OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a general-purpose tool that changed how we work, summarize documents, generate text, or write code. But ChatGPT isn’t the only AI tool out there that makes waves. 

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As of February 2024, ChatGPT currently has over 180 million users, which kinda makes it a big deal in the artificial intelligence market. But, even if it is a powerful AI tool, it’s not the only option available.

Nowadays, there are plenty of alternatives that do what ChatGPT does — and more. If you feel like ChatGPT is lacking, or you need more functionality, then this article is for you.

In it, we’ll explore some of the best ChatGPT alternatives that can change how you work and improve your workflows. Plus, we’re going to look at what features to pay attention to and how to choose your GPT alternatives. 

What is ChatGPT? 

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that uses natural language processing (NLP) to respond to user queries in a human-like way. It can answer simple questions and engage in conversation with users; it’s like talking to a very smart friend.

You can use ChatGPT to write stories or emails, do your homework, and even code. It can even summarize large files and only offer the key points.

In general, ChatGPT is free to use. But if you want it to access the latest AI model, like GPT-4 or GPT-3.5, you must opt for a paid subscription, ChatGPT Plus. 

If it’s such a great tool, why are so many people looking for alternatives? Let’s pick their minds. 

Why Do People Seek ChatGPT Alternatives?

There are plenty of reasons why people look for ChatGPT alternatives. Here are some of them: 

Reason 1: Lack of accuracy

Like any AI model, ChatGPT is trained on certain datasets. If the developers don’t constantly update it, the AI chatbot will come up with responses that are inaccurate, biased, or inconsistent. 

Users feel that, too. 

“[ChatGPT] can improve its accuracy by training more and more with time, as sometimes for now it produces inaccurate results for complex codes and problem-solving.” 

Reason 2: Limited domain-specific information

Since ChatGPT can’t access real-time data from the internet like a search engine can, it struggles to answer questions related to niche topics. Which makes it rather useless if you want specialized info for your research. 

“While it’s excellent for general assistance and common tasks, it may struggle with more intricate functions or industry-specific requirements.” 

Reason 3: Might be expensive

Yes, we know ChatGPT has a free plan. But if you want to deal with certain tasks, such as coding, the paid version offers these functionalities to you.

But it might be a tad expensive even for businesses, not to mention casual users. 

“The Plus is a little too expensive for a casual user,” says one user. 

“The thing I dislike the most is that other free tools will most likely, eventually, replace ChatGPT once it becomes too expensive for regular users such as myself,” says another. 

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Overall, there are a few downsides to using ChatGPT that make alternatives so much more attractive. 

What are these alternatives? Let’s take a look at them next. 

What are the Best ChatGPT Alternatives?

ChatGPT is a phenomenon — it took the generative AI program five days to reach a million users since its launch. However, this doesn’t mean that other tools can’t reach the same level of popularity, even without the fanfare. 

Here’s what we found in our search for the best alternative: 

1. Claude – Best AI chatbot that sounds most human. 
2. Jasper AI – Best AI assistant for writing on-brand content. 
3. Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) – Best AI copilot for the Microsoft ecosystem. 
4. OpenAI Playground – Best interactive platform for building AI models. 
5. Google Gemini (formerly Google Bard) – Best multimodal AI assistant for Google products. 
6. Chatsonic by Writesonic – Best AI chat tool for conducting research. 
7. Character.AI – Best tool for chatting with AI personas. 
8. Perplexity AI – Best AI-powered research assistant for building trust and credibility. 
9. GitHub Copilot – Best AI coding assistant for developers. 
10. Llama 3 by Meta AI – Best open-source AI for general purposes. 
11. Amazon Q (formerly CodeWhisperer) – Best AI coding assistant made by Amazon 
12. Midjourney – Best AI art generator for creative prompts.  

In the following paragraphs, let’s explore these tools in greater depth. 

1. Claude

Claude by Anthropic is an AI chatbot that mimics humans best, offering the most empathetic responses of all these options. 

It’s a large language model (LLM) trained to have natural conversations with humans. But it can also answer questions and excel at tasks, such as editing, summaries, etc. 

Claude 3 is best at matching the tone of voice and style of humans and being able to write creative text with minimal editing and less fluff than ChatGPT. Besides, it has a larger context window which gives it the ability to respond faster and more consistently. 

“What’s most useful about Claude is the AI’s ability to flow more naturally. I like that responses feel more like [a] human-to-human conversation.” 

Top features

• Advanced reasoning: Claude 3 is not just for simple tasks, such as text generation, but is also a great option for performing complex tasks. 
• Vision analysis: Claude doesn’t just take context from text, but also from any static image, such as handwritten notes, graphs, photos, etc. 
• Multilingual processing: Claude can translate various languages in real time and also create content in multiple languages. 

