Does Perplexity Work in China?

Does Perplexity AI work in China?

No, Perplexity AI doesn’t work on Chinese mobile data or Wi-Fi. GreatFire, which tests websites from mainland China, keeps a test history for perplexity.ai. Asked whether the site opens from mainland China, it answers “No”. Its last test was on October 18, 2026. It gives the same answer for www.perplexity.ai and for Perplexity’s API at api.perplexity.ai, both last tested on September 27, 2026.

For other AI chatbots, see ChatGPT in China, Claude in China and Gemini in China.

Is Perplexity available in China?

Not on Chinese networks, because China’s firewall blocks it. That block is separate from a company’s own country rules. A service can be blocked on Chinese networks, unavailable to users in China by the company’s choice, or both.

• ChatGPT and Claude: company rules too. OpenAI’s list of countries where it supports ChatGPT, on the web and on mobile, leaves out mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. So does Anthropic’s list of supported regions for Claude. Our page on ChatGPT in China explains what that means for travelers.
• Perplexity: the firewall. We found no list of supported countries in Perplexity’s help center or legal pages. Its terms of service, last updated January 23, 2026, bar exporting the service to U.S.-embargoed countries and to people on U.S. government lists of restricted parties. They don’t mention China. They also say Perplexity doesn’t guarantee that its app will be available in any particular location.

Perplexity does offer its service in Hong Kong, which OpenAI and Anthropic leave out. The Hong Kong section below has the details.

Is Perplexity banned in China?

China’s firewall blocks Perplexity, but we couldn’t find an official Chinese notice that names it. GreatFire’s test histories for perplexity.ai, linked above, show it blocked from mainland China.

China regulates AI chatbots under its Interim Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services (生成式人工智能服务管理暂行办法), in force since August 15, 2023. The Cyberspace Administration of China published them in July 2023, with the agreement of six other government agencies. They apply to services that use generative AI to produce text, images, audio or video for the public in China. Article 20 covers services from outside China. When such a service doesn’t comply with Chinese laws, regulations and the measures, it says, the national cyberspace authority “shall notify the relevant agencies to take technical measures and other necessary measures” to deal with it. The measures don’t name Perplexity.

Perplexity in Hong Kong

Perplexity works in Hong Kong, and it has promoted its service there. HKT, the company behind the csl and 1O1O mobile networks, announced on June 18, 2025 that it was working with Perplexity to give selected customers a free year of Perplexity Pro. June Morita, Perplexity’s general manager for Asia Pacific, said in the announcement that Perplexity was pleased to bring Perplexity Pro “to users in Hong Kong”. The offer ran until April 2026.

Hong Kong users on Reddit said in March 2026 that Perplexity is among the Western AI services officially available there, and that it works “with no issues”. In October 2026, one of them, a Perplexity Pro subscriber, said they still use it regularly. They added that ChatGPT and Claude are unavailable in Hong Kong. Apple’s App Store has the Perplexity app in Hong Kong and Macau.

That matters if your eSIM’s data comes out in Hong Kong. It gets you past China’s firewall, and Hong Kong is a place where Perplexity offers its service.

Use Perplexity in China on a roaming eSIM

A travel eSIM or home roaming can get you to Perplexity without a VPN, as long as your data is routed out of mainland China. UNSW cybersecurity expert Salil Kanhere told the Bega District News in July 2026 that roaming data is in many cases routed through your home carrier or an overseas gateway. He said certain travel eSIMs bypass mainland filtering by routing traffic through offshore gateways such as Hong Kong, Singapore or Australia. A local Chinese SIM or a China-specific eSIM, he said, typically remains subject to local filtering.

Travelers on Reddit reported in 2026 that Perplexity worked this way. They’re individual accounts, not tests.

