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Microsoft Copilot Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
Microsoft Copilot alternatives: ChatGPT, Gemini app, Le Chat, Claude and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 25, 2026.
•3 min read•AI Chat & Assistants
Verdict:In searches, ”copilot alternative” mostly points to Microsoft Copilot, the assistant built into Windows and Microsoft 365, rather than GitHub Copilot. Microsoft Copilot has a free tier with lower usage than its paid plans. The paid route is the Microsoft 365 Personal plan at $9.99 a month, which includes higher Copilot usage, and Microsoft 365 Premium is $19.99. Most people looking for a swap are doing one of three things. If you only want a chat assistant, any of the free plans does the job: ChatGPT, Gemini, Le Chat and Claude all have free tiers, and the differences are tone and limits, not price. Gemini is the obvious choice if your documents and mail are in Google Workspace, because it is built into those apps. Claude is worth trying for long documents and careful writing. If your concern is privacy, Ollama runs models locally and keeps prompts on your own machine, with the trade-off that you need decent hardware and accept weaker models. What you lose by leaving is integration. Microsoft Copilot works inside Windows and the Office apps; the standalone assistants need you to paste text or upload files. If you meant the coding assistant, GitHub Copilot is a separate product with its own alternatives page. Pick one free assistant for a week and note how often you actually miss the Office integration.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Free (Free plan at $0/month); paid from $8 per month (Go; Plus $20/month; availability varies by region) | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | A general chatbot outside Microsoft apps | Docs only |
| Gemini app | Free (Free with a Google account); paid from $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus) | Web, iOS, Android | People who use Google Workspace | Docs only |
| Le Chat | Free (Free plan); paid from $14.99 per month (Pro) | Web, iOS, Android | A European chatbot with a free plan | Docs only |
| Claude | Free (Free plan at $0); paid from $17 per month, billed annually (Pro; $20 billed monthly) | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | Long documents and careful writing | 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 | Private chat that stays on your machine | Docs only |
| Google Workspace | Paid from $7 per user/month (Business Starter, excludes tax) | Web, iOS, Android | Office suite | 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 a general chatbot and do not need Office integration (ChatGPT is the pick)
- Your documents and mail are in Google Workspace (Gemini app is the pick)
- You work with long documents and want careful writing (Claude is the pick)
- You want chats to stay on your own machine (Ollama is the pick)
- You want a European vendor with a free plan (Le Chat is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Microsoft Copilot features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Microsoft Copilot today: 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).
Why people look for Microsoft Copilot alternatives
Higher Copilot usage for individuals sits behind Microsoft 365: Personal is $9.99 a month, Family $12.99, Premium $19.99 and Pro $99.99, billed monthly only. On Personal, Family and Premium the AI features are for the subscription owner and cannot be shared, and the page describes usage only as higher than free, extensive or highest. Premium's agentic AI usage is described as limited. Anyone who wants one chat subscription without a Microsoft 365 bundle looks elsewhere.
ChatGPT
Compared with Microsoft Copilot: ChatGPT has a free plan, and Plus is $20 a month, above Microsoft Copilot's free tier and the $9.99 Microsoft 365 Personal bundle. You lose the tie-in to Word, Excel and Outlook, and gain a standalone chat app with a larger plugin and app ecosystem.
Price: 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).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows. Proprietary.
Best for: A general chatbot outside Microsoft apps.
Worth knowing: Go is listed at $8/month and Plus at $20/month. Pro tiers are $100, $200 and $500/month. Plan availability and usage vary.
Gemini app
Compared with Microsoft Copilot: Gemini is free with a Google account, and Google AI Plus is $4.99 a month. It is the natural swap if you live in Gmail and Google Docs rather than Office, but it does not work inside Microsoft 365 documents.
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: People who use Google Workspace.
Worth knowing: Google AI Pro is $19.99/month; Ultra starts at $99.99/month.
Le Chat
Compared with Microsoft Copilot: Mistral's Le Chat has a free plan and Pro is $14.99 a month. It is a European vendor and a lighter product than Microsoft Copilot, without Copilot's deep link to Office files and Windows, so it suits chat and drafting only.
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: A European chatbot with a free plan.
Claude
Compared with Microsoft Copilot: Claude has a free plan, and Pro is $17 a month billed annually or $20 monthly. It is strong for long documents and writing but, unlike Microsoft Copilot, it does not live inside Windows or Office apps unless you add connectors.
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: Long documents and careful writing.
Worth knowing: Max starts at $100/month; Team standard seat is $20 per seat billed annually ($25 monthly).
Ollama
Compared with Microsoft Copilot: Ollama is MIT-licensed and runs open models on your own computer, so prompts never leave your machine and there is no usage cap. It has no Microsoft 365 integration and needs capable hardware, and the models are weaker 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: Private chat that stays on your machine.
Worth knowing: Platform list is from the project's download offering; confirm on ollama.com/download.
Other popular options (paid)
Google Workspace
Compared with Microsoft Copilot: Per-seat productivity suite, Business Starter at $7 per user per month with 30 GB pooled storage and a 14-day trial. Copilot's paid route starts at $9.99 a month through Microsoft 365 Personal.
Price: Paid from $7 per user/month (Business Starter, excludes tax) (Google Workspace pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
- You want a general chatbot and do not need Office integration: ChatGPT
- Your documents and mail are in Google Workspace: Gemini app
- You work with long documents and want careful writing: Claude
- You want chats to stay on your own machine: Ollama
- You want a European vendor with a free plan: Le Chat
Limits of this review
Docs-only for ChatGPT, Gemini app, Le Chat, Claude, Ollama: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Microsoft Copilot. 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: Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini app, Le Chat, Claude, Ollama, Google Workspace. 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.