Is free AI enough? How to choose the right chatbot for you – and when to upgrade
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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Free chatbot tiers are strong, so test before paying.
- Pick one AI based on your needs or ecosystem. Ignore the hype.
- Avoid annual plans because AI tools change too fast.
A friend of mine recently sent me an email. She asked, "I am just now dipping my toe in the AI world. I asked ChatGPT a bunch of questions, then found other chatbots I also like. I kind of love this AI thing. Seems like they all give a free taste and then want money. Fair enough, but I can't pay all of them. Can you help me decide?"
Yes. Yes, I can. As with almost all purchasing decisions, it depends on what you need, what you do, and how you do it.
Also: 5 custom ChatGPT instructions I use to get better AI results - faster
Many serious AI users have found that they're actually subscribing to a number of different AI services. For this article, let's assume you're looking for The One and go from there.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
General purpose chatbots
AI and machine learning are very broad subjects, encompassing a whole lot, ranging from chatbots, to making game characters smart, to machine vision, and a lot more in between.
In this article, we're going to focus on the OG AI chatbot concept, a conversational generative AI tool that creates text and images in response to text-based prompts.
Also: The best AI image generators of 2026: There's only one clear winner now
That eliminates image-only tools like Midjourney and Leonardo. Both are great, but you can get pretty good image generation in some of the better chatbots.
I'm also going to eliminate all the chatbots that didn't score in the top five of my chatbot evaluation tests. These include Claude, Meta, DeepSeek, and others. Claude is exceptional for agentic code generation, but it doesn't have an image generator. The others just didn't perform all that well on user-level tests.
That leaves us with five chatbots to choose from:
- ChatGPT from OpenAI
- Copilot from Microsoft
- Gemini from Google
- Grok from xAI
- Perplexity from Perplexity
All have surprisingly capable free plans. ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok have $8-per-month basic plans that provide a bit more interaction capability but use lesser-capability AI engines. All but Grok offer $20-per-month standard plans. These are the sweet spot for price and performance. Grok's equivalent, called SuperGrok, is $30 per month instead of $20.
You should choose them all (free versions) if…
Actually, there's no if about it. Because the free versions are quite capable, I recommend you spend some time with each chatbot and play around with it. There's no doubt the $20-per-month versions are more powerful (and sometimes smarter), but you can certainly get a solid understanding of the strengths and weaknesses before ponying up any cash.
Choose free if:
- You're on a tight budget
- You don't mind hitting limits, or your usage is fairly minimal
- You want to check them all out to get a feel for them
My recommendation, though, is that you consider signing up for one of the more extensive plans. There are definitely different benefits to using each of the various AIs. The upgraded plans do offer quite a lot compared to the free tiers.
One other recommendation: don't sign up for a yearly plan. Instead, sign up for the month-by-month plans. AIs change a lot over a year. You might want to jump ship. If you're tied to a full year, you lose a lot of flexibility.
You should choose ChatGPT Plus if…
1. You want the most versatile all-around tool
ChatGPT Plus has been incredibly capable for all sorts of projects, including writing, coding, analysis, and even image generation. ChatGPT's Codex agentic coding tool is available as part of the Plus plan. If you're doing a lot of coding, you'll run out of tokens. I ran out when I was developing new products. But I've been using the $20-per-month plan for complex maintenance coding. It has been fully capable for that, along with all the usual chatbot needs.
2. You want advanced reasoning and long-context work
ChatGPT Plus offers higher-end thinking models that can handle some very big projects. It can do structured analysis, document transformation, detailed deep dives, and a lot more. The higher-end models handle deep work and sustained problem solving.
3. You value a mature ecosystem
With excellent image generation and photo recontextualization, custom GPTs, lots of third-party integrations, API support, and enormous adoption across consumer and business use, ChatGPT is definitely the tool that scales, even at the $20-per-month level.
Also: How to use ChatGPT: A beginner's guide to the most popular AI chatbot
I subscribe to a bunch of AI tools because it's my job. When my wife asked me to recommend one that she could use, ChatGPT was my hands-down choice. If I could only use one, this would be it.
You should choose Copilot Pro if…
1. You are all about Microsoft
If your daily work involves Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and Edge, Copilot's deep integration into those tools will come in clutch. While other tools have some awareness of Microsoft's powerful Office ecosystem, Copilot groks it natively.
