Inference.net lists 2 models and Perplexity 5. Inference.net is cheaper on a typical model ($0.08 per 1M tokens median). Below: line-up, price tiers, the cheapest model for each capability, and what each costs for five real workloads.
| Inference.net | Perplexity | |
|---|---|---|
| Models listed | 2 | 5 |
| Models with published pricing | 2 | 5 |
| Typical price (median, 3:1 blend per 1M) | $0.08 | $3.50 |
| Cheapest paid model | Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo ($0.06) | Perplexity: Sonar ($1.00) |
| Longest context | Inference.net: Schematron V2 Small (128K) | Perplexity: Sonar Pro (200K) |
| Free models | 0 | 0 |
| Newest model | Inference.net: Schematron V2 Small (2026-09-12) | Perplexity: Sonar Pro Search (2025-10-30) |
| Price changes in the last 90 days | 0 | 0 |
For each workload: the cheapest model from each provider that can actually do it (fits the context window; tool calling required for the agent), and its monthly cost at list price.
| Workload (per month) | Inference.net | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Customer-support chatbot 50,000 conversations — each a 6-turn conversation | $5.25 with Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo | $95.00 with Perplexity: Sonar |
| RAG search over documents 20,000 questions — each a question answered from ~8 retrieved passages | $5.10 with Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo | $130 with Perplexity: Sonar |
| Coding / tool-using agent 2,000 tasks — each a multi-step task with tool calls and file context | no suitable model | no suitable model |
| Batch summarisation 10,000 documents — each a 6,000-word report summarised to a page | $3.30 with Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo | $86.00 with Perplexity: Sonar |
| Long-document analysis 500 documents — each a 150-page contract or codebase read in one pass | $1.65 with Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo | $51.00 with Perplexity: Sonar |
| You need | Inference.net | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Any model | Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo ($0.06) | Perplexity: Sonar ($1.00) |
| With tool calling | none listed | none listed |
| With image input | none listed | Perplexity: Sonar ($1.00) |
| With reasoning mode | none listed | Perplexity: Sonar Deep Research ($3.50) |
| 128K+ context | Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo ($0.06) | Perplexity: Sonar Deep Research ($3.50) |
| 1M+ context | none listed | none listed |
| Model type | Inference.net | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| text+image->text | 0 | 4 |
| text->text | 2 | 1 |
| Price per 1M (3:1 blend) | Inference.net | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 | 0 |
| Under $0.50 | 2 | 0 |
| $0.50 – $3 | 0 | 1 |
| $3 – $10 | 0 | 4 |
| $10 and up | 0 | 0 |
Inference.net is cheaper on a typical model: a median of $0.08 per 1M tokens (3:1 input/output) against $3.50 for Perplexity. The cheapest paid models are Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo at $0.06 and Perplexity: Sonar at $1.00.
It depends on the job: Perplexity offers the broader line-up (2 models vs 5), Inference.net the lower typical price, Perplexity the longest context (200K tokens). The workload table above shows which wins for chat, RAG, agents, batch jobs and long documents.
Perplexity: Inference.net lists 2 models and Perplexity lists 5.
Perplexity: Inference.net's longest is Inference.net: Schematron V2 Small at 128K tokens; Perplexity's is Perplexity: Sonar Pro at 200K.
Neither lists a free model; both are pay-per-token.
Inference.net: 0 of 2 models accept images. Perplexity: 4 of 5.