When it comes to math, Claude and Perplexity serve fundamentally different purposes — and understanding that distinction will save you a lot of frustration.

Claude is built for mathematical reasoning. Its extended thinking capability allows it to work through multi-step problems methodically, showing its work in a way that mirrors how a skilled tutor would approach a problem. On the AIME 2025 benchmark — one of the most respected tests of mathematical problem-solving — Claude scores an impressive 95.6%, placing it among the top-performing AI systems for competition-level math. It handles everything from calculus and linear algebra to number theory and probability, and it can work through symbolic manipulation, proofs, and word problems with notable accuracy. You can upload a photo of a handwritten problem or a PDF of a problem set, and Claude will parse and solve it directly.

Perplexity's strengths lie elsewhere. It's a research and search tool at its core, which means it excels at retrieving math-related information — finding formulas, explaining theorems, linking to relevant papers, or surfacing step-by-step tutorials from the web. Its cited answers are useful when you want to verify a formula or understand the historical context behind a mathematical concept. But Perplexity is not a solver in the traditional sense. It delegates reasoning to its underlying model (Sonar Pro), and for complex multi-step derivations, it tends to be less reliable than a system specifically optimized for deep reasoning.

For practical use cases: if you're a student working through a differential equations problem set, Claude is the clear choice. Ask it to solve a problem, explain each step, and then generate three similar practice problems — it handles all of that well. If you're a researcher trying to find the original paper where a particular theorem was proven, or you want a quick explainer with sources on Fourier transforms, Perplexity is more useful.

Where Perplexity has a real edge is in math education browsing — finding the right Khan Academy article, comparing different textbook approaches, or getting a sourced summary of a topic you're unfamiliar with. Claude, by contrast, is better when you need the actual computation done correctly.

Recommendation: For math, Claude is the stronger tool in nearly every scenario involving problem-solving, proofs, or step-by-step reasoning. Perplexity is worth using as a complement when you need sourced references or want to explore a math topic with external links. If math is your primary use case, Claude is the clear winner.