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Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs

Duck.ai vs LMArena vs Le Chat

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

Duck.ai

4.0

From $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr

LMArena

3.8

Free to start

Best overall

Le Chat

4.1

From $14.99/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Easiest to use

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

Best value

Pick it if: Anyone choosing between AI tools, and people who want to know which model is leading right now.

Best overall

Pick it if: Teams that care where their data lives, and anyone after a capable assistant for less money.

Le Chat scores highest overall, but LMArena gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.

Overview

AttributeDuck.aiLMArenaLe Chat
In one lineDuckDuckGo's private AI chat: no account, no stored prompts, free to use.Free site where you compare AI models side by side and see which ones people rate best.Mistral's fast European assistant, with a usable free plan and a cheaper Pro plan.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreeFreemium
Starting price$9.99/mo or $99.99/yrFree$14.99/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.

AttributeDuck.aiLMArenaLe Chat
Overall rating4.03.84.1Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
3.5
4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
3.0
4.0
3.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
3.5
3.5
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
5.0
4.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.5
3.0
5.0

Feature comparison

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

AttributeDuck.aiLMArenaLe Chat
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app Yes No Yes
Desktop app Yes No Yes
Browser extension Yes No No
API access No No Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace No No Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO No No 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 Yes Yes Yes
Makes images Yes Yes Yes
Makes video No Yes No
Writes code Yes Yes Yes
Runs agents or automations No No Yes
Learns your brand or style No No Yes
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score9/ 177/ 1715/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeDuck.aiLMArenaLe Chat
Plans

FreeOur pick

Free

Quick private questions with no sign-up.

FreeOur pick

Free

Everyone.

Free

Free

Everyday questions and a look at the Work and Code modes.

Plus

$9.99/mo or $99.99/yr

Regular users who also want a VPN.

ProOur pick

$14.99/mo

Anyone who wants a capable daily assistant for less.

Pro

$19.99/mo or $199.99/yr

People who want the top models privately.

Team

$24.99/user/mo

Small teams that want shared billing and higher limits.

Enterprise

Custom

Organisations with compliance and custom needs.

Which plan to pickStay 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.There's nothing to buy. Use it free, and pay for whichever assistant comes out best for your work.The free plan is enough to see if the speed and tone suit you. Pro is good value at $14.99 and a sensible second assistant next to Claude. Students can get Pro for $5.99 a month for up to 12 months.

Key features

AttributeDuck.aiLMArenaLe Chat
Standout features
  • No account needed
  • Anonymised prompts
  • Choice of models
  • Voice chat and images
  • Local chat history
  • Built into the browser
  • Battle mode
  • Side by side
  • Direct chat
  • Leaderboards
  • Agent mode
  • Early access
  • Fast answers
  • Work mode
  • Code mode
  • Documents and images
  • Memory
  • EU hosting and open models

Pros and cons

AttributeDuck.aiLMArenaLe Chat
Pros
  • 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
  • Free access to the leading models, often before release
  • Blind voting makes it easy to judge models on output alone
  • Leaderboards cover text, code, images, video and agents
  • Real people's preferences are harder to game than lab benchmarks
  • EU hosting by default and open-weight models
  • Fastest responses in the category
  • Pro is cheaper than the equivalent OpenAI or Anthropic plan
  • Work mode runs real multi-step jobs across your apps
  • Clear, less preachy answers
Cons
  • 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
  • Rankings favour answers that look good, and labs have been caught testing private versions to climb the board
  • Conversations are collected and partly shared with model makers, so keep private work out
  • Frequent "something went wrong" errors, captchas, logouts and models removed without notice
  • Direct chat is being narrowed, with newer models only available in random battles
  • The company now sells evaluations to the labs it ranks, which raises questions about neutrality
  • Reasoning and long-document quality trail Claude and ChatGPT
  • Smaller ecosystem of guides, plugins and community help
  • Free plan limits aren't published in plain numbers
  • The rename to Vibe and the new modes make it harder to find your way around

Who each one is for

AttributeDuck.aiLMArenaLe Chat
Best for
  • Quick private questions
  • Using AI without signing up
  • A shared or work computer
  • Voice chat and simple image making
  • Choosing between AI models with your own prompts
  • Checking which model leads after a launch
  • Trying top models for free
  • Comparing image and video models
  • Fast everyday questions
  • Privacy-conscious organisations
  • A cheaper paid plan
  • Reading and summarising documents
You'll find it used by
  • Privacy-minded professionals
  • DuckDuckGo users
  • Casual AI users
  • Students
  • AI enthusiasts
  • Developers
  • Product teams
  • Journalists
  • Privacy-conscious teams
  • European businesses
  • Solo founders
  • Developers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Duck.ai, LMArena or Le Chat?

Le Chat scores highest overall in our ratings (Duck.ai 4.0/5, LMArena 3.8/5 and Le Chat 4.1/5). Duck.ai is best for quick private questions and Using AI without signing up. LMArena is best for choosing between AI models with your own prompts and checking which model leads after a launch. Le Chat is best for fast everyday questions and privacy-conscious organisations.

Which is cheaper, Duck.ai, LMArena or Le Chat?

Duck.ai: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr. LMArena: It's free to use. Le Chat: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $14.99/mo.

Which is easier to use, Duck.ai, LMArena or Le Chat?

Duck.ai rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who wants quick AI help without an account or a record of what they asked.

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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