ChatGPT Alternatives: What Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI, Copilot and Perplexity Do and Cost

The main ChatGPT alternatives are Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini, Grok, Meta's Muse, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity. Claude, Gemini, Muse, Copilot and Perplexity all have a free plan, while Grok's plans page starts at $8 a month. The cheapest paid plans run from $4.99 a month for Google AI Plus to $20 a month for Claude Pro billed monthly, next to ChatGPT's Free ($0), Go ($8), Plus ($20) and Pro (from $100) plans. Every price on this page comes from the company's own plans page, checked November 4, 2026.

Pat Simmons has tested some of these on hard coding builds and on always-on agent jobs. He hasn't tested them for everyday chatting, so this page compares what each one does and costs and doesn't rank them as chat apps. In the four builds of his Gemini 4 Argon review and test results, Claude Opus 5.5 placed first in every test and Argon came last in all four. For always-on agents, Pat's Grok Bot vs Meta Muse vs ChatGPT Dots test graded Grok Bot A-, Dots B and Muse D overall.

Is there a free alternative to ChatGPT?

Yes. Claude, Gemini, Meta's Muse, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity each have a free version, and ChatGPT itself has a Free plan with unlimited text chats with GPT-6 and limits on uploads, image making, voice chats and deep research.

Here is what each free plan includes, according to each company's own page:

• Claude Free: $0, with limited usage every 5 hours and every week.
• Gemini Free: $0 with a Google account, on Google's Flash-Lite model.
• Meta's Muse: free with a usage limit that refreshes.
• Microsoft Copilot: limited usage with a free Microsoft account.
• Perplexity: free to sign up, with Pro and Max as the paid plans.

Gemini's free plan also lists image generation and editing, Deep Research and Gemini Live, its voice mode. Claude's free plan lists web search, file creation, memory and app connections.

ChatGPT's cheaper plans can show ads. OpenAI's pricing page says the $8 Go plan "may include ads," and OpenAI is testing picture ads on the Free and Go plans in the US.

ChatGPT alternatives at a glance

Every alternative below has a paid plan at or under $20 a month, and only Grok has no free plan on its plans page. The "Pat's test" column says what kind of job each result came from: coding builds or always-on agents. None of his tests is a chat test.

Prices checked November 4, 2026 on each linked page. For ChatGPT's own feature changes, see what's new in ChatGPT.

Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI, Copilot and Perplexity: what each one does

Each section below opens with what the tool is and what it costs, then gives Pat's result where he has one, labeled with the kind of job he tested.

Claude

Claude is Anthropic's assistant, with a free plan and three paid personal plans: Pro at $20 a month billed monthly, Max at $100 and Ultra at $200. Pro and up include Claude Code, Anthropic's coding tool, and Max includes Claude Fable for up to half your weekly limit.

On coding builds, Claude did well in Pat's tests. Opus 5.5 took first place in every one of the four builds in his Gemini 4 Argon review. In four blind builds in his GPT-6 Astra review, Claude Fable 5.1 and GPT-6 Astra won two each, with Astra coming in 5 to 15 times cheaper. In a later three-build head-to-head, Pat picked Astra as the winner on all three.

For Claude vs ChatGPT, the plans line up closely: both start free, and Claude Pro and ChatGPT Plus are both $20 a month. Pat hasn't compared them on everyday chatting. Claude's plans and latest changes are tracked on its own page, including the October 30 rename of Max 5x to Max and Max 20x to Ultra.

Gemini

Gemini is Google's assistant, and Google sells it in four tiers: Free, Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month, Google AI Pro at $19.99 and Google AI Ultra from $99.99. Gemini 4 Argon, Google's newest model, comes with AI Pro and AI Ultra, and the paid plans also add cloud storage, from 400 GB on Plus to 5 TB on Pro.

On coding builds, Gemini 4 Argon came last in all four of Pat's blind rankings. It was the cheapest by far, about $40 for all four builds against about $189 for Opus 5.5 and about $410 for GPT-6 Astra, but that was Google's promotional pricing, which ends November 30. Running Argon on the $99 plan, Pat hit the daily limit after about one build. His conclusion for that kind of work was to stay with the Claude models and GPT-6 Astra.

