Free alternative to Perplexity Pro
Home › Guides · Last checked 2026-10-20 · Facts verified from each project's docs unless marked tested
The closest free alternative to Perplexity Pro is Vane (formerly Perplexica), a self-hosted AI answering engine with cited sources, MIT-licensed. The catch: you run it yourself (Docker is recommended) and supply the model, either locally through Ollama or through an API key.
| Perplexity Pro | Vane | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Paid subscription (Perplexity) | Free |
| Runs where | Cloud | Your computer or server (Docker) |
| Cited answers | Yes | Yes |
| Model | Perplexity's choice | Yours: Ollama, OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Groq and more |
| License | Commercial service | MIT |
Set it up
- Install Docker.
- Run the one-line Docker command from the Vane README.
- Open localhost:3000 and pick a model: local via Ollama, or a free API tier.
The catches
- Self-hosting is on you, including updates.
- Answer quality depends on the model you choose.
See all free AI chat tools or read free ChatGPT Plus alternatives.
FAQ
Is Vane the same as Perplexica?
Yes. Perplexica was renamed Vane; the project lives at github.com/ItzCrazyKns/Vane.
Does Vane cost anything?
The software is free (MIT). Costs only appear if you connect a paid API model. A local model through Ollama costs nothing beyond your hardware.
What does Vane use for web search?
Its README says web search runs through SearxNG, a self-hostable metasearch engine.
Do I need a GPU?
Not for Vane itself. You need one only if you run the language model locally; a free API tier like Groq or Google AI Studio avoids that.