Perplexity Pro Free in India: Every Route Checked

Airtel customers who claimed the 12-month offer between July 2025 and 16 January 2026 got Perplexity Pro free, and for those with no paid plan the year ends 12 months after the claim, between about mid-July 2026 and mid-January 2027, going by Perplexity’s Airtel help page and TelecomTalk’s report of a 17 July 2025 claim start (linked below), so the earliest years have already ended. No other route on Perplexity’s help pages gives Indian users Pro free today: everyone else gets the free Standard plan, or, as a verified student or educator, a discounted Education Pro plan priced in US dollars.

I read every route below on 31 October 2026, logged out, from India; the one exception, the Pro price, is marked where it appears. In my view the more useful question in India now is what happens when an Airtel free year ends, and what it renews into.

Is Perplexity Pro Free in India?

No, not for new users. Airtel’s 12 free months closed to new claims on 16 January 2026, students get a discount rather than free Pro, and the referral programs have ended. Airtel claimants have Pro for 12 months from their start, so early claimants’ years have already ended.

Every route Perplexity documents, with its status on 31 October 2026:

The partner page names Airtel, Bouygues Telecom and Vivo as examples of telecom promotions. Airtel’s is the one of the three with India-specific steps on Perplexity’s help pages, and it has ended. The same page says Perplexity does not offer “special discounts based on any unique conditions related to geographical location, currency, or demographic status.”

Has the Airtel Perplexity Pro Offer Ended?

Yes. Perplexity’s Airtel article, last modified on 2 October 2026, says “The promotional offer ended on January 16, 2026.” What the offer was, in that article’s words:

• “twelve (12) months of complimentary access to Perplexity Pro” for “Airtel customers in India”, including business and enterprise customers.
• Open to new, current and former Perplexity subscribers.
• Redeemed only through the Airtel Thanks app, under “Claim OTTs and more” in the Benefits section.
• “You must provide a credit card to redeem the offer. You will not be charged during the promotional period.”
• “The promotion is for Perplexity Pro only, and not valid for Enterprise Pro or Max subscriptions.”

Neither landing page carries the offer now. On 31 October 2026, Perplexity’s perplexity.ai/airtel returned a 404, and Airtel’s airtel.in/perplexity returned a 200 page whose served HTML had no Perplexity text in it. TelecomTalk reported on 18 February 2026 that the claim window ran from July 17, 2025 until January 17, 2026, one day later than Perplexity’s date, and that people who activated before the deadline keep the full 12 months. Go by Perplexity’s date, since its page is the one that governs your account.

When Does Airtel’s Free Perplexity Pro Expire?

Twelve months after your free period started, and that start date depends on whether you were already paying for Pro when you claimed. The Airtel help page sets out three cases:

Those dates are the outer edges of each case. Your own date is 12 months from the day your free period actually began, which only your account shows. If you claimed between July and October 2025 with no Pro plan, your free year has already ended; the next section covers the renewal charge and the refund windows.

Already Claimed Airtel’s Offer? What Renews and How to Cancel

The renewal rule sits in Perplexity’s billing FAQ for Pro subscribers, last modified 20 October 2026, under trial and promotional subscriptions, a section that names partner promotions as an example:

• “A valid credit or debit card is required for all promotional and trial redemptions.”
• “No charges are applied during your promotional/trial period.”
• “Unless you cancel before the trial ends, your subscription will auto-renew at the standard rate for the plan you selected during redemption (monthly or annual).”
• If Perplexity asks an existing promotional user for a card, you have 7 days to add one or the account drops to the free version, and missed days are not added back.

If you claimed early, open Manage Subscription on perplexity.ai to see whether a renewal charge has already gone through; if it has, the refund windows at the end of this section apply.

Cancel on the platform where the subscription lives. Perplexity’s cancellation article gives these paths:

What happens next, from the same pages:

• Cancelling keeps Pro until the end of the current period; the account then reverts “to the free version”.
• Deleting your account does not cancel the subscription, so cancel first.
• Never update Perplexity payment details through the App Store or Google Play. The billing FAQ warns this “will create a new, separate subscription and you will be charged.”
• If a renewal charge has already gone through, India is not one of the regions with longer windows on the refunds page, so the “All other customers” rule applies: a refund request within 24 hours of purchase for monthly plans, and a full refund within 72 hours for annual plans.

One more check if Pro has gone missing: the free months are tied to the account you used at activation. Perplexity’s partner promotions page says to search your inbox for the “Welcome to Pro” email to find which account that was, and to treat your Perplexity account status, rather than the Airtel app, as the source of truth.

Is Perplexity Pro Free for Students in India?

No. Perplexity’s current student offer is a discount: Education Pro “is offered to verified students and educators at a discount”, and the plan comparison page lists it at $10 a month with SheerID verification. The Comet students page headline read “Get Comet with discounted Perplexity Pro. The AI browser built for students.” on 31 October 2026.

In February 2025, YourStory reported that “Perplexity AI offers free pro version to Indian students”. The help pages read today describe a paid, discounted plan instead.

How the route works, per Perplexity’s student verification article and the Education Pro page:

1. Create your Perplexity account with any email, personal or student.
2. In an existing account, click upgrade in the bottom left corner, toggle to the Education plan, and click “Verify as student”.
3. SheerID checks your enrolment. If your institution is missing from SheerID’s list, you can ask SheerID to add it.
4. If you are verified but checkout fails, open perplexity.ai in a desktop browser, click Upgrade Plan, stay in the Personal view and select Pro; Perplexity says the discount applies at checkout.
5. The discount does not move with you: “student discounts are not transferrable”, so a new email means verifying again.

If a free student plan matters more than the brand, Google’s Gemini student offer gives eligible students in India a free year if they redeem by 31 December 2026, and my breakdown of Claude’s routes for Indian students covers Anthropic’s options.

Perplexity Pro Price in India: Paying in USD

Perplexity’s local-currency help page, last modified 1 September 2026, answers the rupee question directly: “Users in India currently cannot use Indian rupees (INR) for recurring subscriptions on Perplexity.ai and can only subscribe in USD.”

What that means at checkout, from Perplexity’s own pages:

Perplexity’s website shows no rupee price for India, so I have not converted the dollar price. Apple’s App Store India listing, read on 31 October 2026, lists Perplexity Pro in-app purchases at ₹1,999 and ₹19,900 without naming the billing period; those are Apple’s charges, not the web price. On the web, your bank’s exchange rate and any foreign-transaction charge on your card decide the rupee amount, and prices change, so check the Pro page at checkout. Suno’s App Store India listing follows the same pattern, rupee in-app prices with no billing period named next to dollar prices on its website, as listed in Suno’s plans and rupee prices.

Other Free AI Plans in India Right Now

Other free AI offers in India, and where each stands:

• ChatGPT Go’s free year closed to new sign-ups in January 2026; my guide to ChatGPT Go free in India covers renewal dates for people who claimed it.
• Jio’s Gemini offer closed to new claims on 29 October 2026; the Jio Gemini Pro offer post covers what existing claimants keep.
• For OpenAI’s paid tier, see whether a ChatGPT Plus free trial is available in India.
• Airtel’s other headline perk, LinkedIn Premium, is covered with its current status in how to get LinkedIn Premium free.

Before Your Perplexity Pro Free Year Ends

For new users in India, Perplexity Pro free is not on offer today: the choices are the free Standard plan or the $10 Education Pro discount. For Airtel claimants, the useful move is on your own account: sign in with the email that received “Welcome to Pro”, open Manage Subscription on perplexity.ai, and decide before your 12 months are up whether to keep Pro at the standard rate in USD or cancel and drop to Standard.