Side-by-side comparison · Presentations & Docs
ChatPDF vs Napkin AI vs Quadratic
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Anyone who needs quick answers from a PDF, like a manual, report or contract, without reading the whole thing.
Pick it if: Marketers, consultants and business owners who want clear visuals for slides, posts and reports without opening a design tool.
Pick it if: Analysts, finance staff and founders who outgrow Excel and want AI to write the analysis in a sheet they can check.
Overview
| Attribute | ChatPDF | Napkin AI | Quadratic |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Upload a PDF and ask it questions, with answers that point to the page they came from. | Turns your text into clean diagrams, flowcharts and charts for slides and posts. | A spreadsheet where AI writes the formulas, Python and SQL to analyse your data. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $0 | $0 | $18/user/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | ChatPDF | Napkin AI | Quadratic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.9 | 4.3Winner | 4.0 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | ChatPDF | Napkin AI | Quadratic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | No | No |
| Desktop app | Yes | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | – | – |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | No | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | – | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | No | No | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | Yes |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – | – |
| Makes images | No | Yes | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | No | No | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | Yes | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | – | – |
| Capabilities score | 5/ 17 | 7/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | ChatPDF | Napkin AI | Quadratic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free $0 The occasional document. | Free $0 Trying it and the odd visual. | Personal Free Trying it out or light personal analysis. |
PlusOur pick About $19.99/mo, cheaper billed yearly People who read lots of documents. | PlusOur pick $12/mo, or $9/mo billed yearly People making visuals every week. | ProOur pick $18/user/mo billed yearly Individuals and small teams doing regular analysis. | |
Pro $30/mo, or $22/mo billed yearly Heavy users and brand-conscious teams. | Business $36/user/mo billed yearly Teams that lean on the AI every day. | ||
Enterprise Custom Larger organisations. | Enterprise Custom Larger companies with security and hosting rules. | ||
| Which plan to pick | Free is fine for a document or two a day. Before paying for Plus, try NotebookLM, which is free, or use Claude or ChatGPT if you already pay for one. | Free is enough to see if it fits how you work. If you'll put visuals in client decks, Plus removes the branding and adds PowerPoint export for $9 a month on yearly billing. Pro is for people who need custom fonts or lots of credits. | Start on the free Personal plan with a real data set. If you use it every week, Pro is enough for most people; move to Business only if you keep running out of AI credits. Monthly billing costs about 10% more than the yearly prices shown. |
Key features
| Attribute | ChatPDF | Napkin AI | Quadratic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | ChatPDF | Napkin AI | Quadratic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | ChatPDF | Napkin AI | Quadratic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
|
Questions people ask
Which is better, ChatPDF, Napkin AI or Quadratic?
Napkin AI scores highest overall in our ratings (ChatPDF 3.9/5, Napkin AI 4.3/5 and Quadratic 4.0/5). ChatPDF is best for quick questions about a single PDF and summarising reports and manuals. Napkin AI is best for diagrams for slide decks and visuals for LinkedIn and blog posts. Quadratic is best for asking big data sets questions in your own words and pulling live data from a company database.
Which is cheaper, ChatPDF, Napkin AI or Quadratic?
ChatPDF: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Napkin AI: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Quadratic: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $18/user/mo.
Which is easier to use, ChatPDF, Napkin AI or Quadratic?
ChatPDF rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who needs quick answers from a PDF, like a manual, report or contract, without reading the whole thing.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
Swap in another tool
More tools from Presentations & Docs in the library.
