What the free plan of each AI chat includes
Every free plan we could read includes something beyond plain chat, but no two include the same things. ChatGPT, Claude and DeepSeek say free users can search the web; Gemini, Meta AI, Grok and Mistral include image creation; Claude does not create images at all. The cheapest paid plans run from $4.99 a month for Google AI Plus to $30 for SuperGrok, and DeepSeek describes no paid plan.
A free AI chat is rarely just a chat box any more: free plans now include web search, file uploads, image creation or voice — or some of them, with limits. We read the pricing pages and help centers of 9 well-known AI chats and set down what each free plan includes and what the cheapest paid plan costs.
What the free plan includes
From each vendor's own pricing page and help center, checked 2026-10-02. Prices are as shown on the US page. Click a name to open the source.
| ChatGPT | Yes | Limited | Limited | Limited | ChatGPT Go · $8 a month | “Search the web and obtain up-to-date information” |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Pro · $20 a month | “Search the web, create files, and run code” |
| Gemini | Not stated | Limited | Yes | Yes | Google AI Plus · $4.99 a month | “Image generation and editing” |
| Microsoft Copilot | Not stated | Limited | Limited | Yes | Microsoft 365 Personal · $9.99 a month — a bundle with other apps | “You can continue to chat with Copilot, create images, upload files and more for free, subject to available capacity and limits.” |
| Meta AI | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes | Meta One Core · $7.99 a month — a bundle with other apps | “Meta AI will still be free for everyday use” |
| Grok | Limited | Not stated | Yes | Yes | SuperGrok · $30 a month — a cheaper Lite plan shows no price | “Free to try on the web and in the apps. Upgrade to SuperGrok for higher limits and multi-agent reasoning.” |
| DeepSeek | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | No paid plan described | “100% FREE - No ads, no in-app purchases” |
| Mistral Le Chat | Limited | Limited | Yes | Yes | Pro · $14.99 a month | “Limited messages and web searches.” |
| Perplexity | Could not read | Could not read | Could not read | Could not read | Could not read | |
| Unfiltered AI | — | Photos: 1 a day | Not yet | Replies read aloud: 5 a day | Plus · $14 a month |
How we checked: we read each vendor's own pricing page and help center on the date above and quote them word for word. "Limited" means the vendor says the feature is on the free plan with lower limits than paid. Features and prices differ by country and app, and change often. Perplexity's pages showed an automated-traffic check and could not be read. We update the table every month.
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On this page
How to read the table
Each column is one feature on the free plan: yes, limited (on the free plan but with lower limits than paid), no, or not stated on the vendor's pages. The last field is the cheapest paid personal plan as shown on the vendor's US pricing page, followed by a quote from the vendor.
Web search
OpenAI, Anthropic and DeepSeek say their free plans can search the web. Grok and Mistral include it with limits. Google, Microsoft and Meta do not say on the pages we read whether free users get web search with sources.
Images and voice
Gemini, Meta AI, Grok and Mistral include image creation on the free plan, and ChatGPT and Copilot include it with limits. Claude can read images you upload but does not create them. Voice conversation is on most free plans; ChatGPT limits it.
What the first paid plan costs
The cheapest paid plans range widely: Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month, Meta One Core at $7.99 and ChatGPT Go at $8, up to Claude Pro at $20 and SuperGrok at $30. Microsoft and Meta sell theirs as bundles with other apps. DeepSeek's app describes itself as free with no in-app purchases.
Our own free plan
The last row is this chat. It has no daily message limit and needs no account. The free plan reads 1 photo a day and reads 5 replies aloud a day; image creation is not available yet. Plus costs $14 a month and raises both limits.
Reasonable questions
Does free ChatGPT search the web?
Yes. OpenAI's help center says free users can search the web and get up-to-date information, and its pricing page lists uploads, image creation and voice as limited on the free plan.
Which free AI chat can create images?
Gemini, Meta AI, Grok and Mistral say their free plans include image creation, and ChatGPT and Copilot include it with limits. Claude does not create images.
What is the cheapest paid AI chat plan?
Among the vendors we checked, Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month on the US page. Prices differ by country.
Is DeepSeek completely free?
DeepSeek's app launch post describes the app as free, with no ads and no in-app purchases. We found no paid consumer plan on its pages.
How often is this updated?
Every month. The date we last read the sources is shown above the table.
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