Perplexity Spaces (now Projects) alternatives

2 other AI Search & Research tools we have sourced reviews for, all in the same niche as Perplexity Spaces (now Projects) (Research Assistant). Within that, they're ordered by aitrove popularity, not by a quality score: we haven't tested them hands-on, so we don't rank them as "best".

Renamed: Perplexity renamed Spaces to Projects. Sources: [1]

Perplexity Spaces (now Projects) in one minute

Best for: Teams running ongoing research topics in Perplexity.

Biggest catch: Spaces have been renamed Projects, so the listing name is stale.

Skip it if: You only do one-off searches.

Price: Included with Perplexity. Collaboration on Pro ($20/mo) and up. (checked Oct 11, 2026)

Full Perplexity Spaces (now Projects) review

At a glance

ToolBest forBiggest catchStarting price
NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook)Students and researchers digesting a pile of documents.Usage is compute-based, refreshing every 5 hours up to a weekly limitFree tier: yes. Higher limits via Google AI Pro ($19.99/mo). (checked Oct 10, 2026)
ElicitResearchers doing preliminary literature scans.One published study found search sensitivity of ~33–40% vs traditional searchingFree tier: yes. Plus $11/user/mo (annual), Pro $39/user/mo (annual). (checked Oct 10, 2026)

1. NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook)

AI Research Tools · Research Assistants

Best for: Students and researchers digesting a pile of documents.

Pros

  • Free with a Google account: 100 notebooks, 50 sources each
  • Answers are grounded in the sources you upload
  • Google AI Pro raises it to 500 notebooks / 300 sources each

Biggest catch

Usage is compute-based, refreshing every 5 hours up to a weekly limit

Skip it if: You need cross-project memory across many notebooks.

Starting price: Free tier: yes. Higher limits via Google AI Pro ($19.99/mo). (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) review · NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) alternatives

Sources for NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook)

2. Elicit

AI Research & Science · Research Assistant

Best for: Researchers doing preliminary literature scans.

Pros

  • Searches more than 138M papers, with unlimited summaries on Free
  • Data-extraction tables speed up literature reviews
  • Plus is $11/mo billed annually

Biggest catch

One published study found search sensitivity of ~33–40% vs traditional searching

Skip it if: You need exhaustive, systematic-review-grade search.

Starting price: Free tier: yes. Plus $11/user/mo (annual), Pro $39/user/mo (annual). (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full Elicit review · Elicit alternatives

Sources for Elicit

Pros, catches and prices are compiled from public sources (official pricing and docs pages, published reviews, user reports), not hands-on testing. Prices change often, so check the vendor page before you buy.