Best AI chat assistants
Checked Sep 28, 2026 · ranked by AI League points from public sources, not by who pays us (nobody does).
General AI assistants you chat with to write, ask questions, summarise and brainstorm. Quality comes from blind-vote scores of each app's best model. Ranked by our AI League points: quality, ease, free plan, value for money and language support, each from public sources listed on the app pages.
- 01Best value, built into Google appsFree plan70+ languagesWeb · iPhone · Android
- Cheapest paid plan in this task
- Strong free plan including Deep Research
- Best models have varying access on the free plan
- Google account required
- 02Best all-round AI assistantFree plan60+ languagesWeb · iPhone · Android · Desktop
- Most complete toolset: images, voice, files, deep research
- Generous free plan
- Best features need Plus ($20)
- Ads on Free and Go in some markets
- 03Best completely free assistantFree plan72+ languagesWeb · iPhone · Android
- Free with no paid tier
- Near the top of the LMArena text leaderboard
- Data is stored in China; some organisations block it
- No image generation or voice mode
- 04Best for real-time X (Twitter) contextFree plan30+ languagesWeb · iPhone · Android
- Live context from X posts
- Free without an account on the web
- Tight free limits
- Full SuperGrok costs $30
- 05Best for long, careful writing and analysisFree plan10+ languagesWeb · iPhone · Android · Desktop
- Top blind-vote score on the LMArena text leaderboard
- Strong at long documents and careful writing
- No image generation
- Cheapest paid plan is $20
- 06Best for Windows and Microsoft 365 usersFree plan40+ languagesWeb · iPhone · Android · Desktop
- Free and built into Windows and Edge
- Paid plan includes Word, Excel and 1 TB storage
- Microsoft does not say which model answers
- Free use depends on capacity
- 07Best for answers with sourcesFree plan52+ languagesWeb · iPhone · Android · Desktop
- Cites sources for every answer
- Pro lets you choose OpenAI, Claude or Gemini models
- Free plan is mostly its own Sonar model
- Paid plan is $20
Standings
| # | Movement | App | Qual | Ease | Free | Value | Lang | Form | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | 8.8 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 95 | ||
| 2 | – | 8.5 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 6.2 | 10.0 | 86 | ||
| 3 | – | 8.3 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 5.0* | 10.0 | 83 | ||
| 4 | – | 8.2 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 80 | ||
| 5 | – | 9.4 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 7.0 | 77 | ||
| 6 | – | 5.0* | 10.0 | 9.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 71 | ||
| 7 | – | 5.0* | 10.0 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 10.0 | 69 |
How points are calculated — Pts = (Quality×30% + Ease×20% + Free plan×15% + Value×20% + Languages×15%) × 10. Quality = blind-vote score of the app's best available model on the LMArena Text leaderboard (1250 = 0, 1525 = 10); model not listed or not disclosed = default 5.0. Ease = 2 points each for web, iPhone, Android, starting from a plain-language prompt and starting without paying. Free plan: recurring free allowance 9, one-time trial 5, none 0, minus 1 each for a watermark and low-resolution or non-commercial output. Value = lowest entry price in the task ÷ this app's cheapest monthly plan × 10 (the cheapest paid plan in the task = 10); no public price = default 5.0. Languages by the number documented (50+ = 10).
* Not published: the documented default (5) is used, never a guess. Form = last 5 matchdays: points up · same · down. A new matchday is added only when points change. Each app page lists the sources behind its scores.