Which AI app has the best free plan?

ChatGPT's free plan suits most people: unlimited everyday text chats on its smaller model, with a 27,000-token window (about 12 pages). It may show ads and uses your chats for training unless you switch that off. Gemini's free plan is the main alternative and includes Deep Research and Gemini Live voice chat.

Which AI apps don't show ads?

Claude shows no ads on any plan, and Anthropic said in February 2026 it intends to keep it that way. ChatGPT is ad-free from Plus at $20 a month, Perplexity stopped selling ads in February 2026, and Plainly at $5 has no ads. ChatGPT Free and Go may show ads, and so may Copilot without a Microsoft 365 plan.

Which AI apps don't use your chats for training?

Plainly never uses chats to train AI. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, Mistral Vibe, DeepSeek and Grok can train on your chats by default and let you opt out. Meta's US privacy policy describes no opt-out for Meta AI chats.

Is it worth paying for two AI subscriptions?

Two $20 plans cost $40 a month, or $480 a year. If you keep hitting one plan's limit, the $100 tier of the app you use most (Claude Max 5x or ChatGPT Pro) gives you more of the same app. If you rarely hit a limit, the second subscription pays twice for the same kind of help.

What is the best AI app for professional work?

Claude or ChatGPT on a paid plan. ChatGPT Plus at $20 a month is worth it if you program, your employer pays, or you use it professionally, and the $100 plans from either company suit very heavy use. For that kind of work the ranking on this page flips, since the stronger models handle long documents and code better.

The best AI apps in 2026, ranked by value

Ten AI assistant apps ranked on what you pay against the work you do, with prices, ads, training defaults and platforms checked October 2026.

What are the best AI apps in 2026?

For everyday questions and writing, the best value is Plainly at $5 a month, then Claude, then ChatGPT. Use AI only a little and ChatGPT's free plan or Claude's $20 plan fits better. Use it professionally and the $100 plans from Claude or ChatGPT win.

This page ranks AI assistant apps, the kind you open and ask anything: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, Meta AI, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral Vibe and Plainly. The ranking is on one thing, what you pay against the work you actually do. I built Plainly, so weigh its place accordingly. The method is set out below so you can re-rank the list for yourself. Prices and policies were checked on 11 October 2026, in US dollars.

The ranking at a glance

#	App	What you pay (monthly)	Best for
1	Plainly	$5	Daily everyday questions at a flat price
2	Claude	Free · Pro $20 · Max $100 / $200	The strongest answers without ads
3	ChatGPT	Free · Go $8 · Plus $20 · Pro from $100	The best free plan and the most features
4	Gemini	Free · AI Plus $4.99 · AI Pro $19.99 · Ultra from $99.99	People who live in Google's apps
5	Microsoft Copilot	Free · in Microsoft 365 from $9.99	Windows and Office households
6	Mistral Vibe (formerly Le Chat)	Free · Pro $14.99 · Student $5.99	A European provider at a mid price
7	DeepSeek	Free, no paid plan	A capable model at no cost
8	Perplexity	Free · Pro $20 · Max $200	Research with sources
9	Meta AI	Free	AI inside WhatsApp and Instagram
10	Grok	Free · SuperGrok from $10	Live posts and news from X

Prices, platforms, ads and training defaults

App	Cheapest paid plan	Phone app	On a computer	Ads	Chats used for training
Plainly	$5	None (works in the phone's browser)	Browser	None	Never
Claude	$20 ($17 billed yearly)	iPhone, Android	Mac and Windows apps	None	Yes, with an opt-out
ChatGPT	$8 (Go)	iPhone, Android	Mac and Windows apps	Free and Go plans	Yes, with an opt-out
Gemini	$4.99 (AI Plus)	iPhone, Android	Mac and Windows apps	Google says chats aren't used for ads	Yes, with an opt-out
Copilot	$9.99 (Microsoft 365 Personal)	iPhone, Android	Windows and Mac apps	Possible without Microsoft 365	Yes, with an opt-out
Mistral Vibe	$14.99 (Pro)	iPhone, Android	Browser	None found	Yes, with an opt-out
DeepSeek	No paid plan	iPhone, Android	Browser	None found	Yes, with an opt-out
Perplexity	$20 (Pro)	iPhone, Android	Mac and Windows apps	None since February 2026	Yes, with an opt-out
Meta AI	No paid plan	iPhone, Android, inside WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger	Browser	Your AI chats shape the ads Meta shows you	Yes, no US opt-out found
Grok	$10 (SuperGrok Lite)	iPhone, Android	Browser	Announced in 2025, no confirmed launch	Yes, with an opt-out

Sources: each provider's pricing, help and privacy pages, checked 11 October 2026. Where a page blocked automated access (OpenAI, Perplexity, Meta, xAI), the row rests on the app store listings and dated news reports named in the entries below.

1. Plainly: $5 a month for everyday chat

Plainly is $5 a month with unlimited chat, and new accounts can ask a limited amount free each month. Plainly runs one capable open-source model and switches when a better one comes out. You never pick. It searches the web when a question needs current information and links the sources it used, and it reads documents and photos you attach.

