Free AI assistants compared: what ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Perplexity, Grok and Meta AI give for $0

You can use ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Grok and Meta AI without paying anything. The free plans are good enough for a lot of everyday work, but each company draws the paywall in a different place: one limits the model, another the research tools, another the number of searches, and some show ads. This comparison uses the companies’ own pricing pages, help centers and announcements as of October 2026. It compares documented features and limits; we haven’t run the same tasks through all seven.

The short answer

• Best all-rounder: ChatGPT Free. Everyday text chats are unlimited, and you get a taste of almost every tool, from deep research to image creation. The catch is ads.
• Best for research and Google users: Gemini. Deep Research, Gemini Live and image generation are all on the free plan.
• Best without ads: Claude. Anthropic has committed to keeping Claude ad-free, and the free plan includes web search, memory, connectors and file creation.
• Best for cited answers: Perplexity, which footnotes every answer.
• Best on Windows: Copilot, which is built into Windows and Edge and can see your screen during a voice chat.
• Best for live X posts: Grok.
• Best inside the apps you already use: Meta AI, in WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.

Free plans side by side

“Not listed” means the vendor’s own plan page doesn’t mention the feature for its free tier, not that it is definitely missing. Prices are US list prices from each pricing page in October 2026.

ChatGPT Free

OpenAI’s pricing page lists unlimited everyday text chats on the free plan, subject to abuse safeguards, plus limited messages with uploads, limited image creation, limited voice chats, limited deep research, limited memory and context, and limited Codex access. Free users can also try ChatGPT Work, OpenAI’s agent, in the desktop app.

The paywall is mainly the model. Free and Go use a Luna model, OpenAI’s lightest and fastest, while Plus users get GPT-6 Sol with adjustable thinking. Our ChatGPT review notes that OpenAI lists a 27K-token context window for Instant answers on Free, against 54K on Go and Plus, so very long documents fit better on a paid plan.

The other catch is ads. OpenAI may show labeled, sponsored ads below a response on Free and Go. It says ads don’t influence answers and that advertisers never see your chats, and you can turn off personalization under Settings > Ad Controls. OpenAI also offers a free no-ads option with fewer messages a day and no image generation, and Temporary Chats don’t show ads. Our ChatGPT ads explained guide covers the details.

Gemini (free)

Google’s subscription page lists the free plan at $0 with a Google Account. It includes access to the Flash-Lite model, image generation and editing, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas and Gems, limited access to Nano Banana Pro in Google Flow, Gemini Notebook and 15 GB of storage across Gmail, Drive and Photos.

That is the most generous list of tools of any free plan here. The limits sit in two places. First, usage is compute-based: Google says your allowance refreshes every five hours until you reach a weekly limit, and Deep Research and media generation use it fastest. Second, the free plan is built around a small model with a 32K-token context window, according to Google’s help center as summarized in our Gemini review. Google AI Pro raises that to 1 million tokens and adds Gemini 4 Argon.

Google also started rolling out Personal Intelligence, which lets Gemini draw on your Gmail and Google Photos for more personal answers, to free users in March 2026. Connections are opt-in. On ads, Google’s Gemini privacy hub says your Gemini app chats aren’t used to show you ads, and its plan page doesn’t mention ads in the app.

Claude Free

Anthropic’s pricing page describes Claude Free as “free for everyone”. It includes chat on the web, desktop and mobile; web search, file creation and running code; memory across conversations; connectors to your apps and tools; artifacts; Claude Design, Slides and Docs; voice mode; incognito chats; and up to five projects. The free plan uses the Sonnet and Haiku models.

What you don’t get is just as clear. Research, Claude Code, Claude in Chrome and the Opus and Fable models start with Pro, at $20 a month or $17 a month billed annually. Claude also doesn’t list image generation on any plan, so it isn’t the pick for making pictures. Usage limits are the main complaint: long chats and big files use up the free allowance quickly, as our Claude review explains.

Claude’s standout is no ads. In February 2026 Anthropic wrote that “Claude will remain ad-free” and that advertisers won’t shape its answers, and it said it would explain its reasons publicly if that ever changed.

Microsoft Copilot (free)

Microsoft’s pricing page says it “offers a limited free version of Copilot subject to available capacity and limits.” The free app runs on the web, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, and on Windows 11 it opens with the Copilot key.

Microsoft’s help page lists five conversation modes: Quick response, Think Deeper, Study and learn, Smart and Search. Study and learn, Smart and Search are open to all Copilot users, and Microsoft says Think Deeper isn’t limited, though Microsoft 365 subscribers get priority when capacity is tight. You can talk to Copilot and, with Vision, share your screen or camera during a voice chat. Image creation is on the free app too; Microsoft describes paid plans as having “higher than free” limits but doesn’t publish numbers.

The paywall here is the Office apps. Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook needs Microsoft 365 Personal ($9.99 a month), Family, Premium or Pro, and the Researcher agent starts at Premium. Microsoft Advertising also serves ads in Copilot’s responses, labeled as sponsored. See Microsoft Copilot plans explained.