Pricing: Claude has a free version. For $20/month, you can get 5x the usage, but the API pricing varies on the AI model used. 

Pros:

• Advanced natural language processing capabilities 
• Great for creative writing and nuanced content
• Plenty of customization options for different use cases

Cons:

• Lacks integrations with other tools
• Fairly new to the market
• Unavailable in certain areas

Best for

Claude is best for businesses that want to generate more creative content. 

2. Jasper AI

Jasper AI is an AI writing tool that helps people write high-quality emails, blog articles, and social media posts in their specific brand voice and style. 

Think of Jasper as Iron Man’s J.A.R.V.I.S. — while it doesn’t speak to you, it does help translate content in multiple languages (over 30) with ease and create content from trusted sources.

Using simple inputs, you can generate the content in the tone and style you want. For example, if you want to write marketing content like Shakespeare, simply select that style and Jasper will write it as asked. 

“Jasper’s best part [is] the large amount of templates that make content creation very easy. You can choose a template, [e.g.,] a blog post or LinkedIn post and Jasper comes with preconfigured settings for the specific needs.” 

Top features

• AI image generator: To complement your neatly crafted content, you can add a visually pleasing image. Jasper can create AI-generated art easily, with a single prompt.  
• Plagiarism checker: With 90% of online content predicted to be AI-generated, Jasper makes sure your content is original. 
• Document editor: Write your own content or ask Jasper to assist you with this in its intuitive document editor. 

Pricing: Jasper has a free 7-day trial with access to basic functionalities. You can opt for three pricing plans with both yearly and monthly payments, starting at $49/seat. 

Pros:

• Generates content at scale easily
• Helps you craft different types of content
• Has pre-made templates to make content production easier

Cons:

• Can only be used with an Internet connection
• Has add-on fees for certain features
• Doesn’t always write facts

Best for

Jasper AI is suitable for businesses that want to write quality content at scale in their brand voice. 

3. Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat)

Copilot, formerly known as Bing Chat, is Microsoft’s very own AI chatbot, one that allows you to search for information, generate text, and create images in a few seconds. 

It uses both OpenAI’s GPT model and the Bing search engine to find answers for you. This means it has an advantage over ChatGPT, as it can access the Internet and pull updated information. 

It also makes Copilot very good at citing sources, recommending new topics to explore, and adding images to answers. 

“Exceptional! It’s very useful for my studies. Instead of going through all websites finding resources and information, I can directly get everything with just an ask.” 

Top features

• Conversation styles: You can pick from three conversation styles that allow you to get more balanced, precise, and creative answers. 
• AI models: Since Microsoft is a huge OpenAI investor, you can choose from different AI models, such as GPT-3.5, GPT-4, or GPT-4 Turbo. 
• Integrations: Microsoft Copilot integrates with a variety of Microsoft products and services.

Pricing: You can access Copilot for free on the web, Windows, and macOS. If you want more advanced AI models, you must opt for Copilot Pro, which starts at $20/month. 

Pros:

• Integrates with the Microsoft ecosystem
• Greatly enhances productivity by automating tasks
• Free image generation

Cons:

• Only works with Microsoft Edge and Microsoft products
• Can’t access conversation history after a few days
• Updates might cause glitches and errors 

Best for

Microsoft Copilot is suitable for personal and professional use, as long as you only work with Microsoft products. 

4. OpenAI Playground

OpenAI Playground is an interface (or a lab) where you can create and test different AI models, from GPT-3 to DALL-E 2. 

You might think, “I can create stuff with ChatGPT, too.” The only thing they have in common is that they’re both created by OpenAI. Playground is an interactive platform where developers can use state-of-the-art technology to customize their models and see how different language models work. 

“I have deployed my own infrastructure and several components, such as containers and VPNs to further enhance my capabilities. These deployments have allowed me to streamline processes and improve the overall functioning of my work environment.” 

Top features

• Code interpreter: Playground offers a code assistant that helps you write code and make sure it runs properly. 
• Documentation: You don’t need to struggle alone. OpenAI Playground has tutorials and even examples of how to use the models to the max.  
• Playground Chat: Similar to ChatGPT, this chatbot responds easily to user inputs, but you can adjust the randomness of the generated responses. 

Pricing: To use Playground, you need to pay per token usage like any other API. 

Pros:

• Intuitive and user-friendly interface
• It’s an open-source platform 
• Stores your data in a compliant manner

Cons:

• Limited control over context
• The context of your conversation disappears when you start a new session

Best for

OpenAI Playground is best for developers who want to build their own AI models. 

