Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs
Claude vs Google AI Studio vs Qwen Chat
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 writes, researches or makes decisions for a living, plus anyone curious about Claude Code.
Pick it if: Founders, marketers and developers who want to test Google's models or build a quick app without paying.
Pick it if: Anyone after a capable free assistant with image, video, slides and website tools, and developers who want open models.
Overview
| Attribute | Claude | Google AI Studio | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Anthropic's chat assistant, at its best on careful writing and long documents. | Google's free workspace for testing Gemini models and building apps from a description. | Alibaba's generous free assistant for research, slides, websites, images and video. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $20/mo | $19.99/mo | $4/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Claude | Google AI Studio | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.6Winner | 3.9 | 4.0 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Claude | Google AI Studio | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | No | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | No | No |
| Browser extension | Yes | No | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | No | No |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | 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 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | No | Yes | Yes |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | No | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 14/ 17 | 11/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Claude | Google AI Studio | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Trying it out and light daily use. | FreeOur pick Free Testing models and building small prototypes. | FreeOur pick Free Most people. The free limits are generous for chat and research. |
ProOur pick $20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly Anyone who uses it most days. | Google AI Pro $19.99/mo Regular users who also want the Gemini app upgrade. | Go $4/mo Regular users who want higher chat limits. | |
Max From $100/mo Heavy users and people living in Claude Code. | Google AI Ultra From $99.99/mo Heavy builders who want the highest limits. | Plus $19/mo Creators making images and video most days. | |
Team From $20/seat/mo billed yearly Businesses with 2 to 150 people. | Paid API Pay as you go, $10 prepay to start Apps in production and anyone with sensitive data. | Pro $99/mo Heavy video and image users who need priority. | |
| Which plan to pick | Start 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. | Start free. If you're putting anything sensitive in or building something people will use, switch to a paid API key so your prompts aren't used for training. Google AI Pro only makes sense if you'd use the Gemini app upgrade too. | Start free; most people never need to pay. Go at $4 is cheap if you hit the chat limits. Prices are App Store prices, so check the in-app screen before you subscribe. |
Key features
| Attribute | Claude | Google AI Studio | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Claude | Google AI Studio | Qwen Chat |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Claude | Google AI Studio | Qwen Chat |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Claude, Google AI Studio or Qwen Chat?
Claude scores highest overall in our ratings (Claude 4.6/5, Google AI Studio 3.9/5 and Qwen Chat 4.0/5). Claude is best for long-form writing and editing and reading and summarising long documents. Google AI Studio is best for prototyping an app or internal tool by describing it and testing new Gemini models before they reach the app. Qwen Chat is best for A free assistant that does a bit of everything and quick webpages and slide decks from a prompt.
Which is cheaper, Claude, Google AI Studio or Qwen Chat?
Claude: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo. Google AI Studio: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $19.99/mo. Qwen Chat: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $4/mo.
Which is easier to use, Claude, Google AI Studio or Qwen Chat?
Claude rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who writes, researches or makes decisions for a living, plus anyone curious about Claude Code.
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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