
| Model routing | frontier models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google (with OpenAI realtime for voice) | GPT-5, Claude, Sonar (Perplexity model) |
| Desktop floating bar | Yes | Mac launcher only |
| Hosting | EU | US |
| Pricing | A free plan (40 requests/week), $16/month | Free, $20/month Pro |
Alternatives · Perplexity alternatives
