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ChatGPT Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
ChatGPT alternatives: Claude, Gemini app, Le Chat, Microsoft Copilot and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 25, 2026.
•3 min read•AI Chat & Assistants
Verdict:ChatGPT Plus is $20 a month, so most alternatives come down to price, data location or the software you already use. Claude has a free plan, and Pro is $17 a month billed annually, which is cheaper on annual billing for people who mainly write, edit and analyse long documents. Google Gemini is free with a Google account, and Google AI Plus is listed at $4.99 a month, a clear fit if your work runs through Gmail, Docs and Search. Le Chat from Mistral is a European provider with a free plan and a Pro plan at $14.99 a month, useful if your buyers ask where data is processed. Microsoft Copilot is free with lower usage limits, and Microsoft 365 Personal is listed at $9.99 a month, which suits Word and Outlook users. Ollama is different: MIT-licensed and free to run on your own machine, with the trade-off that you need capable hardware and smaller local models. The main risk is switching cost. Your prompts, saved chats and habits are tied to ChatGPT, so test each option on a real week of your own work, not a demo prompt, before you change your workflow.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude | Free (Free plan at $0); paid from $17 per month, billed annually (Pro; $20 billed monthly) | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | Writers and coders working through long documents | Docs only |
| Gemini app | Free (Free with a Google account); paid from $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus) | Web, iOS, Android | Google Workspace users | Docs only |
| Le Chat | Free (Free plan); paid from $14.99 per month (Pro) | Web, iOS, Android | Buyers who want a European AI provider on a low paid tier | Docs only |
| Microsoft Copilot | Free (free tier with lower usage than the paid plans); paid from $9.99 per month (Microsoft 365 Personal, includes higher Copilot usage) | Web, Windows, iOS, Android | Microsoft 365 users | Docs only |
| Ollama | Free (running models on your own hardware is always unlimited; cloud Free plan has starter credits); paid from $20 per month (Pro, $60 of cloud usage credits) | macOS, Linux, Windows | Developers who want local, private models | Docs only |
| DeepSeek | Paid from $0.15 per 1M input tokens, cache miss, off-peak, API pay per token | Web, API | AI | Docs only |
| Grok | Free (Free tier at $0 per month with usage limits; xAI does not publish exact caps); paid from $30 per month (SuperGrok) | Web | AI assistant | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
See the tools in action
Explore the interface and watch a workflow before choosing.
Good fit if
- You want long document work on a low paid plan (Claude is the pick)
- You work mostly inside Google Workspace (Gemini app is the pick)
- You want a European provider on a low paid tier (Le Chat is the pick)
- You need models running on your own machine (Ollama is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on ChatGPT features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
ChatGPT today: Free (Free plan at $0/month); paid from $8 per month (Go; Plus $20/month; availability varies by region) (ChatGPT pricing, checked 2026-10-25).
Why people look for ChatGPT alternatives
ChatGPT jumps from Plus at $20 a month to Pro tiers at $100, $200 and $500 a month, with nothing in between. Team use is priced per seat, with Business at $20 per user per month billed annually ($25 billed monthly) and a two-user minimum. Plus and Business usage is also metered in ranges per five-hour window, not fixed numbers.
Claude
Compared with ChatGPT: Claude has a free plan, and Pro is $17 a month billed annually, where ChatGPT Plus is $20 a month on monthly billing only. You may lose ChatGPT features that are not in Claude's plans, so check your own use case first.
Price: Free (Free plan at $0); paid from $17 per month, billed annually (Pro; $20 billed monthly) (Claude pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows. Proprietary.
Best for: Writers and coders working through long documents.
Worth knowing: Max starts at $100/month; Team standard seat is $20 per seat billed annually ($25 monthly).
Gemini app
Compared with ChatGPT: Gemini is free with a Google account, and Google AI Plus is listed at $4.99 a month. It is a clear fit if your work runs through Gmail, Docs and Search, but you lose the ChatGPT interface you already know.
Price: Free (Free with a Google account); paid from $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus) (Gemini app pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Google Workspace users.
Worth knowing: Google AI Pro is $19.99/month; Ultra starts at $99.99/month.
Le Chat
Compared with ChatGPT: Le Chat has a free plan, and its Pro plan is $14.99 a month, below ChatGPT Plus at $20. It is made by Mistral, a European AI company, which suits buyers who want a non-US provider.
Price: Free (Free plan); paid from $14.99 per month (Pro) (Le Chat pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Buyers who want a European AI provider on a low paid tier.
Microsoft Copilot
Compared with ChatGPT: Microsoft Copilot has a free tier with lower usage limits than its paid plans, and Microsoft 365 Personal is listed at $9.99 a month. It fits Word and Outlook work, but heavy chatting hits the free cap sooner than ChatGPT's free tier.
Price: Free (free tier with lower usage than the paid plans); paid from $9.99 per month (Microsoft 365 Personal, includes higher Copilot usage) (Microsoft Copilot pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Windows, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Microsoft 365 users.
Ollama
Compared with ChatGPT: Ollama is MIT-licensed and free to run models on your own hardware with unlimited local use. ChatGPT is hosted at $20 a month for Plus; Ollama needs a capable machine, and the local models are usually smaller than hosted ones.
Price: Free (running models on your own hardware is always unlimited; cloud Free plan has starter credits); paid from $20 per month (Pro, $60 of cloud usage credits) (Ollama pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: macOS, Linux, Windows. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 185k GitHub stars · latest release v0.40.12 (Oct 27, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Developers who want local, private models.
Worth knowing: Platform list is from the project's download offering; confirm on ollama.com/download.
Other popular options (paid)
DeepSeek
Compared with ChatGPT: DeepSeek prices API calls by token usage instead of a consumer subscription. Compare its API bill with your actual workload; this is a developer integration rather than a replacement for saved chats and the ChatGPT app.
Price: Paid from $0.15 per 1M input tokens, cache miss, off-peak, API pay per token (DeepSeek pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Grok
Compared with ChatGPT: xAI lists a free tier with usage limits it does not publish, and SuperGrok at $30 a month, $10 more than ChatGPT Plus. Worth a look if you want a second assistant to compare answers against.
Price: Free (Free tier at $0 per month with usage limits; xAI does not publish exact caps); paid from $30 per month (SuperGrok) (Grok pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
- You want long document work on a low paid plan: Claude
- You work mostly inside Google Workspace: Gemini app
- You want a European provider on a low paid tier: Le Chat
- You need models running on your own machine: Ollama
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Claude, Gemini app, Le Chat, Microsoft Copilot, Ollama: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from ChatGPT. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-25: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini app, Le Chat, Microsoft Copilot, Ollama, DeepSeek, Grok. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.