The best ChatGPT alternatives
ChatGPT does one job — general-purpose ai assistant for writing, coding, research and more — and it is not the right fit for everyone. These 12 chat & llms tools cover the same ground, each with a different trade-off. Prices and features last checked 2026-08-25.
1. Perplexity
EI 9/10Chat & LLMsAI answer engine that researches the web and cites sources.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: AI answer engine that researches the web and cites sources.
2. Character.AI
EI 8/10Chat & LLMsCreate and chat with custom AI personas.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: Create and chat with custom AI personas.
3. Claude
EI 8/10Chat & LLMsLong-form writing, analysis and coding assistant from Anthropic.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: Long-form writing, analysis and coding assistant from Anthropic.
4. Copilot
EI 8/10Chat & LLMsMicrosoft's AI assistant across Windows & Office.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: Microsoft's AI assistant across Windows & Office.
5. DeepSeek
EI 8/10Chat & LLMsFast, efficient reasoning and chat model.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: Fast, efficient reasoning and chat model.
6. Gemini
EI 8/10Chat & LLMsGoogle's multimodal AI assistant across text, image and video.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: Google's multimodal AI assistant across text, image and video.
7. GLM (Z.ai)
EI 8/10Chat & LLMsZhipu AI's bilingual chat and agent model.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: Zhipu AI's bilingual chat and agent model.
8. Grok
EI 8/10Chat & LLMsReal-time, X-integrated AI assistant from xAI.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: Real-time, X-integrated AI assistant from xAI.
9. Kimi
EI 8/10Chat & LLMsLong-document and agentic AI assistant from Moonshot AI.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: Long-document and agentic AI assistant from Moonshot AI.
10. Meta AI
EI 8/10Chat & LLMsMeta's assistant across WhatsApp, Instagram and the web.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: Meta's assistant across WhatsApp, Instagram and the web.
11. Poe
EI 8/10Chat & LLMsOne subscription, access to many AI models in one place.
Switch here if: Same job — chat & llms — approached differently: One subscription, access to many AI models in one place.
12. Britannica AI Chatbot
EI 10/10Chat & LLMsAn AI chatbot leveraging Britannica's trusted content to provide accurate, cited answers to user questions, facilitating learning and research directly from an authoritative knowledge base.
Switch here if: Rated higher on the Moyan EI score (10/10 vs 9/10), so it keeps more of the thinking with you.
Still not sure?
Switching tools rarely fixes a workflow problem. The free AI & Advanced Prompt Engineering course teaches the prompting and judgment that makes any of these tools work harder.