Overview
Perplexity Computer is Perplexity's desktop agent, shipping as native apps for macOS and Windows. What separates it from the web product is permission: once authorised, it reads folders on your machine and works inside native apps such as Notes, Messages, Mail and Numbers, carrying a multi-step job to the end.
This year it gained a fully local mode. The model, the orchestrator and task execution all stay on the device, with Qwen 3.6 and Perplexity's own PPLX Pro available at launch and 36GB of memory recommended on Apple silicon. Code and tools run in isolated sandboxes, and access to files and apps is granted scope by scope. When a task needs fresh information or stronger reasoning, you can escalate it to the cloud and reach more than 15 frontier models.
Work is organised around its own computer account. Ask it to reconcile this month's invoices, put the results in a spreadsheet and draft an email, and it plans the steps, opens windows, clicks and fills in fields, pausing at consequential actions for approval. Pro and Max subscribers can also enable iPhone remote access to pick up desktop work from a phone.
Key Features
- Local files and native apps: Authorise a folder and it can search, sort, rename and read or write files inside it, and operate Notes, Messages, Mail and Numbers, saving results back to the machine.
- Fully local mode: Model, orchestrator and execution run on an Apple silicon Mac, so sensitive material stays on the device from planning to final output. Qwen 3.6 and PPLX Pro ship as local options.
- Escalation to the cloud: When a task needs live information, a browser or more connected apps, you can authorise a cloud run that draws on more than 15 frontier models.
- Advanced Deep Research: It asks clarifying questions before starting, accepts follow-ups mid-run, and shows sources and progress live before delivering a report you can verify line by line.
- Remote continuation: Pro and Max users can pick up desktop tasks from an iPhone, a browser or another computer, and can leave a Mac mini running as an always-on machine.
- Sandboxes and approvals: Code and tools execute in isolation, file and app access is scoped, and actions such as sending or paying stop for confirmation by default.
Use Cases
- Finance staff having it read local spreadsheets and mail, reconcile unpaid invoices and draft reminders into a chosen folder.
- Analysts dropping holdings and market data into one folder and asking for concentration risk flags plus an updated deck.
- Client proposals assembled from interview notes, a brief and a rate card into scope, budget and a covering email.
- A morning pass that reads messages and mail for open requests and builds an action list in Notes.
- Privacy-sensitive work where model and execution both stay on the machine and only local material is involved.
- A Mac mini left as a standing machine, with work assigned and monitored remotely from a phone.
Pros
- Local mode keeps the model and execution on the device so sensitive material can stay off the network.
- It operates local files and native apps, reaching the interface layer of computer use.
- One authorisation escalates a task to the cloud, balancing privacy against frontier capability.
- Research clarifies scope first and then runs with live sources, so results can be checked.
- Remote continuation from iPhone and browser means long tasks do not need supervision at the desk.
- Billing by credits lets light tasks and heavy projects be estimated separately.
Pricing
Standard is free with web-focused access. Pro is 20 dollars a month or 200 a year with 4,000 one-time Computer credits. Max is 200 dollars a month or 2,000 a year with 10,000 monthly credits plus 35,000 one-time. Enterprise Pro starts at 40 dollars per seat monthly and Enterprise Max at 325 per seat monthly. Computer usage is metered in credits at roughly 100 to the dollar; light tasks typically run 100 to 350 credits, complex ones 350 to 950, and heavy projects more. Local mode requires an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 15 Sequoia or newer, with 36GB of memory recommended.
Summary
Perplexity Computer bets on permission. An agent that can read local files and drive native apps takes on a different class of work from one that only browses. It splits that path in two: by default everything runs locally so sensitive material never leaves the device, and stronger capability is a deliberate escalation you authorise. With iPhone remote access and an always-on machine mode, it reads less like a chat product and more like a computer operator you have hired, while keeping Perplexity's habit of citing sources throughout.
Version History
- Perplexity Computer added with fully local Mac execution (2026-10-29): As listed: native macOS and Windows apps that operate local folders and native apps including Notes, Messages, Mail and Numbers. Local mode keeps model, orchestration and execution on the device, with Qwen 3.6 and PPLX Pro as launch models and 36GB of memory recommended on Apple silicon; cloud escalation reaches more than 15 frontier models. iPhone remote continuation and an always-on machine mode are supported, and Advanced Deep Research clarifies scope before running with live sources. Pro is 20 dollars a month and Max 200, with Computer usage metered in credits.