Is Morphic really free?

Yes. Morphic is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. Perplexity Pro, on the other hand, costs €17 a month. One nuance for Morphic: the online version, chat.morphic.sh, is free and needs no account. If you host it yourself, the search engine (SearXNG) is included and free, but the AI model comes either from an API key paid as you go (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) or from a local model through Ollama, free if your machine can handle it.

Do I need to code to install Morphic?

No. The level is beginner and the install takes about 10 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.

How is it different from Perplexity Pro?

Morphic does most of what Perplexity Pro does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.

Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.

Free alternative

Free alternative to Perplexity Pro

Perplexity Pro costs €17 a month. Morphic does the same job for free, in open source: you install it on your machine or a small server, and you stop paying.

Public entry price, taken from Perplexity Pro’s website (perplexity.ai). Over a year, that is €204 that stays in your pocket.

What replaces Perplexity Pro

The main alternative

Morphic

🟢 Beginner⏱️ ~10 min to installSave €17/mo

Morphic is an answer engine: you ask a question, it runs a search, reads the pages and writes a complete answer, with sources cited next to each claim, images and even tables when the question calls for it. Exactly Perplexity's move, in open source: Apache-2.0 licence, over 9,000 stars on GitHub, a project alive since April 2024, a release every month and commits every day. Two modes: quick for an answer in seconds, adaptive for a multi step research. The AI model is your choice, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek or a local model through Ollama, and so is the search engine, SearXNG (free, bundled in the Docker install), Tavily, Brave or Exa. Chat history, sharing an answer by link, file upload, guest mode without an account. Two ways to use it: the online instance, chat.morphic.sh, free and without signing up, or your own install, where nothing goes to the project (no telemetry, all documented), only to the model provider you picked. Against Perplexity Pro, the ecosystem is missing: no mobile app, no workspaces, and answer quality depends on the model you plug in. To ask questions and get a sourced answer without paying €17 a month, it is the right tool.

Loucash’s verdict on Morphic

7/10

I tested the online instance with a real question, in French: ten sources found, a structured answer with a comparison table and the sources cited next to each point. It is Perplexity's move, without an account and without a subscription. The project is serious: two years old, a release every month, commits every day, and a page that documents in black and white what leaves your machine when you host it. What I like: the choice of model and search engine, the adaptive mode for questions that need several searches, and the Docker install that ships its own search engine. What may bite: the online version remains a demo instance, with no guarantee on limits; at home, answer quality depends on the model you plug in, and an API key is pay as you go. No mobile app, no workspaces, no ecosystem: Perplexity keeps those. For everyday sourced research, it is more than enough.

Who it is for: You pay Perplexity Pro to ask questions and get sourced answers, and you use neither its workspaces nor its mobile app. If you want the best model for every question without a subscription, host it and plug in your key.

See the full page →See the tool ↗

Morphic versus Perplexity Pro: the match

Price
Morphic
€0 online; at home, your model (pay as you go key or local)
Perplexity Pro
€17/month yearly, 20 dollars monthly
Sourced answers
Morphic
Yes, cited sources, images, tables
Perplexity Pro
Yes
AI model
Morphic
Your choice: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, Ollama locally
Perplexity Pro
Perplexity's, model choice reserved to Pro

Perplexity Pro ↗

VS	Morphic	Perplexity Pro ↗
Price	€0 online; at home, your model (pay as you go key or local)	€17/month yearly, 20 dollars monthly
Sourced answers	Yes, cited sources, images, tables	Yes
AI model	Your choice: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, Ollama locally	Perplexity's, model choice reserved to Pro
Deep research	Adaptive mode, in several steps	Deep research, limited on the free plan
Where it runs	On their instance, or at home with Docker	In Perplexity's cloud
Account	None, guest mode	Account required for Pro
Code	Open, Apache-2.0	Closed

The prompt that installs Morphic

Paste this prompt into Claude: it checks the repository, asks you its questions and installs the tool step by step.

Je veux utiliser Morphic (le moteur de réponses IA open source, dépôt GitHub miurla/morphic, site morphic.sh) à la place de Perplexity Pro. Demande-moi d'abord si je veux juste l'essayer sur chat.morphic.sh (gratuit, sans compte) ou l'héberger sur ma machine avec Docker. Pour Docker, guide-moi pas à pas en me posant des questions : cloner le dépôt, copier .env.local.example en .env.local, choisir le modèle d'IA (ma propre clé d'API OpenAI, Anthropic ou Google, payée à l'usage, ou Ollama en local, gratuit si ma machine a assez de mémoire), lancer docker compose up -d (PostgreSQL, Redis et SearXNG sont inclus, aucune clé de recherche à créer), ouvrir localhost:3000, choisir le modèle dans le sélecteur et faire une première recherche. Explique-moi ce qui sort de ma machine et vers qui (docs/PRIVACY.md du dépôt), comment activer l'historique et les comptes si je le souhaite, et comment mettre Morphic à jour.

Review the GitHub repository and check whether it is safe to install given my machine and my infrastructure. Ask me as many questions as possible, using widgets, to clarify my request and be as precise as you can.

Frequently asked questions

Is Morphic really free?: Yes. Morphic is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. Perplexity Pro, on the other hand, costs €17 a month. One nuance for Morphic: the online version, chat.morphic.sh, is free and needs no account. If you host it yourself, the search engine (SearXNG) is included and free, but the AI model comes either from an API key paid as you go (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) or from a local model through Ollama, free if your machine can handle it.
Do I need to code to install Morphic?: No. The level is beginner and the install takes about 10 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.
How is it different from Perplexity Pro?: Morphic does most of what Perplexity Pro does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.
Do I own my data?: Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.

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