• In March 2026, a traveler said they could use Perplexity on a Trip.com eSIM, though it “was using links from asia not us”. They said Trip.com’s eSIMs route data through Hong Kong or Japan.
• In September 2026, a US traveler back from a four-week trip said their Verizon data worked in China, alongside a travel eSIM they had set up before leaving. They could reach restricted websites without a VPN and use Perplexity, which they called “really invaluable for day to day travels”. See Verizon TravelPass in China.

An eSIM doesn’t help on hotel or cafe Wi-Fi. The Bega District News says blocked apps stay blocked on local Wi-Fi and on a SIM card you buy when you arrive. See eSIM or VPN for China? and eSIMs for China and Hong Kong, and compare plans on our eSIM page.

Use Perplexity in China with a VPN

A VPN can get you past China’s firewall, but Perplexity advises against using one. Its help center says using a VPN with Perplexity “may trigger frequent security checks by Cloudflare and potentially render the mobile app unusable.” Perplexity uses Cloudflare, a security service, to check visitors for spam and abuse. Its help article on Cloudflare says VPNs make these checks more likely, and that signing in helps, because Cloudflare screens anonymous users more often. If you get stuck on the Cloudflare screen, it suggests refreshing the page, trying a different browser, clearing your cache and cookies, and turning off any VPN or proxy.

On hotel Wi-Fi in China, turning off the VPN means losing Perplexity. Sign in first, and keep your browser up to date, which Perplexity also suggests.

A user on vacation in China ran into this in November 2024. They wrote on Reddit that over LetsVPN and Mullvad, with the AdGuard ad blocker on, Perplexity kept asking them to verify they were human, or didn’t work at all. They said ChatGPT had no such issues. We found no newer report of Perplexity over a VPN in China.

You need a VPN on hotel and other local Wi-Fi, where a roaming eSIM doesn’t help. Set it up before you fly and try Perplexity over it at home. Compare the VPNs we track on our VPN page, and read Is a VPN legal in China? and VPN for hotel Wi-Fi in China before you go.

The Perplexity app in China

The Perplexity app isn’t in Apple’s China App Store. Apple’s App Store lookup finds the app in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, but returns no result for mainland China, and the app’s China store page doesn’t load. We couldn’t confirm why. Perplexity’s terms say it doesn’t guarantee that the app will be available in any particular location. Install the app before you fly.

GreatFire’s tests cover Perplexity’s website and API addresses, not the app, and we couldn’t confirm which addresses the app connects to. Perplexity’s VPN advice does cover the app: it says a VPN may make the mobile app unusable because of Cloudflare security checks.

Sign in on each device before you go. Perplexity doesn’t use passwords. You sign in with Google or Apple, or with a link or one-time code sent to your email. Perplexity recommends signing in with a Gmail or Apple account, but the Bega District News lists Gmail among the Google services China blocks. See Gmail in China.

Chinese alternatives to Perplexity

Perplexity isn’t in Apple’s China App Store, and China has its own AI chatbots. NPR described several in March 2026, and some describe web search in their China App Store listings:

• Kimi: Moonshot AI’s chatbot. Its App Store listing in China says its deep search pulls together information from across the web and gives precise sources. A Reddit user based in China tried its paid plan in October 2026.
• Doubao: ByteDance’s chatbot, China’s most popular, according to NPR, which says it’s built into Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Its listing names web search among its features.
• Yuanbao: Tencent’s chatbot, folded into WeChat and connected to WeChat Pay, according to NPR. Its listing says it searches the web, including WeChat Official Accounts and Channels.
• Qwen: Alibaba’s chatbot. NPR says it can order things for you and pay through Alipay. A user in China wrote on Reddit in October 2026 that Qwen does everything they need without a VPN.
• DeepSeek: NPR names DeepSeek among China’s prominent AI startups.

Our guide to AI tools in China covers which of these you can sign up for without a Chinese phone number.

Related guides

• AI tools in China
• ChatGPT in China
• Claude in China
• Gemini in China
• eSIM or VPN for China?
• VPN for hotel Wi-Fi in China
• Apps to download before going to China