It ranks first on price and simplicity. On raw capability, Claude and ChatGPT's paid plans are ahead. For short everyday writing the gap was small in my own test on 2 September 2026: across five tasks, ChatGPT on its Go plan and Plainly each scored 61 out of 75 and a frontier model scored 59. The full writing test prints every answer.

Plainly has no phone app (it runs in a browser), no voice mode, no image generation and no memory across chats. There are no ads, and chats are never used to train AI. It suits someone who asks an AI app things most days and wants one bill that stays at $5.

2. Claude: no ads, a frontier model, and usage limits

Claude has a free plan, Pro at $20 a month ($17 a month billed yearly), and Max at $100 or $200 (Anthropic's pricing page, October 2026). It runs on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and the web. Anthropic said in February 2026 that Claude will stay free of ads and sponsored links. Anthropic's pricing page lists model training on the Free, Pro and Max plans as opt-out, so your chats can train its models until you switch that off in the privacy settings.

Claude is the app I pay the most for. I was on Pro, billed at $22 a month, for a long time, and my friends and I always ran out. I moved to Max 5× at $100 a month around January 2026 and still hit its limit. The limits work as a session allowance that resets every five hours plus a weekly cap, shared with Claude Code (Anthropic's help center, October 2026). The Claude Pro usage limits post covers them in detail.

If you use AI a little, Claude Pro at $20 is a good buy, because a light user won't reach the cap. Use it a lot and you will.

3. ChatGPT: the best free plan, with ads below $20

ChatGPT's Free plan gives unlimited everyday text chats on its smaller model, GPT-6 Luna, a change OpenAI made in August 2026. Go costs $8, Plus $20 and Pro starts at $100. Free and Go may show ads, and Plus and above don't. Chats train OpenAI's models by default, with an opt-out. It has apps for iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows, and the most features of any app on this list: images, voice, projects, scheduled tasks and deep research.

I have ChatGPT Go through my Revolut subscription, and I think it's a bad tier. It keeps the ads and the smaller model. Go doubles the default model's context window from 27,000 tokens on Free to 54,000, the same as Plus, and Pro raises it to 128,000. In Thinking mode, Go and Plus both reach 256,000 (OpenAI's pricing page, October 2026). On Go, mid-task, I've had the chat lose things I told it earlier in the same conversation. The ChatGPT Go review has the full tier comparison.

ChatGPT was the first AI I used, and I've used it a fair bit since. It's pretty good, but I don't like its output style, and it's expensive. ChatGPT Plus at $20 is worth it if you program, your work pays for it, or you use it professionally. Otherwise the free plan covers occasional use.

4. Gemini: the cheapest paid plan from a big lab

Gemini is free, and Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month adds Gemini 3.1 Pro and doubles the free plan's usage. AI Pro is $19.99 and AI Ultra starts at $99.99 (Google's subscriptions page, October 2026). It has apps for iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows. Google says Gemini chats aren't used to show you ads. Keep Activity is on by default for adults, which means chats help train Google's models and some are read by human reviewers. You can switch it off.

I think AI Plus is good, but you're tied to Google's models, and Google's models aren't currently state of the art. I've used Gemini through its website and haven't used the Gemini phone or desktop apps, so this entry covers plans and policy, and I can't speak to how the apps feel day to day. It suits people already on Google One storage or an Android phone.

5. Microsoft Copilot: free, and included with Microsoft 365

Copilot is free with a Microsoft account and runs on Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android and the web. Microsoft 365 Personal ($9.99 a month) and Family ($12.99) add Copilot inside Word, Excel and Outlook, and Microsoft 365 Premium ($19.99) includes the most Copilot use (Microsoft's plan comparison page, October 2026). Without a Microsoft 365 plan you may see ads in Copilot. Microsoft's Copilot privacy FAQ says your conversations train its AI models unless you opt out in settings, though Copilot used inside the Microsoft 365 apps is excluded.

I've used Copilot only a little, for basic questions, so this entry rests mostly on Microsoft's published plans and policies. It suits a household that already pays for Microsoft 365, since the AI comes with a plan it would buy anyway.

6. Mistral Vibe (formerly Le Chat): a European option

Mistral announced in May 2026 that Le Chat would become Vibe (The Decoder, 28 May 2026), and the address, accounts and chats carried over (Mistral's help center). It's free, Pro is $14.99 a month and students pay $5.99 (Mistral's pricing page, October 2026). It runs on iPhone, Android and the web. Chats on consumer plans, Pro included, are used for training by default, with an opt-out. Mistral is a French company, and its pitch now centers on multi-step tasks and connections to other apps.

It suits someone who wants a provider outside the US and China at a price between Gemini's and Claude's.

7. DeepSeek: a capable model for free

The DeepSeek app is free and has no paid plan; DeepSeek charges only for its developer API. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web, and its V4-Pro model reached the app on 13 August 2026 (DeepSeek's change log). Its privacy policy says your data is stored in China and used to train its models, with a right to opt out by request. It shows no ads.

