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Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs

Claude vs Duck.ai

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

Claude

4.6

From $20/mo

Duck.ai

4.0

From $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

Best overall

Pick it if: Anyone who writes, researches or makes decisions for a living, plus anyone curious about Claude Code.

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

Overview

AttributeClaudeDuck.ai
In one lineAnthropic's chat assistant, at its best on careful writing and long documents.DuckDuckGo's private AI chat: no account, no stored prompts, free to use.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$20/mo$9.99/mo or $99.99/yr
Free plan Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes No

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeClaudeDuck.ai
Overall rating4.6Winner4.0
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
3.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
5.0
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
4.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.5
4.5

Feature comparison

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

AttributeClaudeDuck.ai
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes
Desktop app Yes Yes
Browser extension Yes Yes
API access Yes No
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes No
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes No
Connects to other apps Yes No
Open source or self-hosted No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes
Understands images Yes Yes
Makes images No Yes
Makes video No No
Writes code Yes Yes
Runs agents or automations Yes No
Learns your brand or style Yes No
Works in many languages Yes Yes
Capabilities score14/ 179/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeClaudeDuck.ai
Plans

Free

Free

Trying it out and light daily use.

FreeOur pick

Free

Quick private questions with no sign-up.

ProOur pick

$20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly

Anyone who uses it most days.

Plus

$9.99/mo or $99.99/yr

Regular users who also want a VPN.

Max

From $100/mo

Heavy users and people living in Claude Code.

Pro

$19.99/mo or $199.99/yr

People who want the top models privately.

Team

From $20/seat/mo billed yearly

Businesses with 2 to 150 people.

Which plan to pickStart on Free to see if the writing suits you. Most people who stick with it move to Pro within a month; only go to Max if you hit the Pro limits every day or you're running Claude Code for hours at a time.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.

Key features

AttributeClaudeDuck.ai
Standout features
  • Projects
  • Artifacts
  • Long documents
  • Web search and connectors
  • Tasks and Claude Code
  • Memory
  • No account needed
  • Anonymised prompts
  • Choice of models
  • Voice chat and images
  • Local chat history
  • Built into the browser

Pros and cons

AttributeClaudeDuck.ai
Pros
  • Writing sounds like a person and needs the least editing of any assistant
  • Handles long documents and messy briefs without losing track
  • Projects and memory mean you stop repeating the same context
  • Artifacts turn answers into real documents, slides and small apps
  • One subscription covers Claude Code as well
  • The free plan now includes memory, connectors and Artifacts
  • 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
Cons
  • Free and Pro usage limits can bite on a busy day
  • No image or video generation, which ChatGPT and Gemini both have
  • The free plan doesn't include the top Opus models
  • Fewer third-party connectors and plugins than ChatGPT
  • 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

Who each one is for

AttributeClaudeDuck.ai
Best for
  • Long-form writing and editing
  • Reading and summarising long documents
  • Thinking through a plan or decision
  • Pairing with Claude Code
  • Quick private questions
  • Using AI without signing up
  • A shared or work computer
  • Voice chat and simple image making
You'll find it used by
  • Writers and marketers
  • Founders
  • Consultants
  • Developers
  • Privacy-minded professionals
  • DuckDuckGo users
  • Casual AI users
  • Students

Questions people ask

Which is better, Claude or Duck.ai?

Claude scores highest overall in our ratings (Claude 4.6/5 and Duck.ai 4.0/5). Claude is best for long-form writing and editing and reading and summarising long documents. Duck.ai is best for quick private questions and Using AI without signing up.

Which is cheaper, Claude or Duck.ai?

Claude: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo. Duck.ai: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr.

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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