Pat's review also notes he didn't test Argon on everyday knowledge work, where its benchmarks are strongest.

Grok

Grok's plans page lists four paid tiers and no free one: Plus at $8 a month, Premium at $30, Super at $100 and Ultra at $200, with first-month discounts on the top three. One subscription covers Grok's chat, voice, image and build tools, shares one usage pool across them, and adds X perks such as fewer timeline ads.

Grok Bot, Grok's always-on agent, comes with Premium and up. In Pat's three-job agent test it earned an A- overall, the best grade of the three agents.

Meta AI and Muse

Meta's Muse is the company's personal AI agent, which takes actions for you and connects to other apps. It's free with a usage limit, the Power plan is $20 a month and Maximum is $100, and the paid plans only add weekly usage. Meta's help page says Muse subscriptions are still in limited testing and aren't available everywhere.

Pat tested Meta on two kinds of jobs. As an always-on agent, Muse got a D overall in his three-job test. On coding builds, Meta's Muse Wonder Full model finished last on all four when he ranked them blind, though it was the cheapest at about $14.25 across all four.

Microsoft Copilot

Copilot is Microsoft's assistant, which Microsoft describes as AI for work inside the Microsoft 365 apps. It's free with limited usage on a Microsoft account. Paid use comes bundled with Office: Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month, Premium at $19.99 with "extensive" Copilot usage, and Pro at $99.99 with the highest usage.

None of Pat's tests cover Copilot.

Perplexity

Perplexity is an answer engine that puts inline citations in every answer and lets you choose between models from several companies, including OpenAI's GPT-6.1 Sol, Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 5.5 and xAI's Grok 4.7. It's free to sign up. Pro is $17 a month and Max is $167 a month, both billed yearly; the page doesn't show a monthly-billing price.

None of Pat's tests cover Perplexity.

What each costs: ChatGPT's plans next to the alternatives

ChatGPT's personal plans cost $0, $8, $20 and from $100 a month, and every alternative except Grok matches its $0 entry point. Every price below links to the page it came from, checked November 4, 2026.

According to the pricing page, Plus adds GPT-6's advanced reasoning models and expanded Codex use, and Pro adds Pro reasoning powered by GPT-6 Astra. From December, ChatGPT and Codex share one usage allowance on Plus, Pro and Business.

Is there an alternative to ChatGPT Dots?

Yes: Grok Bot and Meta's Muse do the same always-on agent job, and in Pat's test Grok Bot beat Dots. Dots comes only with ChatGPT Pro, where the pricing page lists "Dot, your always-on agent" from $100 a month. Grok Bot comes with Grok Premium at $30 a month, and Muse is free with a usage limit.

Pat gave all three the same three jobs: plan a weekend in Montreal, research and outline a YouTube video, and run a fake coffee company's inbox, orders and website for four hours. On the trip, Dots ran into a security check on an airline's site and was still working when Pat stopped the test. In the coffee company job, Grok Bot sent 58 replies to customers and Dots sent 42.

In his write-up, Pat says Grok Bot would be his one pick and that it wasn't close. He found Dots good at simple admin jobs and lazy on anything creative, and he'd still use Muse as a free personal assistant. Those verdicts are about always-on agents only.

For Dots on its own, Pat's day of handing Dots his jobs covers what worked and what broke.

Which alternative should I use for images or writing?

For images, Pat's test points to ChatGPT for most jobs and Google's Nano Banana for handwriting and receipts. For writing, Pat hasn't tested these apps against each other, so this page doesn't pick one.

In ChatGPT Images 2.0 vs Nano Banana on 50+ prompts, ChatGPT Images 2.0 won the realistic photos, maps, app-screen mockups and infographics. Nano Banana, Google's image model, made the more convincing handwritten notes and receipts. Gemini's free plan lists image generation and editing, and ChatGPT's Free plan has limited image creation.

For writing, the plans pages list what each one offers. Claude's free plan includes Claude Docs, and Gemini's free plan includes Gemini Notebook, which Google calls a research and writing assistant. AI for Mortals has a full guide to using ChatGPT for writing, including where it falls short.

How do I cancel ChatGPT if I switch?

