Perplexity AI: The Best Free Stock Research Tool?

17 Jul

Perplexity AI: The Best Free Stock Research Tool?

Let's be honest, AI is everywhere these days. But when it comes to stock-related AI tools, there aren't many that really stand out. However, Perplexity is one that you should definitely have on your list and check out because it has some seriously nifty features that I'm going to walk you through.

For the most part, you can use Perplexity completely free, and I believe most of the features I'm going to show you are available on the free plan. Personally, I'm on the pro plan because I get it free with my Revolut Metal plan (usually around $20/month). I wouldn't pay for it myself, but since I get it as a perk, it's definitely nice to have.

To be really honest, I don't use Perplexity that much for general queries. I find myself using ChatGPT as my daily workhorse and Claude for coding and writing. But for stocks? I'm really starting to love Perplexity, and I think you might too.

Getting Started with Perplexity Finance

Getting to the finance section is super easy. Just click the plus button in Perplexity and you'll see "Finance" right at the top left. Click it and boom, you have a proper finance dashboard that's really impressive.

Technically, you could ask any AI some stock-related questions, right? ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini would all answer your questions. But having a dedicated interface and dashboard like Perplexity Finance? I really like that approach.

What I Love About the Finance Dashboard

First thing I notice is the market open/close indicator. It's a small thing, but it gives you a nice indication of trading hours. You also get market sentiment based on major indices, so you get a quick idea whether markets are trending up or down overall.

The dashboard includes:

Market sentiment indicators
Major indices (mostly US-focused)
Customizable watchlist
Price alerts
Daily gainers and losers
Active volume stocks
Sector performance
Crypto section
Market summary with AI insights

The Watchlist Feature

Adding stocks to your watchlist is incredibly easy. Want to add Amazon? Just type it in, and it pulls up immediately. Add it and boom, it's in your watchlist. Simple and intuitive.

The price alert feature works like anywhere else. Set up alerts for any stock with your target amount, and it'll start sending you notifications.

Gainers, Losers, and Market Insights

The daily gainers and losers section is fascinating. I recently saw a stock up 212% in a day (Vulcan, with a tiny $15 million market cap). Obviously, those daily swings are huge for small companies, but it gives you a good idea of what's moving.

You can also see:

Biggest losers
Most active by volume
Equity sector performance
Cryptocurrency tracking
Fixed income data

The Crypto Dashboard

They have a separate tab for crypto, which I really appreciate. You see the biggest indices (or coins in this case), a leaderboard from Coinbase (which you can flip to all exchanges), and market sentiment specifically for cryptocurrencies.

As a Bitcoin investor, it's nice to see the price movements and get crypto-specific news all in one place.

Earnings Calendar and Analysis

One of my favorite features is the earnings tab. You can see past earnings or upcoming earnings, and some stock research platforms make this quite difficult to find.

Today being Thursday, I can see:

Today's earnings
Yesterday's results
Next week's schedule (like 66 calls on Wednesday, 128 on Thursday)

For each company, you get:

Performance vs expectations
AI analysis of the earnings call
Full transcript access
Revenue beat/miss data

Individual Stock Analysis

Let me show you what happens when you dive into a specific stock. I'll use Alphabet as an example.

The Stock Dashboard

The individual stock page gives you:

Interactive price charts (YTD, 1 year, all timeframes)
Financial profile and key metrics
Latest news
Bullish and bearish viewpoints (this is unique to Perplexity)
Price movement explanations

I love the contrasting views feature. There's not one right or wrong perspective on a company. Different analysts have different views, and you can dive into the sources to understand why they're saying what they're saying.

Financial Deep Dives

Under the financials tab, you get:

Income statements
Balance sheets
Cash flow statements
Downloadable data (great for your own analysis)
Historical data for different date ranges

The fact that you can download this data is really cool. Not all stock research platforms allow this, and it's perfect if you want to manipulate the data yourself.

Earnings Call Analysis

For each company, you can see:

Upcoming earnings calls
Previous earnings performance
Whether they over/underperformed expectations
Morning Star research reports (when available)

Asking AI Questions About Stocks

Here's where it gets really powerful. You can ask Perplexity direct questions about any stock. For example, "Is now a good time to buy this stock?"

The AI will do research and give you insights on:

Short-term outlook
Valuation concerns
Long-term investment perspective
Market positioning

Of course, no AI can tell you what to do with your money, but it can give you a fair, objective evaluation of the stock. The final decision is always yours.

My Secret Weapon: Reddit Analysis

One question I always ask before buying a stock is: "What are Reddit users saying about this stock?"

For me, Reddit is like taking the temperature of the internet. How do people feel about a certain company? I wouldn't make investment decisions based solely on Reddit, but it gives you a good idea of retail investor sentiment.

Perplexity is especially good at this. It even has a Reddit toggle where you can select social sources and switch off everything else. You'll get:

Overall Reddit sentiment digest
Bullish views from users
Bearish perspectives
Price target discussions
Direct links to source posts

Rather than spending hours going through forums myself, I use AI to get the key insights quickly.

How I Use This in My Investment Process

I invest primarily based on company fundamentals: whether I think they're well-positioned long-term, have the right business model, management, and execution. But I also want retail investors to be behind it.

Reddit sentiment is just one piece of the puzzle in my overall investment thesis. It's not the deciding factor, but it's valuable context that I can get quickly rather than spending hours researching.

Perplexity vs Other Tools

Perplexity is a big competitor to platforms that charge significant money for similar features. Even platforms like Fiscal.ai (previously Finchat) charge similar prices but only offer stock research.

With Perplexity, you pay the same for the plus plan, but you also get:

General AI capabilities
Writing assistance
Coding help
Research across all topics

My Current Stock Research Workflow

I'm definitely integrating Perplexity into my stock research workflow. I'll consult it before making any investment decisions. The tool continues to evolve, and it's great to see them embracing finance so seriously.

That said, I'll still continue using Seeking Alpha Premium. For me, it's still worth it because:

Deeper, more insightful analysis
Better dashboard and graphs
Articles by smart authors
Premium user comments (not bots or random internet users)

Using both tools together gives me a bird's eye view and perspective to make better, smarter investment decisions.

Pro Tips for Using Perplexity Finance

Start with the market summary to get overall sentiment
Use the earnings calendar to track companies you're interested in
Ask specific questions about valuation, growth prospects, or competitive position
Check Reddit sentiment for retail investor temperature
Download financial data for your own analysis
Set up price alerts for stocks on your watchlist
Compare bullish and bearish viewpoints before making decisions

The Future of AI in Stock Research

I'm sure other platforms like Claude and ChatGPT will follow suit in the future because it makes sense to aggregate so much financial information and help investors make better, more educated decisions.

The combination of AI-powered analysis with traditional research platforms gives you the best of both worlds: quick insights and deep analysis.

Risk Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. All investments carry risk, and past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Always do your own research and consider consulting with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. I may have positions in stocks mentioned in this article.