5. Google Gemini (formerly Google Bard)

Google Gemini (starting as Bard) is a multimodal AI model that integrates with Google’s products. This makes it super easy to retrieve information from other Google apps, including Docs, Gmail, Drive, etc. 

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And don’t worry — Google plans on extending its Gemini functionality to Chrome and Android, making it accessible on both your browser and phone. 

With this powerful LLM, you can have human-like conversations, but also draft documents, analyze data, and more. Trained on 1.56 trillion words, which is more data than ChatGPT, Gemini understands your prompts and can respond accordingly. 

“I’m impressed with the speed, especially compared to a GPT that sometimes writes 1 word at a time, [whereas] Gemini writes a page in seconds. I’m also fond of the multimodality...” 

Top features

• Sophisticated reasoning: Gemini can uncover knowledge from large amounts of data and make sense of complex written information. 
• Multimodal understanding: You can give Gemini text, images, audio, and more and it can gauge nuanced information from all these sources. 
• Advanced coding: Gemini can generate high-quality code across different programming languages, such as Python, Java, C++, etc. 

Pricing: It’s free to try, but you’ll have to opt in for a paid subscription to use advanced features. Gemini Advanced starts at $19.99/month. 

Pros:

• Generates more creative writing 
• Has a faster response time than ChatGPT
• Integrates with Google products

Cons:

• Data analysis and voice features are still subpar compared to ChatGPT
• Can produce historically inaccurate and biased content
• It’s not very useful for technical users

Best for

Gemini is for businesses, developers, and users who want to leverage AI with their Google products. 

6. Chatsonic by Writesonic

Chatsonic is an AI chat tool created by Writesonic that lets users conduct research and perform fast web searches that deliver real-time and factual responses in seconds. 

It’s a tool that you mostly use for content creation, as it accesses the web via the Google search engine to provide real-time information. Besides, you can chat with this tool via PDFs, images, websites, audio, and more, and even get quick summaries. 

“Chatsonic is a very good AI tool which has increased my productivity. I’m using it for writing the content, rephrasing it, or generating a whole new idea for content.” 

Top features

• Agent Mode: Do in-depth research through follow-up questions as Chatsonic makes sure you get well-sourced content that’s trustworthy. 
• Image generation: Chatsonic can turn your ideas into reality easily via an image generator powered by DALL-E 3 and Stable Diffusion. 
• Note-taking: Chatsonic’s intuitive note-taking feature allows you to keep your thoughts organized, which enhances collaboration. 

Pricing: You can use Chatsonic for free, but it’s limited to 10,000 words per month. For unlimited generations, opt for the paid plans, starting at $12/month. 

Pros:

• Integrates with other Writesonic products
• Uses Google data to provide information 
• Easy to use and get started with

Cons:

• The free version has a word limit
• Doesn’t have data analysis features
• The image generator is not as accurate as other tools 

Best for

This tool is for researchers, students, and professionals who need up-to-date information. 

7. Character.AI

Character.ai is a fun tool, one that allows you to interact and have chats with a range of AI characters, from fictional and game characters to religious figures and celebrities. 

So, if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to talk to Elon Musk, this platform lets your dreams come true. You can also build your own character, both private and public. It has a quick mode, which lets you create your character quickly, or an advanced mode that can fine-tune your bot. 

Moreover, you can also find “helpers,” personas you can use to practice new languages, write a story, plan trips, or get book recommendations. The world’s your oyster! 

“Character AI is great [...] I had a great time using Character AI.” 

Top features

• Mobile app: Character.ai has a mobile app for both Apple and Google Play stores, so you can chat with a celebrity on the go. 
• Group chats: You can have multiple characters conversing with one another with this feature. 
• Character builder: If you want to create your own bot, you can do so easily. 

Pricing: It’s free to use, but Character.ai offers a premium plan starting at $9.99/month. 

Pros:

• Chat with thousands of characters 
• Has a mobile app
• Able to create your own chatbots

Cons:

• It’s currently in beta, so it’s undergoing continuous improvements
• Conversations can get repetitive and out of character

Best for

Character.ai is a tool used for fun, but also a great source of inspiration for writers. 

8. Perplexity AI

Perplexity AI is an AI-powered research assistant that combines advanced AI models with web searches for in-depth exploration. Think of Perplexity AI as another search engine. Though it looks like a chatbot, it draws its info from live sources on the Internet and even provides source citations. 

This makes it better than ChatGPT, which uses its training data (not always up-to-date) to give responses. Plus, Perplexity is highly accurate, giving you the sources of the info, which you can easily fact-check for credibility. 

“Instead of throwing random information, Perplexity shows where the information is taken from [...] and I’m able to verify if the source is [...] a reliable website.” 

Top features

• Personalization: The AI model is customizable, meaning that you can adjust settings like output format, tone, and language. 
• Smart search: Similar to a search engine, Perplexity allows you to upload files for in-depth context. 
• Single view: With the Pages feature, Perplexity lets you explore the topic in-depth from a single, shareable page. 

Pricing: Perplexity has a free plan. Perplexity Pro starts at $20/month. 

Pros:

• Has citations and sources for credibility 
• Works like a search engine, providing real-time information 
• It’s flexible due to the multiple LLM options

Cons:

• Might repeat the information 
• Mostly suited for research, not casual brainstorming 

Best for

Perplexity AI is best for writing content that’s credible since it provides sources and citations you can verify. 

9. GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an AI coding assistant for developers, programmers, and software engineers. It helps them improve their code quality and reduce errors. 

With this tool, developers can write code faster with less effort. How does it work? GitHub Copilot offers suggestions on individual lines and whole functions as you write, automating an otherwise time-consuming task. 

Moreover, it understands code patterns in multiple programming languages, so you can get suggestions no matter which one you use. 

“GitHub Copilot is the fastest and very easy to implement copilot for our code editors. It generates our predicted code very efficiently and fast.” 

Top features

• Knowledge base: Get personalized answers with GitHub Copilot, which translates into less time spent searching and more time researching. 
• Integrations: Work in GitHub alongside your favorite productivity tools, as it has a wide range of third-party apps.  
• AI-based suggestions: As you work, GitHub Copilot offers suggestions based on the context and style of your work. 

Pricing: GitHub Copilot is not free, but has a free trial. You have to opt in for a subscription plan, starting at $10/month. 

Pros:

• Has plenty of customization options regarding your coding style, language, etc. 
• Connects with various plugins 
• Minimizes the number of coding errors

Cons:

• Limited to coding only 
• Might hallucinate and give you the wrong code 

Best for

GitHub Copilot is for developers and programmers who want to code faster. 

10. Llama 3 by Meta AI

Llama 3 is Meta AI’s open-source AI tool, best suited for a wide range of use cases, such as coding or getting answers. 

Trained on massive amounts of data, Llama 3 understands the context of the user query and can respond accordingly, making it highly useful for content generation and providing information.

Llama 3 supports 128,000 tokens, making it more capable than previous Llama versions and offering unmatched reasoning and accuracy. It also comes with pre-training and instruction fine-tuning with 8 or 70 billion parameters. 

“Llama 3 blew me away with how well it understands what I’m saying and gives helpful answers. It feels almost like chatting with a real person!” 

Top features

• Training datasets: Meta trained Llama 3 on large, high-quality datasets, which makes it ideal for plenty of multilingual use cases. 
• Model architectures: Llama 3 is a decoder-only transformer that comes with several upgrades, such as integrated Grouped Query Attention (GQA). 
• Instruction fine-tuning: To improve the quality of its prompts, Llama 3 employs a mix of rejection sampling, proximal policy optimization, and direct preference optimization. 

Pricing: Yes, Llama 3 is free to use, but there might be some fees associated with third-party vendors (if you use one). 

Pros:

• Llama 3 is free to use
• Has higher performance than previous Llama models
• You can customize it for specific use cases

Cons:

• Significant resources during training 
• Raises privacy and security concerns 

Best for

Llama 3 is for people who want to use an open-source AI app for general purposes. 

11. Amazon Q (formerly CodeWhisperer)

Amazon Q (formerly CodeWhisperer) is an AI-powered assistant that helps developers write code faster by offering real-time suggestions in the integrated development environment (IDE). 

It’s a tool for coding autocompletion. You can use it by simply starting a new conversation, making it easy to get assistance, whether that’s for discovering AWS functionalities, analyzing your bills, etc. 

“The best part of Amazon CodeWhisperer is its ability to give real-time suggestions while coding. Also, [it is] easy to use and implement.” 

Top features

• Real-time suggestions: Amazon Q offers real-time code suggestions, from snippets to full functions. All are based on your comments or existing code. 
• Autonomous agents: The Amazon Q agents make writing code easier, as they help implement new features, document code, etc., from a single prompt. 
• Legacy code modernization: Upgrade and transform your Java apps with Amazon Q Developer Agent. 

Pricing: Amazon Q has two pricing plans, one starting at $3/month, the other at $20/month. 

Pros:

• Generates code based on comments and existing code
• Enhances code quality and security 
• Supports multiple programming languages and IDEs

Cons:

• Developers still need to edit the code
• Might not handle complex or creative coding issues 
• It may pose security risks 

Best for

Amazon Q is great for developers who want to get real-time code suggestions. 

12. Midjourney

Lastly, Midjourney is an AI tool best used for creating AI-generated art, and is built to expand humans’ creativity using text-to-image prompts. 

You can access Midjourney via Discord, where you can ask the Midjourney bot to generate an image based on a prompt (the more details, the better). The best part is you don’t need any coding experience to use it; just a few simple commands you can learn by heart. 

“Midjourney breaks new ground in AI-generated art by allowing users to create images from natural language descriptions, or prompts. This unique approach taps into the power of AI to transform textual input into visually captivating images.” 

Top features

• Upscaling: Control the quality of your images and change the aspect ratio, variance, style, etc., till you get the result you want. 
• Four variants: This tool generates four variations of the image, based on your prompt, so you can choose one or expand on it. 
• Outpainting: Extend the image beyond its original frame easily. 

Pricing: Midjourney used to be free, but now you have four plans you can choose from. The Basic one starts at $10/month. 

Pros:

• Plenty of customization options regarding resolution, style, etc. 
• Has Remix mode, which allows you to merge two images into one 
• Offers a community of passionate users

Cons:

• It only works through the chat app, Discord
• Might generate images with errors
• No free version

Best for

Midjourney is best for all kinds of uses, such as marketing materials, blog posts, social media posts, etc. 

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Cool, you survived our list! 

If you haven’t decided on one yet, let’s make it easier by looking at the top features of ChatGPT alternatives. 

What Features to Look for in ChatGPT Alternatives

At the end of the day, the features you need depend on what you’re using the tool for. The ChatGPT app is an all-purpose tool, but maybe you’re only using it to write code. 

Regardless, here are some of the common features you should care about when comparing alternatives: 

• Natural language processing (NLP): This is the bread and butter of any AI software since it gives it the ability to generate conversational answers. The quality of the NLP depends on the AI model, but most AI chatbots can answer satisfactorily. 
• Integrations: An AI app with plugins can completely change how you work. They allow you to use the alternatives with the tools you already employ, streamlining your workflow. 
• Auto-completion: If you want to work faster, this functionality is exactly what you need. It fills the rest of your code, message, or content, effectively speeding up your operations. 

It might seem like a small list, but again, the features depend on the tool’s use case and what you need it for. 

Moving forward, let’s share tips for choosing the best alternative for you. 

How to Choose the Best ChatGPT Alternative for Your Needs

When it comes to actually selecting the right ChatGPT alternative for your business needs, here are the criteria: 

• Ease of use: The first (and most important) feature is that the tool needs to be easy to use, especially if you’re a beginner. This means that the AI tool should have an intuitive interface, easy signup, and seamless navigation. 
• Availability: New AI tools come with closed betas and a long waiting list, which you don’t want to sign up for. Even if it’s the best AI tool that caters to your every need, try to find one that’s already widely available, so you can start using it right away. 
• Reliability: You don’t want a tool that constantly gives you errors or freezes more often than not. Select an AI tool that is reliable when you need it the most. 
• Customization: Another great criterion for choosing the right tool is the customization options. This means it allows you to change aspects of it to suit your brand better, such as color scheme, tone, style, etc. 
• Multi-language support: Your conversational AI tool should support multiple languages, so you can reach more people from around the world. This allows them to insert queries in their native language. 
• Pricing: Of course, keep your budget in mind when hunting for new ChatGPT alternatives. Don’t fall in love with a tool you can’t afford. Also, consider the maintenance and upgrade fees. 
• Scalability: Can the tool scale as your business grows? If not, then it’s not the ideal one. Your AI software should analyze large volumes of data with ease, without sacrificing quality. 
• Security and privacy: Many people are concerned about their data when it comes to using AI tools. So, if you’re one of them, choose a tool that has advanced security measures in place and clearly states how it will use your data. 
• Customer support: Whenever you’re stuck on something, it’s easier to contact the tool’s support team rather than perform a web search. Find an AI platform that has multiple customer support options, which makes it easier to contact them when you encounter an issue. 

And voila! This is all you need to know about ChatGPT alternatives. 

Over To You!

You know what these best ChatGPT alternatives go well with? 

Guru — an enterprise AI tool that connects your chats, apps, and docs in one place and makes it super easy to get instant answers to your questions. For instance, if you want to search for internal knowledge, you can do so without switching tabs. 

Find out more about Guru — or try it out yourself today. 

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