The best Claude alternatives in 2026
Anthropic's assistant for writing, research, coding and long documents. Claude scores 8.9/10 in our AI chatbots ranking. 2 alternatives score higher. Every app below is scored with the same published rubric.
9 alternatives, best first
Full AI chatbots ranking →- 1
Gemini
Best forPeople who live in Google's apps and Android
Google's AI assistant, built into Android and Google apps, with image and video generation
Has that Claude doesn't: Generates images
Free plan · paid from £4.49/month
9.3/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 2
ChatGPT
Best forMost people who want one versatile, easy AI assistant
OpenAI's all-round AI assistant for chat, images, voice, research and coding
Has that Claude doesn't: Generates images
Free plan · paid from $8/month
9.2/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 3
Meta AI
Best forPeople who already use WhatsApp, Instagram or Meta glasses and want a free assistant built in
Meta's free assistant across its apps, the web and Ray-Ban Meta glasses
Has that Claude doesn't: Generates images
Free plan · paid from $7.99/month
8.6/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 4
Perplexity
Best forFast, sourced research and fact-finding
AI answer engine that searches the web and cites its sources
Has that Claude doesn't: Generates images
Free plan · paid from $20/month
8.4/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 5
Microsoft Copilot
Best forMicrosoft 365 and Windows users
Microsoft's free AI assistant, now merged with the Microsoft 365 Copilot app
Has that Claude doesn't: Generates images
Free plan · paid from $9.99/month
8.2/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 6
Kimi
Best forPower users who want long-context research and agent workflows
Moonshot AI's assistant on the K3 model, with 1M-token context and agent swarms
Has that Claude doesn't: Generates images
Free plan · paid from $19/month
8.1/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 7
Grok
Best forX users who want real-time social context
xAI's chatbot with real-time X data, image and video generation and a multi-agent mode
Has that Claude doesn't: Generates images
Free plan · paid from $10/month
8.1/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 8
Mistral Vibe
Best forUsers and teams in Europe who want an EU-based assistant with agent and coding tools
Mistral's European AI assistant (formerly Le Chat), with work and coding modes
Has that Claude doesn't: Generates images
Free plan · paid from $14.99/month
8.1/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 9
DeepSeek
Best forPeople who want a capable chatbot at no cost and are comfortable with where it stores data
Free chatbot from DeepSeek, built on its open-weight V4 models
Free
7.6/10★★★★★Visit ↗
Quick answers
What is the best alternative to Claude?
In our AI chatbots ranking, Gemini scores highest among the alternatives (9.3/10). Best for: People who live in Google's apps and Android. Claude scores 8.9/10.
Is there a free alternative to Claude?
Yes. Gemini has a free plan (Fast model, some Pro access, image generation, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas and Gems), and scores 9.3/10 in our ranking.
Why look for a Claude alternative?
Common reasons people switch: Easy to hit usage limits. No image or video generation. Opus models and Research are paid-only.