Best for Research
Deep research and information synthesis
Top Picks Ranked
Claude
Our PickFree TierThoughtful AI assistant by Anthropic
Best-in-class reasoning and analysis
1M token context window (beta)
Smaller ecosystem than ChatGPT
No image generation
Free
DetailsChatGPT
Free TierThe most popular AI assistant by OpenAI
Most versatile AI assistant
Huge plugin/GPT ecosystem
Plus plan can feel limited at $20/mo
Pro plan is expensive ($200/mo)
Free
DetailsPerplexity
Free TierAI-powered answer engine with real-time sources
Always provides sources/citations
Real-time web search
Less creative than ChatGPT/Claude
Pro searches limited on free plan
Free
DetailsGemini
Free TierGoogle's multimodal AI assistant
Deep Google Workspace integration
1M token context window
Output quality behind ChatGPT/Claude for some tasks
Image generation less consistent
Free
DetailsGrok
Free TierPowerful AI by xAI with real-time X data
Grok 4 Heavy tops Humanity's Last Exam
DeepSearch and Big Brain Mode
SuperGrok is $30/mo (pricier than ChatGPT Plus)
Heavy plan is $300/mo
Free
DetailsDeepSeek
Free TierOpen-source AI with reasoning at a fraction of the cost
Extremely cheap API pricing
Open-source models
Chinese company (data concerns)
Less polished web interface
Free
DetailsMicrosoft Copilot
Free TierAI assistant integrated with Microsoft 365
Free AI access built-in
Built into Windows & Edge
Output quality inconsistent
Less polished than ChatGPT
Free
DetailsYou.com
Free TierAI search engine with customizable modes
Multiple search modes for different needs
Good free tier
Less accurate than Perplexity
Smaller user base
Free
Details