Perplexity promo secures millions of active users in India

In July 2025, Perplexity launched a major growth experiment by offering a free 12-month subscription to its $200 Perplexity Pro service to Airtel's 360 million customers in India. The promotion, which closed to new sign-ups on January 16, triggered an immediate surge. Sensor Tower data shows Perplexity recorded 5.9 million downloads in July 2025 alone—a 625% monthly increase that surpassed the 5.4 million downloads accumulated during the entire first half of that year. Over the seven months the offer was active, downloads reached 56 million, a ninefold increase over the prior seven-month period. Monthly active users peaked at 22 million in October, up from 8.9 million in July.

Although downloads plummeted by over 90% to 3.3 million between February and July after the promotion ended, user retention remained strong. Monthly active users stood at nearly 14 million in July, down 37% from the October peak but still over five times the 2.6 million average from early 2025. Crucially, revenue has climbed. Between February and mid-August, Perplexity's in-app purchase and subscription revenue in India rose 60% compared to the promotional period. From July 18 to August 12, average daily revenue rose 9% over the prior 30 days and 27% over the first half of 2026. Appfigures reported that monthly net mobile revenue in India jumped from $34,000 in January 2025 to $156,000 in July 2026, with the company generating $878,000 in the first seven months of 2026.

For AI product managers and growth marketers, Perplexity's experiment offers a valuable case study in using telecom partnerships to seed highly price-sensitive markets. While some revenue growth may stem from auto-renewals that users forgot to cancel, the sustained engagement suggests that long-term free access can successfully build user habits. This strategy is already reshaping the competitive landscape in India. OpenAI launched its free ChatGPT Go plan for a year in August 2025, and Google followed by bundling its AI Pro subscription free for 18 months with Reliance Jio. Practitioners must watch these cohorts to see if temporary subsidies can ultimately convert into a sustainable, paying customer base.