Comparison guide

AI chat assistants compared: entry prices and what the plan pages say

The four general-purpose chat assistants side by side: entry prices, the tiers above them, and whether the free tier is real. Every figure was read from official vendor pages on 2026-10-27, with the exact source linked per tool.

Pricing checked: 2026-10-27Based on official vendor pagesAlphabetical, not a ranking

Tools compared4
Lowest checked entryGoogle AI Plus, US$4.99 per month
Standing free tier confirmed3 of 4
Pricing checked2026-10-27

This is a price and features comparison. For real-life workflows - named people, the tools they used and what happened - see Use cases.

How we compare: the ten checks

Every figure in this guide comes from the vendor's own pages, read against the same ten checks. The matrix below fills each check from those pages; where a page does not state something, the cell says so rather than guessing.

Entry priceThe lowest paid tier, monthly-billed as the vendor displays it.
Tier ladderThe paid tiers above entry and what each step costs.
From pricingA from price is the entry of several usage tiers, not the full price.
Free tier termsA standing free tier is not a trial. A trial ends; a free tier does not.
AdvertisingWhether the vendor's page says the plan may include ads.
Names and aliasesRenamed products are tracked as one tool, not two.
Displayed regionThe country or region a displayed price belongs to.
Billing unitPer user, per seat or flat. The unit decides the real team cost.
Annual optionWhether a lower annual-billed equivalent is shown.
Checked dateEvery figure carries the day it was read from the source.

The matrix: four tools, the same checks

Tool	Entry price (monthly-billed)	Higher tiers captured	Standing free tier	Pricing checked
ChatGPT	US$8 (Go; page notes plan may include ads)	Plus US$20; Pro from US$100	Yes	2026-10-27
Claude	US$20 (Pro; US$17 when billed annually)	Max from US$100	Yes	2026-10-27
Gemini	US$4.99 (Google AI Plus)	Google AI Pro US$19.99; Ultra from US$99.99	Not stated	2026-10-27
Mistral Vibe	US$14.99 displayed (billing interval not captured)	Team US$24.99 displayed	Yes	2026-10-27

Alphabetical, not a ranking. ChatGPT and Gemini prices were captured signed-out with US$ rendered; the country or region for those prices was not confirmed. 'From' prices cover several usage tiers and only the entry tier was captured.

Free tiers

ChatGPT, Claude and Mistral Vibe: standing free tier confirmed on official pages.
Gemini: the record does not settle the free tier, so it is not claimed here either way.

Names and plan pages change

Mistral Vibe is the renamed Mistral Le Chat (vendor help article, August 2026); Le Chat is kept as an alias, not a separate product.
ChatGPT's Pro and Claude's Max are 'from' prices with several usage tiers; only the entry tier was captured for each.
ChatGPT's Go page notes the plan may include ads.

Common questions

Which chat assistant is the cheapest?

Google AI Plus at US$4.99 per month is the lowest monthly-billed entry captured on 2026-10-27. ChatGPT Go follows at US$8 (the page notes the plan may include ads), then Claude Pro at US$20. Listing is not a recommendation.

Do all four assistants have a free tier?

ChatGPT, Claude and Mistral Vibe have standing free tiers confirmed on official pages checked 2026-10-27. The record for Gemini does not settle its free tier, so it is not claimed here.

What does "from US$100" mean on ChatGPT Pro and Claude Max?

Both are entry prices for a set of usage tiers. Only the entry tier price was captured on 2026-10-27; higher usage costs more than the from price.

Is Mistral Vibe the same product as Mistral Le Chat?

Yes. Mistral renamed Le Chat to Mistral Vibe (vendor help article, August 2026). Le Chat is listed as an alias, not a separate product.

When were these prices last checked?

All figures were read from official pricing or plan pages on 2026-10-27. The exact page used for each tool is linked in Sources below.

Sources

Figures carry the date they were read from the vendor's own page. Listing a tool is not a recommendation, and no ratings or rankings are asserted.

Tools in this guide

Full records, with per-field sources and check dates, on each tool page.