2. You want AI embedded in Windows
If you want AI features deeply embedded in your Windows machine, Copilot is for you. Copilot launches and controls system settings, summarizes and explains on-screen content, and integrates with the file system. Plus, Microsoft is constantly adding new capabilities, so who knows how much it will be able to do in your OS over time?
3. You want instant enterprise integration
If your company is already all in on Microsoft's governance stack, Copilot already works with Azure and Entra ID. You don't need to add another AI silo or somehow try to integrate enterprise AI into your infrastructure. For all-Microsoft shops, Copilot is already there, ready for you.
You should choose Gemini if…
1. Gmail is your home base
While Gemini is the AI layer across the entire Google ecosystem, it's being built to integrate in interesting ways within email itself. Already, Gmail includes Gemini summaries and the ability to query your mail store.
Also: I tried Gmail's new Gemini AI features, and now I want to unsubscribe
I wasn't entirely enthusiastic about Gmail's current Gemini features, but after I had a talk with Gmail's top executive, I was definitely pumped about Google's vision for Gmail's future.
2. Google Workspace is your jam
Gemini has tight integration into Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. It's also getting more and more tightly integrated into Chrome. We're even starting to see Chrome do automation tasks based on the Gemini AI.
Also: I let Chrome's AI agent shop, research, and email for me - here's how it went
Gemini is also tightly integrated into Android and Google mobile services. For all of these Google-centric uses, Gemini's $20-per-month AI premium plan is a win.
3. You want incredible image generation
And then, there's Nano Banana. When we evaluated image generators, Gemini's Nano Banana Pro blew away all the others, especially with image recontextualization. You can feed an AI an existing image and ask for it to be modified into something completely different.
Also: The best AI image generators of 2026: There's only one clear winner now
There are other standout image generators like Midjourney and even Photoshop's generative fill. But none beats Nano Banana Pro for modifying an existing image, although ChatGPT's Image tool in GPT-5.2 does come close.
You should choose Grok if…
1. You want real-time access to X/Twitter conversations
I'll admit, I was surprised that Grok did as well as it did in my tests. For general-purpose work, I'd definitely choose Gemini or ChatGPT over Grok, but if you want deep integration into the highly dynamic river of tweets, then Grok's your tool.
Also: The best AI chatbots of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed
2. You prefer more personality in your AI
Grok is kind of the counterculture AI. It's supposed to be more open and less corporate sounding. Some folks love that. Others, not so much.
3. You want fewer guardrails
Grok isn't as controlled as Gemini or ChatGPT. That's probably the direct influence of its current high-profile owner. But if you want to dance on the wild side, you'll stand a better chance if you choose Grok as your dance partner. It has a lot fewer guardrails. Remember, though, that Grok's main tier is $30 per month, compared to all the others at $20 per month.
You should choose Perplexity if…
1. Your top priority is research with citations
Perplexity has never really impressed me, but ZDNET's Steven Vaughan-Nichols is a big fan. Steven likes how reliable it is for research and how it cites sources with some precision. He also likes how Perplexity formats the results it gives back.
Also: 5 reasons why I still prefer Perplexity over every other AI chatbot
2. You want a search-first AI experience
Perplexity's experience revolves around search. It's optimized for query refinement, follow-up questions, and information discovery.
Unlike most other chatbots, Perplexity doesn't look to its knowledge base first. Instead, it searches the web. In some ways, it seems like an AI Google might have wanted to build with Gemini for Google Search.
3. You want LLM agnostic results
One additional benefit of Perplexity is that you can choose between different LLMs, including those from OpenAI, Google, and xAI. All you need to do is select the dropdown and pick your model.
So, if you want to recast your question across AIs to see which gets you closer to the answer you're looking for, Perplexity can help.
What's your favorite?
What about you? Which AI chatbot are you actually paying for right now, and why? Are you all in on a single tool, or juggling multiple subscriptions depending on the task? Do you lean toward tight ecosystem integration like Microsoft or Google, prefer ChatGPT's versatility, rely on Perplexity for research, or use Grok for its connection to X? And if you're sticking with the free tiers, are they good enough for your needs? Let us know in the comments below.
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