The Best ChatGPT Alternatives in 2026 (Free and Paid)

ChatGPT is still the AI most people try first, but it is no longer the only good choice. In 2026 there are strong alternatives for writing, research, coding, studying and everyday questions, and most of them have a free plan.

People also search for this as “apps like ChatGPT”, “AI like ChatGPT” or even a “ChatGPT dupe”. Whatever you call it, this guide compares the ten worth knowing about: what each one is best at, what it costs, and what you give up. One of them is Viro AI, which we make. We have tried to be as straight about the others as we are about our own.

The short answer: for writing and long documents, try Claude. If you live in Gmail and Google Docs, try Gemini. For research with sources, try Perplexity. If you want ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in one free app that runs on clean energy, try Viro AI.

ChatGPT alternatives at a glance

App	Best for	Free plan	Paid plans (US, per month)
Viro AI	ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in one app, on clean energy	Yes, unlimited chat with occasional ads	$4.99 ad-free, $12.99 Supercharged
Claude	Writing, long documents, coding	Yes, with usage limits	$20 Pro, $100 Max, $200 Ultra
Gemini	Google apps, Android, images and video	Yes	$4.99 AI Plus, $19.99 AI Pro, from $99.99 Ultra
Perplexity	Research with sources	Yes	$20 Pro
Microsoft Copilot	Windows, Word, Excel and Outlook	Yes	Included with Microsoft 365 plans
Le Chat (Mistral)	A fast European option	Yes	$14.99 Pro
DeepSeek	Free reasoning and coding	Yes, free	None for the app
Meta AI	Quick help inside WhatsApp and Instagram	Yes, free	None
Ecosia AI	Search with AI answers, from a tree-planting search engine	Yes, free	None
EcoGPT	Simple questions, on small unnamed models	Yes, with daily limits	$10 Pro

For comparison, ChatGPT itself has a free plan, Go at $8, Plus at $20 and Pro from $200 a month. Prices were checked in November 2026 and change often, so confirm on each company’s site before you pay.

1. Viro AI: all the big models in one app, on clean energy

Full disclosure: Viro AI is ours.

Viro AI puts ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Viro’s own model in one app. You can switch models per chat or in the middle of a conversation, so you can draft with one and check the result with another without copying anything between apps.

The difference is where the power comes from. Viro’s own model runs in data centers powered by hydro, geothermal and wind in Iceland, Norway, Finland and Ireland. When you choose ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, those answers run on their makers’ servers, and Viro estimates the electricity behind each message and funds matching clean energy. The app labels which is which, and every reply shows an estimate of the electricity it used.

• Free plan: unlimited AI chat on web, iPhone, Android and Mac. Free chats may show a small sponsored card matched to the words in the conversation, never to who you are.
• Paid: $4.99 a month removes ads. Supercharged, $12.99 a month, also funds ten times the clean energy your usage needs.
• Also includes: web search, image generation, file uploads, Notebooks, Projects, Personas, memory, voice, and connections to apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive, Outlook and Slack.
• Privacy: chats are never sold and never used to train AI models.

Best for: people who want more than one model without paying for several subscriptions, and anyone who wants their AI use to support clean energy.

2. Claude: the best writer

Claude, made by Anthropic, is the favorite of many writers, students and programmers. It is good at keeping a consistent voice, working through long documents and explaining its reasoning. Its free plan includes web search, file creation, memory and app connections, with usage limits that reset every five hours and every week.

• Paid: Pro is $20 a month ($17 a month billed yearly), Max is $100 and Ultra is $200.
• Watch out for: on a heavy day you can hit the free plan’s limit and have to wait for it to reset.

Best for: essays, reports, editing and coding.

3. Google Gemini: best inside Google’s apps

Gemini is built into Android, Gmail, Google Docs and Google Search. If your work already lives in Google’s apps, it can read and draft inside them, and Google’s image and video models are among the strongest available.

• Paid: Google AI Plus is $4.99 a month, AI Pro is $19.99 and AI Ultra starts at $99.99. Paid plans also add Google storage.
• Worth knowing: Google is one of the few AI makers to publish per-prompt figures. It measured a median Gemini text prompt at 0.24 watt-hours of electricity and 0.26 mL of water.

Best for: Android phones and Google Workspace users.

4. Perplexity: best for research

Perplexity is an answer engine. It searches the web, writes an answer, and shows its sources, so you can check claims instead of trusting them. It is the closest thing to a search engine that talks back.

• Paid: Pro is $20 a month.

Best for: research, fact-checking and current events.

5. Microsoft Copilot: best for Windows and Office

Copilot is built into Windows, Edge and the Microsoft 365 apps. The free version handles everyday questions. The paid features that work inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook come with Microsoft 365 plans.

Best for: people who spend the day in Office.

