AI assistants comparison: prices, features and privacy

How to use the comparison

The table above lists around 30 consumer AI assistants, meaning services you chat with by typing or talking, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Mistral’s Le Chat, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Meta AI or Grok.

To get the most out of it:

• Combine filters. Each filter you add narrows the list. For example: free, then web search, then Android app. You only see the assistants that meet every condition.
• Sort the columns. Click a column header, such as monthly price, to sort the assistants in either direction.
• On a phone, switch to card view. Each assistant appears as a card, easier to read on a small screen than wide columns.

Not sure where to start? The “Which AI is right for me?” quiz does a first sort for you with 6 questions.

What each criterion means

• Free (yes, no, limited): limited means a free tier exists, with caps on the number of messages or on available features.
• Monthly price: the price of the main individual plan, as displayed by the provider on the date it was checked.
• Web search: the assistant can look things up online during the conversation to find recent information, instead of relying only on what it learned during training.
• Browser agent: the assistant can act on your behalf in a web browser, for example opening pages, clicking and filling in forms. Handy, but it calls for caution; our Can I trust an agent with this? tool helps you weigh the risks.
• Files: you can upload a PDF, a spreadsheet or a document for it to summarize or analyze.
• Images: the assistant can create images from a description, or understand a photo you send it (the profile says which).
• Voice: you can talk to it and hear it answer, like a phone call.
• Memory: the assistant can remember things from one conversation to the next (your job, your preferences). Useful, but make sure you can view and delete what it remembers.
• iOS and Android apps: whether there’s an official app for iPhone and for Android.
• Language quality: our assessment of how well the assistant handles the language, based on available public information; it is not a score from a numbered test.
• Provider’s country: where the company behind the assistant is based.
• Privacy options: the controls on offer, such as turning off chat history or opting out of having your conversations used to improve models.

Technical terms you come across in the profiles are explained in plain English in our glossary.

Where the data comes from

Prices and features are collected from the providers’ official pages. Each profile shows the date it was last checked, and the data is re-checked every month. We don’t copy user reviews and we don’t assign made-up scores. How we collect and update this information is explained on the methodology page.

If something looks out of date, go by the provider’s official page: that’s the reference.

Choosing based on what you need

• Writing and rewording: look at language quality first, then price.
• Looking things up: web search is a must, ideally with cited sources.
• Working with your documents: check file support and privacy options, especially for work documents.
• Creating images: filter on images, then check the profile to see what the free tier includes.
• Delegating tasks: filter on browser agent, and start with tasks that involve no money and no sensitive data.
• Using AI mostly on your phone: tick iOS or Android app, and voice.

To explore each assistant in detail, head to the AI assistants and agents directory.