Cancel on the platform you paid through: chatgpt.com, Apple's App Store or Google Play, per OpenAI's help article on canceling. Uninstalling the app doesn't cancel the subscription.

If you subscribed on chatgpt.com:

1. Sign in to ChatGPT.
2. Open your account menu and select Settings.
3. Select Billing.
4. Under Cancel plan, select Cancel.

On an iPhone or iPad:

1. Open Settings and select your name.
2. Select Subscriptions, then ChatGPT.
3. Select Cancel Subscription and confirm.

On Android:

1. Open the Google Play Store app.
2. Open Subscriptions and select ChatGPT.
3. Select Cancel subscription and confirm.

OpenAI says to cancel at least 24 hours before your next billing date. Paid features stay on until the end of the period you've paid for, and canceling doesn't refund earlier charges.

Questions people ask

Is ChatGPT free?

Yes. The Free plan is $0 a month with unlimited text chats with GPT-6, and limited uploads, images, voice chats and deep research.

How much is ChatGPT Plus?

Plus is $20 a month. It adds GPT-6's advanced reasoning models, projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs, and more Codex use.

What is ChatGPT Go?

Go is the $8-a-month plan between Free and Plus, with more messages, uploads, images and voice chats than Free. OpenAI says it may include ads.

How much is ChatGPT Pro?

Pro starts at $100 a month and comes in three usage tiers; Pro 200 is $200 a month and Pro 500 is $500. Pro adds Dots and Pro reasoning powered by GPT-6 Astra.

What are ChatGPT's plans for business?

ChatGPT also sells Business and Enterprise plans, priced per user per month, with annual billing for Enterprise.

Are ChatGPT and Codex separate?

Codex is OpenAI's coding tool, and it's included in ChatGPT's plans, with limited access on Free and expanded use on Plus. From December, ChatGPT and Codex draw from one shared allowance on Plus, Pro and Business.

Is there a ChatGPT app for iPhone?

Yes. OpenAI's pricing page lists ChatGPT on web, iOS and Android on every plan.

Who owns ChatGPT?

OpenAI makes ChatGPT and sells its plans on chatgpt.com.

Is Claude free?

Yes. Claude Free is $0, with limited usage every 5 hours and every week.

Is Gemini free?

Yes. Gemini's free plan is $0 with a Google account. Gemini 4 Argon needs Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month) or Ultra.

Is Grok free?

Grok's plans page lists paid plans only, starting with Plus at $8 a month.

Is Meta's Muse free?

Yes, with a usage limit. Power ($20) and Maximum ($100) add weekly usage.

Is Microsoft Copilot free?

Yes, with limited usage on a free Microsoft account. More usage comes with Microsoft 365 plans from $9.99 a month.

Is Perplexity free?

Yes. You can sign up for free, and Pro costs $17 a month billed yearly.

Is Claude better than ChatGPT?

Pat hasn't compared them on everyday chatting. On coding builds, Claude Fable 5.1 and GPT-6 Astra won two builds each in four blind builds in his GPT-6 Astra review, and Astra cost far less to run. In a later three-build head-to-head, Astra won all three builds.

How this page was put together

Every price and plan detail comes from the company's own plans or help page, opened on November 4, 2026 and linked where it's stated. Where a page doesn't say something, such as a free Grok plan or Perplexity's monthly-billing price, this page leaves it out.

Pat Simmons's results come from his own tests, and each one is labeled with what it tested: coding builds, image prompts or always-on agents. He hasn't tested these apps against each other for everyday chatting, so no app is ranked for that.

Sources

• ChatGPT: Plans and pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
• OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT release notes
• OpenAI Help Center: Canceling your ChatGPT subscription
• Claude: Pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
• Google: Gemini subscriptions (checked November 4, 2026)
• Grok: Plans (checked November 4, 2026)
• Meta Help Center: About Muse subscriptions
• Microsoft: Copilot in Microsoft 365 plans for individuals
• Microsoft: Compare Microsoft 365 plans
• Perplexity: Pro and Max plans (checked November 4, 2026)
• AI for Mortals: Grok Bot vs Meta Muse vs ChatGPT Dots
• AI for Mortals: Gemini 4 Argon review
• AI for Mortals: ChatGPT Images 2.0 vs Nano Banana