ChatGPT
OpenAIThe default general-purpose assistant, now with agents and deep research.
6 other daily drivers options, compared on the facts that decide a subscription: price, free tier, and what each one is actually for.
Usually one of three reasons: the price stopped making sense, the free tier disappeared, or the tool does one thing well and everything else badly. All three are visible in the table below without reading a review.
| Option | Pricing | Free tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini | Free tier; paid plans from about $20/mo | Yes | Google's assistant, wired into Search, Workspace, and Android. |
| ChatGPT | Free tier available; paid plans from about $20/mo | Yes | The default general-purpose assistant, now with agents and deep research. |
| Claude | Free tier available; paid plans from about $20/mo | Yes | Long-context writing and code work with a strong editing instinct. |
| DeepSeek | Free chat; API priced per token, unusually low | Yes | Strong reasoning at a fraction of the usual price. |
| Grok | Free tier; paid plans from about $30/mo | Yes | An assistant with real-time access to the social firehose. |
| Le Chat | Free tier; paid plans from about $14/mo | Yes | The European option, with open weights behind it. |
| Poe | Free tier; paid from about $20/mo | Yes | One subscription to reach many models at once. |
Start from the constraint, not the feature list. If you need a free tier to evaluate, that removes half the table immediately. If you are replacing a subscription you already pay for, compare the entry price rather than the enterprise tier you will never buy. Everything below is checked weekly and dated.
The default general-purpose assistant, now with agents and deep research.
Long-context writing and code work with a strong editing instinct.
Strong reasoning at a fraction of the usual price.
An assistant with real-time access to the social firehose.
The European option, with open weights behind it.
One subscription to reach many models at once.