What each one actually is
Perplexity Comet is an AI browser. It reads pages, answers questions about what is on screen, and runs research across tabs. It is now free - it previously sat behind Perplexity Max at $200/month, with background assistant features still weighted toward Max.
Meta Muse is a personal agent announced 8 September 2026, released in the US on iOS, Android and web. Free tier, then $20 and $100 per month. Each user gets a virtual machine in Meta cloud with its own browser, its own email address, and a permission layer called Sentinel that separates read access from write access.
Reading vs acting
This distinction decides which one you want, and most comparisons skip it.
Comet is strongest where the task is comprehension - reading a long page, comparing options across tabs, pulling the answer out of documentation. It stays mostly inside the browser and mostly inside reading.
Muse is built for completion - long-running tasks that touch services. Meta announced commerce and productivity partners including Stripe, Shopify, Walmart, Instacart, GitHub and Notion, and at a 23 September event added macOS app control, a video avatar, smart glasses integration via a wake word, and a palm-sized device called Muse Charm.
The gap is not quality. It is that reading a page is something no site can stop, and acting on a site is something any site can refuse.
And they are refusing
Amazon blocked Muse on 21 September, two weeks after launch, saying Meta did not notify it, the agent did not identify itself while browsing, and it appeared to capture customer credentials. Meta said Muse has no access to passwords or payment methods. Schwab CEO Rick Wurster named Muse on 16 October while describing the agents his firm blocks weekly. The Verge reported Yelp permits only licensed agents and Delta has no third-party agent agreements.
Comet has not drawn the same response, because a browser that reads pages looks like a browser that reads pages.
Cost
| Comet | Muse |
|---|
| Free tier | Yes - the browser is free | Yes |
| Paid | Perplexity Pro and Max; Max adds background assistant | $20 and $100 per month |
| Business model | Subscription | No ads; Meta expects a small fee on transactions |
| Training on your data | Per Perplexity account settings | On by default; you turn it off |
Note the Muse business model. A fee on transactions means the agent earns when you buy. That is not necessarily bad, but it is a different incentive from a flat subscription and worth knowing while it is recommending products.
Pick one
- Research, reading, comparing - Comet, free.
- Multi-step tasks across services - Muse, with the blocks in mind.
- Granular read/write control per service - Muse. Sentinel has no equivalent here.
- Spending nothing - both have free access, which is unusual in this category.
- Shopping on Amazon - neither.
Verdict
These get compared because both are called AI browsers and both are from large AI companies. They solve different halves of the problem. Comet makes the web easier to read. Muse tries to make it act on your behalf, which is harder, more valuable, and the reason it keeps running into walls that Comet never touches.
Run Comet now because it is free and good at reading. Hold Muse until Meta explains how Sentinel identifies itself to the sites it visits - that is precisely what Amazon said was missing, and until it is answered the block list will keep growing.