Free AI plans compared
The data comes from each service's official pages; every row shows the date we checked it.
ChatGPT vs Gemini: which free plan is better?ChatGPT vs Claude: which free plan is better?ChatGPT vs DeepSeek: which free plan is better?Gemini vs Claude: which free plan is better?ChatGPT vs Microsoft Copilot: which free plan is better?ChatGPT vs Grok: which free plan is better?ChatGPT vs Perplexity: which free plan is better?
| Service | What's free | Account | Paid plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT checked Oct 16 · ⚠ | Everyday text chats with no fixed message cap (with abuse protection). File uploads, image creation, voice and deep research are limited, with no numbers published. | not needed | $8 / $20 |
| Gemini checked Oct 17 | Standard usage limits refresh every 5 hours up to a weekly cap, with no usage numbers published. Context window of 32k tokens. Deep Research may be unavailable at peak demand. | only for some features | $4.99 / $19.99 |
| Claude checked Oct 16 | A usage limit per session that resets every 5 hours; the exact number isn't published. Pro gives at least 5× more usage. No image generation. | required | $20 ($17 billed yearly) |
| Microsoft Copilot checked Oct 17 | A limited free version that depends on available capacity, with no numbers published. When you hit the limit, you wait or upgrade. | required | $9.99 |
| Meta AI checked Oct 16 | A free daily limit that resets, with no numbers published. Meta is testing limits on heavier features. | required | — |
| Grok checked Oct 17 | A limited free quota for chat and for voice, each with its own reset. No numbers published. | only for some features | $8 / $30 |
| DeepSeek checked Oct 16 | Free to use with no published limits. Two modes, Expert and Instant. There is no paid plan. | required | — |
| Perplexity checked Oct 16 · ⚠ | 3 Pro Searches per day and 1 Research per month; file uploads are limited. No image generation or advanced models. | only for some features | $17 billed yearly |
| Mistral Vibe checked Oct 17 · ⚠ | Messages, web search, images and documents are limited, with no numbers published. Pro gives up to 6× more messages and 40× more images. | required | $14.99 |
| Qwen Chat checked Oct 16 | Free to use with no published limits. There is no paid plan. | only for some features | — |
| Kimi checked Oct 16 | There is a limit on conversations per period, with no numbers published. | not needed | — |
| Duck.ai checked Oct 17 | Free with a daily limit (no number published) and no account. You pick the model, including Claude Haiku and open models; PDFs up to 15 pages. | not needed | — |
| Ask Brave (Brave Leo) checked Oct 17 | Free, with availability that depends on load and no numbers published. Ask Brave works in any browser without an account. | not needed | $14.99 |
| Poe checked Oct 16 · ⚠ | Free daily points to spend on many bots. The exact number isn't published and may vary by region. | required | $4.99 / $19.99 |
| Character.AI checked Oct 17 | Unlimited messages on every plan. The free plan has ads, a slow mode and few image generations. | required | — |
| Opera AI checked Oct 17 | Free inside the Opera browser. There is no fixed limit, but heavy abuse can block access until the next day. | not needed | — |
We compare what the official pages say about each free plan; we don't rate which AI is "smarter".
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