Perlite soaks up water and air, helping to moisten and aerate soil. it also helps with drainage. Chicken grit and pea gravel don't do the former, but do help with the latter.

I should add that succulents hoard water in their leaves, and as a result are very drought tolerant and even like the soil to dry out occasionally. They don't need the soil to be kept moist. In this respect, perlite is sort of overkill with them. But succulents do need the soil to drain well, and chicken grit and pea gravel should do that just as well. Most vegetables, however, like their soil to be moist.

I'm a big proponent of using a medium that is larger in particulate than the silt sold as potting soil, the aeration and draining of the former which promotes better, healthier root growth, a must for any plant in a container... regardless of its type or variety.

So, while I do sometimes utilize coarse perlite as one of the medium ingredients, the others consist of pine bark fines, chicken grit in the form of granite chips, akadama, turface, pea gravel, or any other inert ingredient of similar size.

The particulate size of all ingredients being similar in size is of more importance than what they are, there being many substitutes out there, use depending on what is available.

In essence, I use a version of what is known as "Gritty Mix" for all of my container grown plants, most of which are indoor houseplants. These range from cacti to bulbs, and even orchids.

In my opinion, perlite doesn't absorb enough moisture to use it for that reason. I find that the pine bark fines do that portion of the heavy lifting much more efficiently. And truth be told, we don't want too much moisture to languish anywhere within that container for too long a period of time, or else the roots may literally drown without some oxygen. and the exchange of gases and oxygen via watering... gases from the decomposition of the pine bark fines and any other such matter that's a part of the mixture.

I do adjust ingredient ratios depending on plant type, pot size, and other factors... but I take my cues from such areas of growing as bonsai, for example. Bonsai uses a larger particulate in conjunction with root pruning and careful watering to obtain good results.

Aesthetics are less important than root health, without which there cannot be decent plant health above the soil surface. And all things being equal, I rather find the look of a good "Gritty Mix" to be rather pleasing. For visual appeal, I sometimes arrange a few small marbles or found fossil stones around the plant.

Hope this helps! Happy Gardening!