6. Le Chat by Mistral: a fast European option

Le Chat is made by Mistral AI, based in Paris. It is quick, has a capable free plan, and appeals to people who prefer a European company. Mistral also published one of the first full life-cycle studies of an AI model’s environmental impact.

• Paid: Pro is $14.99 a month, with a lower price for students.

Best for: fast everyday answers and users who prefer an EU provider.

7. DeepSeek: free and strong at reasoning

DeepSeek’s app is free and does well at maths, logic and code. The trade-off is privacy: its own privacy policy says data is stored on servers in China, which rules it out for many workplaces.

Best for: free reasoning and coding help, if the data location is not a concern for you.

8. Meta AI: quick help inside the apps you already use

Meta AI is built into WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook, so there is nothing to install. It is fine for quick questions and images, but it is not built for long documents or serious work.

Best for: quick answers without leaving a chat app.

9. Ecosia AI: AI answers from a tree-planting search engine

Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees, added AI overviews and an AI chat in late 2025. Ecosia says it generates more renewable electricity than its AI features use. It is a search tool first, so it is lighter than a full assistant.

Best for: Ecosia users who want quick AI answers alongside search.

10. EcoGPT: a lightweight eco chatbot

EcoGPT runs small open-source models, which use less energy per answer than the largest models, with its main servers in Google Cloud’s Finland region. It plants trees through Trees for the Future as you chat. The free account allows up to 500 messages a day and shows ads between chats; Pro is $10 a month. It doesn’t name its models or publish energy, carbon or water figures, and small models are noticeably less capable than ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini on harder questions. See how Viro AI and EcoGPT compare, or read is EcoGPT greenwashing?

Best for: simple everyday questions with a light footprint.

How to choose a ChatGPT alternative

1. Start with what you do most. Writing points to Claude, research to Perplexity, Google apps to Gemini, Office to Copilot.
2. Try the free plan first. Every app here has one. Use it for a week on real work, not test questions.
3. Don’t pay for three subscriptions. If you want several models, an app that includes them, like Viro AI, costs less than paying each maker separately.
4. Check privacy. Look for whether your chats are used to train models, and where the data is stored.
5. Ask where the power comes from. AI runs in data centers that use a lot of electricity. Few apps say where theirs are or what powers them. The ones that do are worth rewarding. Read what makes AI eco-friendly.

Is it worth switching from ChatGPT?

You may not need to switch at all. Most people who leave ChatGPT do it for one of three reasons: they want a different model for a particular job, they want to stop paying $20 a month, or they want an AI that is more open about its environmental impact. If that is you, the simplest step is an app that keeps ChatGPT and adds the others alongside it.

Try Viro AI free: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Viro’s own model in one app, on web, iPhone, Android and Mac.

Frequently asked questions

What apps are similar to ChatGPT?

The closest apps like ChatGPT are Claude, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Le Chat and DeepSeek. Viro AI is different: it includes ChatGPT itself, plus Claude and Gemini, in one free app.

Is there a free ChatGPT dupe?

If you want something that works like ChatGPT for free, Claude, Gemini and Copilot all have free plans. Viro AI gives you ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini together, free, with unlimited chat.

What is the best free alternative to ChatGPT?

For most people it is Claude, Gemini or Viro AI. Claude is strong at writing and long documents, Gemini is built into Google’s apps, and Viro AI gives you ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and its own model in one free app that runs on clean energy. All three have a free plan.

Is there an AI better than ChatGPT?

No single AI is best at everything. Claude is often preferred for writing and coding, Gemini for anything inside Google’s apps, and Perplexity for research with sources. Many people now use more than one model, which is why apps that switch between models, like Viro AI, have become popular.

Can I use ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in one app?

Yes. Viro AI includes ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and its own Viro AI model, and you can switch between them per chat or mid-conversation. It is free on web, iPhone, Android and Mac.

Which ChatGPT alternative is the most eco-friendly?

Look for an app that says where its servers run and what powers them. Viro AI’s own model runs in data centers powered by hydro, geothermal and wind in Iceland, Norway, Finland and Ireland, and Viro funds matching clean energy for the partner models it offers. EcoGPT and Ecosia also make green claims, each in a different way.

Does ChatGPT have ads now?

Yes, in some places. OpenAI began testing ads for logged-in adults on the Free and Go plans in the United States in February 2026. Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise plans do not show ads.

Sources

1. ChatGPT pricing, OpenAI, checked November 2026
2. Claude pricing, Anthropic, checked November 2026
3. Google AI plans, Google, checked November 2026
4. Le Chat pricing, Mistral AI, checked November 2026
5. OpenAI starts testing ChatGPT ads across Free and Go tiers, SiliconANGLE, January 2026
6. How much energy does Google’s AI use? We did the math, Google Cloud, August 2025

Cover photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash