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Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs

ChatGPT vs Duck.ai vs Kimi

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Best overall

ChatGPT

4.3

From $8/mo

Duck.ai

4.0

From $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr

Kimi

3.8

From $19/mo or $15/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best overall

Pick it if: Anyone who wants one general-purpose assistant that handles most everyday jobs.

Best value

Pick it if: Anyone who wants quick AI help without an account or a record of what they asked.

Kimi3.8

Pick it if: People who want an agent to produce finished slides, documents, spreadsheets and websites, and developers after a cheaper coding model.

ChatGPT scores highest overall, but Duck.ai gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.

Overview

AttributeChatGPTDuck.aiKimi
In one lineOpenAI's all-rounder: chat, images, voice, web search and agents in one app.DuckDuckGo's private AI chat: no account, no stored prompts, free to use.Moonshot AI's assistant with a strong agent for slides, documents, sheets and websites.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$8/mo$9.99/mo or $99.99/yr$19/mo or $15/mo
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code No No No

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeChatGPTDuck.aiKimi
Overall rating4.3Winner4.03.8
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
4.5
4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
5.0
3.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
3.5
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.0
4.5
3.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.5
3.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeChatGPTDuck.aiKimi
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes Yes
Desktop app Yes Yes Yes
Browser extension Yes Yes No
API access Yes No Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes No–
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes No No
Connects to other apps Yes No No
Open source or self-hosted No No Yes
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes Yes
Understands images Yes Yes Yes
Makes images Yes Yes–
Makes video No No No
Writes code Yes Yes Yes
Runs agents or automations Yes No Yes
Learns your brand or style Yes No No
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score15/ 179/ 1710/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeChatGPTDuck.aiKimi
Plans

Free

Free

Trying it out and everyday questions.

FreeOur pick

Free

Quick private questions with no sign-up.

Adagio

Free

Trying the chat and a taste of the agent.

Go

$8/mo

Casual users who hit the free limits.

Plus

$9.99/mo or $99.99/yr

Regular users who also want a VPN.

PlusOur pick

$19/mo or $15/mo billed yearly

Anyone who wants to use the agent most weeks.

PlusOur pick

$20/mo

Anyone using it most days for work.

Pro

$19.99/mo or $199.99/yr

People who want the top models privately.

Pro

$39/mo or $31/mo billed yearly

Regular users who run out of credits on Plus.

Pro

From $100/mo

Heavy users and people living in Codex.

Max

$99/mo or $79/mo billed yearly

Heavy users running several jobs at once.

Business

See website

Teams from 2 people up.

Ultra

$199/mo or $159/mo billed yearly

Power users running agents all day.

Which plan to pickThe free plan is now good enough to use properly, so stay on it until the image, voice or research limits annoy you. Plus is the sensible upgrade. Only look at Pro if you run Codex or deep research all day, and read the current tier details first: Pro 200 now comes with a smaller allowance than it did before 29 September.Stay on Free unless you also want a VPN. Plus is good value if you'd pay for a VPN anyway. Pro is $19.99, the same as ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro, so only pick it if anonymity matters more to you than features.Try the free plan to see the agent's output. If you like it, Plus at $19 is the sensible plan, and the yearly price drops it to $15. Only move up if you keep running out of credits, which long Swarm jobs do quickly.

Key features

AttributeChatGPTDuck.aiKimi
Standout features
  • Image generation and editing
  • Voice mode
  • Deep research
  • ChatGPT Work
  • Plugins and connectors
  • Codex and Sites
  • No account needed
  • Anonymised prompts
  • Choice of models
  • Voice chat and images
  • Local chat history
  • Built into the browser
  • Agent
  • Slides, Docs and Sheets
  • Agent Swarm
  • Deep Research
  • Kimi Code
  • Open model

Pros and cons

AttributeChatGPTDuck.aiKimi
Pros
  • The widest set of built-in tools of any assistant
  • Free plan includes unlimited text chat with GPT-6 Luna
  • Image generation and voice mode are the best in the category
  • Huge ecosystem of plugins, connectors and guides
  • One subscription covers the Codex coding agent too
  • No account, and prompts are anonymised and not used for training
  • Free access to models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Mistral in one place
  • Fast, clean and easy for anyone to use
  • Paid plans bundle a VPN and identity protection
  • Agent produces finished slides, documents, sheets and websites
  • Kimi K3 is a leading open model, strong at coding and long tasks
  • Swarm handles big research jobs in parallel
  • Cheaper than Claude or ChatGPT for comparable agent work
Cons
  • Writing sounds generic unless you work hard on the prompt
  • Plans and limits change often, and Pro now runs to $500 a month
  • Free and Go plans may show ads
  • It's confident when it's wrong, so check facts before you publish
  • Custom GPTs are being retired, so anything built on them needs moving to plugins
  • Free models are the small versions, so answers trail paid ChatGPT or Claude
  • No projects, connectors or spreadsheet uploads, and PDFs are capped at 15 to 50 pages
  • Usage limits aren't published as numbers
  • Privacy rests on DuckDuckGo's contracts with the AI companies, and some users report chat sync errors between devices
  • Shared credits drain quickly on long agent and Swarm jobs, and unused credits don't roll over
  • K3 is slow, and users report network errors and long-running tasks
  • Main privacy policy stores data in China, and the hosted service blocks China-critical topics
  • Free plan is thin and allowances aren't published in plain numbers
  • Since late August 2026 even ordinary chats draw on the credit pool, and some users report duplicate charges on renewal

Who each one is for

AttributeChatGPTDuck.aiKimi
Best for
  • Everyday questions and brainstorming
  • Making and editing images in the chat
  • Voice conversations on your phone
  • Quick research with web search
  • Quick private questions
  • Using AI without signing up
  • A shared or work computer
  • Voice chat and simple image making
  • Turning a brief into a slide deck
  • Research reports and document drafts
  • Analysing a spreadsheet
  • Building a simple website
  • Coding on a budget
You'll find it used by
  • Marketers
  • Small business owners
  • Students
  • Developers
  • Privacy-minded professionals
  • DuckDuckGo users
  • Casual AI users
  • Students
  • Consultants
  • Marketers
  • Students
  • Developers
  • Analysts

Questions people ask

Which is better, ChatGPT, Duck.ai or Kimi?

ChatGPT scores highest overall in our ratings (ChatGPT 4.3/5, Duck.ai 4.0/5 and Kimi 3.8/5). ChatGPT is best for everyday questions and brainstorming and making and editing images in the chat. Duck.ai is best for quick private questions and Using AI without signing up. Kimi is best for turning a brief into a slide deck and research reports and document drafts.

Which is cheaper, ChatGPT, Duck.ai or Kimi?

ChatGPT: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $8/mo. Duck.ai: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr. Kimi: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $19/mo or $15/mo.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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