Picks / LLM chat & APIs
Best general AI assistant: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok?
One pick, one backup, real prices from our database. Rankings are not for sale.
The pick
ChatGPT
If you only keep one AI assistant, ChatGPT is the most complete all-rounder. It does chat, voice, image creation and deep research, and it has the most features and integrations, all on a free tier anyone can use. Claude is the best backup for long writing, careful reasoning and coding help. Gemini makes sense if you live in Google apps, and Grok if you want real-time takes from X. Test your real tasks on the free tiers before you pay for anything.
- Starting price
- Not verified — check current price
- Free tier
- Yes — free version available to everyone (limited GPT-6 use, images, voice)
- Skill level
- beginner
Last verified: 2026-10-15
Setup guide
- Sign up for ChatGPT's free plan and test it on three tasks you actually do every week.
- Try the same three prompts in Claude's free plan and compare the answers.
- Turn on memory or custom instructions in whichever one wins.
- Only upgrade once you keep hitting the free-tier limits.
Backup pick
Claude
Anthropic's AI assistant. Good for: Writing · coding · analysis.
- Starting price
- $20/month (Pro, billed monthly; $17/mo billed annually)
- Free tier
- Yes — Free $0 — chat, web search, files, memory
- Skill level
- beginner
Last verified: 2026-10-15
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