DeepSeek's V4 Flash is one of my two everyday chat models, which I run through a desktop chat app with my own API key. That setup is for technical people, and DeepSeek came to $10 of my bill for the month to 15 September 2026. I haven't used DeepSeek's own app. DeepSeek suits someone who wants a strong free assistant and is comfortable with where the data goes.

8. Perplexity: research with sources

Perplexity is free, Pro is $20 a month ($200 a year) and Max is $200 (Perplexity's App Store listing, October 2026). It has apps for iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows. It searches the web for every question and builds the answer from cited sources, and Pro lets you choose models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google. It stopped selling ads in February 2026 (MacRumors, 18 February 2026). Chats are kept for training by default unless you turn off "AI data retention" in settings.

I had a year of Perplexity Pro free through my phone company, Optus. I used it heavily for the first few weeks and then not at all for ten months, and I was glad I hadn't paid. I never liked the interface, and the answers felt weaker than the same models used directly. That last point is my impression, and I haven't tested it. My comparison of Plainly and Perplexity covers where Perplexity is the better tool.

Perplexity is being sued by Amazon over its shopping agent, by publishers including Dow Jones and the Yomiuri Shimbun over copyright, and by Reddit over scraping. A court order against the shopping agent was vacated by the Ninth Circuit on 4 August 2026, and the case continues. OpenAI and Anthropic have faced copyright suits of their own, so lawsuits play no part in this ranking. Perplexity sits eighth because its strength is research and its paid plan costs $20. If research is most of your week, move it up.

9. Meta AI: free inside the apps you already use

Meta AI is free in WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook, in its own iPhone and Android app, and on the web. Since 16 December 2025 Meta has used your AI chats to personalize the content and ads you see across its apps (Meta's newsroom, 1 October 2025). Meta's privacy policy (effective 23 July 2026) says it uses your interactions with Meta AI to develop and improve its AI, and the US version describes no way to opt out.

I've used Meta AI inside Instagram. Meta's newer Muse agent, launched in September 2026, is only available in the US for now, so I haven't used it properly. Meta AI suits someone who wants a quick answer inside WhatsApp and accepts the ad trade.

10. Grok: live information from X

Grok is free, and SuperGrok costs $10 (Lite), $30, $100 (Plus) or $300 (Heavy) a month (Grok's App Store listing, October 2026). It runs on iPhone, Android and grok.com. Its standout is live information from X and the web. Chats and X posts train xAI's models by default, with an opt-out in settings. Elon Musk said in August 2025 that ads would come to Grok's answers, and there is no confirmed launch so far.

I've used Grok for image editing, but I don't fully trust it as an assistant, because it has been shown leaning toward Elon Musk's views. In July 2025, days after launch, Grok 4 was found searching for Musk's posts before answering some contested questions (TechCrunch, July 2025), and in September 2025 The New York Times reported that Grok's answers on many issues had been shifted toward positions Musk holds. It looks promising for coding, though I haven't tried that yet.

It suits heavy X users who want commentary on what's happening right now. It ranks last because live X content is a small part of everyday work, and because of that trust question.

How we ranked these apps

Each app was judged on what it costs for the work an everyday person does: emails, plans, explanations, questions about documents and photos. Four things went into the order:

Price at the level of use most people reach, including whether a cheap plan runs out mid-task.
Ads, because they sit next to the answers on several free and cheap plans.
Whether your chats train the provider's models by default.
Lock-in. A subscription to one lab's app ties you to that lab's models, and the lead between labs changes often. A yearly plan is a bet that one company stays ahead for a year.

Capability counts less than on most lists, because for short everyday tasks the difference between the cheap and frontier models is small (see the writing test above). For professional work the ranking flips. Long documents, code across many files and drafts that must be right first time all go better on a frontier model, and a $20 or $100 plan pays for itself. Claude and ChatGPT still sit second and third at four times Plainly's price, because their paid plans run frontier models.

The Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity entries draw on my own long use. The Gemini and DeepSeek entries rest on their websites and published policies, since I haven't used those apps. The others rest on each provider's published plans and policies.

Which AI app to pick for how much you use it

How you use AI	Pick	Monthly cost
A few questions a week	ChatGPT or Gemini free plan	$0
A little, and you want the best answers	Claude Pro	$20
A lot, for everyday work	Plainly	$5
A huge amount, or professionally	Claude Max 5× or ChatGPT Pro	$100

A $20 plan makes sense if you'll never hit its cap. Light users won't, and heavy users will, which is why the order changes with use. If you're weighing the cheapest substitutes for ChatGPT on price alone, the cheap ChatGPT alternatives list covers them.

Other kinds of AI app

Most "best AI apps" lists also include coding tools, meeting note-takers and image or video generators. This page covers only assistant apps. Within this list, ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI and Grok make images in the same chat, and Plainly doesn't.