ChatGPT
Best overall
OpenAI's general assistant for writing, questions, images and code.
Free$8/mo
AI chat assistants
General-purpose assistants you talk to in plain language. Most have a free tier; the paid plans mainly buy higher limits, newer models and features like file analysis or deep research, so each listing says what changes when you pay.
Our top 3
Khanmigo
Best free for teachersKhan Academy's AI tutor for students and free assistant for teachers.
Free$4/moPerplexity
Best for researchAnswer engine that searches the web and cites every source.
Free$17/mo
| What it does | Free plan | Tested by us | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | OpenAI's general assistant for writing, questions, images and code. | Free$8/mo | ✓ | — | |
| Claude | Anthropic's assistant for long documents, careful writing and coding. | Free$20/mo | ✓ | — | |
| DeepSeek | Free chat app and low-cost API built on DeepSeek's open models. | Free | ✓ | — | |
| Gemini | Google AI assistant tied into Search, Gmail and Docs. | Free$4.99/mo | ✓ | — | |
| Grok | Chat assistant from xAI with live answers from the web and X. | Free | ✓ | — | |
| Khanmigo | Khan Academy's AI tutor for students and free assistant for teachers. | Free$4/mo | ✓ | — | |
| Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft's free AI chat for answers, writing and everyday tasks. | Free | ✓ | — | |
| Mistral Vibe | Mistral's assistant (formerly Le Chat) for chat, search and code. | Free$14.99/mo | ✓ | — | |
| Perplexity | Answer engine that searches the web and cites every source. | Free$17/mo | ✓ | — | |
| SchoolAI | Teacher-managed AI spaces where students get guided help. | Trial | — | — |
Nothing on our list matches that yet. Try a shorter word, or tell us what is missing.