Perplexity (free)

Perplexity’s help center says the free plan includes practically unlimited basic searches, 3 Pro Searches a day, 1 Research query a month, limited file uploads and search history. Every answer carries numbered citations, which is why it’s the free assistant we’d use for quick fact-checks. Its Comet browser is also free.

The paywall is the depth of search. Pro Search and Research are where Perplexity is strongest, and the free plan rations both tightly. Pro, at $20 a month or $17 billed annually, adds more of them, model choice and Perplexity Computer. Perplexity said in 2024 that it was testing sponsored follow-up questions in the US; its current pages don’t say whether free users see them. Read the Perplexity review for more.

Grok (free)

Since October 12, 2026, Grok is sold through The X Subscription. SpaceXAI describes the free tier as “daily access to Grok, a starter allowance for Cursor’s coding agents, and standard X”, with usage marked as limited. SpaceXAI’s pricing lists image generation with Grok Imagine as limited on Free, and video generation starts with Premium at $30 a month.

Grok’s real-time search across the web and posts on X is its main difference from the rest. Plus, at $8 a month, adds more Grok and Cursor usage plus a checkmark and fewer ads on X, while Grok Bot agents start at Premium. SpaceXAI doesn’t publish exact free limits. See our Grok review and The X Subscription explained.

Meta AI (free)

Meta AI lives in WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook, in the Meta AI app and at meta.ai, and runs on Meta’s Muse Spark model. Meta’s media page says you can “generate images, edit photos, restyle rooms, and more for free with Meta AI.” It has Instant and Thinking modes, Incognito Chat, and in select markets it can connect to email and calendar apps.

When Meta launched its Meta One subscriptions in September 2026, it said “the core experience across our apps and Meta AI has always been free, and that’s not changing.” Meta One Core ($7.99 a month) adds more image and video generation with Meta AI, and Premium ($19.99) gives the most. Meta says plans and availability vary by region, app and account. Our guide to the Meta AI app covers the basics.

How we chose the “best for” picks

We compared each free plan on five things that matter most in daily use, all taken from the vendors’ own pages:

1. How much you can chat before you hit a wall, and whether the limit is published.
2. Which model you get, and how big a document it can read.
3. Which tools are included: search, deep research, images, voice, files and memory.
4. Ads and privacy, including whether the vendor shows ads to free users.
5. The price of the first paid step, in case you outgrow the free plan.

We didn’t score answer quality, which depends on the task.

Best free AI assistant for each job

• Everyday questions, writing and planning: ChatGPT, for unlimited text chats, or Claude if you want no ads.
• Research reports: Gemini, which includes Deep Research on the free plan with daily rather than monthly limits. Our deep research tools comparison goes further.
• Fact-checking and quick sourced answers: Perplexity.
• Working with files: Claude, whose free plan includes file creation, code execution, connectors and projects. For very long documents, every free plan is tight: OpenAI lists 27K tokens on ChatGPT Free and Google 32K on Gemini Free.
• Making images: Gemini or Meta AI, both of which list image generation and editing as free. Our best AI image generators guide compares the models.
• Talking out loud: Gemini Live, or Copilot if you want to share your screen.
• Windows and Edge users: Copilot.
• Breaking news and what people are saying on X: Grok.
• Quick help inside a group chat: Meta AI in WhatsApp or Messenger.

When is it worth upgrading?

Upgrade when the free plan stops you from doing something you do every week, not because a paid model scores higher on a benchmark. Common signs:

• You keep hitting the limit. The cheapest fixes are Google AI Plus at $4.99 (twice the free Gemini limits), ChatGPT Go at $8 and Grok’s Plus tier at $8. Go still may show ads; see ChatGPT Go vs Plus.
• Your documents are too long. Gemini jumps from 32K tokens on Free to 128K on AI Plus and 1 million on AI Pro; see Google AI Plus vs Pro vs Ultra.
• You need the strongest model. ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and Google AI Pro, each about $20 a month, add GPT-6 Sol, Claude Opus and Gemini 4 Argon. Claude Pro vs Max covers Anthropic’s plans.
• You want AI inside Office. Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month adds Copilot to Word, Excel and Outlook.
• You want to stop seeing ads. ChatGPT Plus is the cheapest ad-free ChatGPT plan. Or switch to Claude, which is ad-free on every plan.

If you’re not sure which assistant suits you at all, start with two free plans side by side for a week. Our ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini comparison can help narrow it down.

Verdict

ChatGPT Free is still the broadest free AI assistant, with unlimited everyday chat and a little of every tool, but it now comes with ads. Gemini gives away the most features, including Deep Research and Gemini Live, at the cost of a small model and a short context window. Claude Free is the cleanest experience, with no ads and useful connectors, but tighter limits and no research mode. Perplexity, Copilot, Grok and Meta AI each win in a narrower role: sources, Windows, X and your messaging apps. Since all seven are free, keep two and pay only when one keeps getting in your way.

Where to go next

• ChatGPT review and ChatGPT ads explained
• Gemini review and Google AI Plus vs Pro vs Ultra
• Claude review and Claude Pro vs Max
• Microsoft Copilot plans explained
• Perplexity vs ChatGPT and Grok vs ChatGPT
• Deep research tools compared