Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs

Duck.ai vs Z.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

Duck.ai

4.0

From $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr

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Z.ai

3.5

From $18/mo or $12.60/mo

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Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

Duck.ai4.0

Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

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

Z.ai3.5

Pick it if: Developers who want a cheaper engine for Claude Code and similar tools, and anyone who wants free access to a top open model.

Overview

Attribute	Duck.ai	Z.ai
In one line	DuckDuckGo's private AI chat: no account, no stored prompts, free to use.	Free chat with Zhipu's open GLM models, plus a cheap coding plan for Claude Code users.
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Starting price	$9.99/mo or $99.99/yr	$18/mo or $12.60/mo
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Works with Claude Code	No	No

Rating breakdown

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

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

Feature comparison

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

Attribute	Duck.ai	Z.ai
Access & platform
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	No
Desktop app	Yes	No
Browser extension	Yes	No
API access	No	Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace	No	Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO	No	No
Connects to other apps	No	No
Open source or self-hosted	No	Yes
AI abilities
Works with your files	Yes	Yes
Understands images	Yes	Yes
Makes images	Yes	No
Makes video	No	No
Writes code	Yes	Yes
Runs agents or automations	No	Yes
Learns your brand or style	No	No
Works in many languages	Yes	Yes
Capabilities score	9/ 17	9/ 17

Pricing

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

Attribute	Duck.ai	Z.ai
Plans	FreeOur pick Free Quick private questions with no sign-up.	Chat Free Anyone who wants to try GLM or use Agent mode.
	Plus $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr Regular users who also want a VPN.	Coding Plan LiteOur pick $18/mo or $12.60/mo billed yearly Developers trying GLM inside their coding tool.
	Pro $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr People who want the top models privately.	Coding Plan Pro $80/mo or $56/mo billed yearly Daily agentic coding.
		Coding Plan Max $168/mo or $117.60/mo billed yearly Developers running agents for hours every day.
Which plan to pick	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.	For chat, it's free. Developers should start with Coding Plan Lite and code off-peak, because usage between 2pm and 6pm Singapore time on weekdays costs more credits. Move to Pro only if you hit the weekly cap.

Key features

Attribute	Duck.ai	Z.ai
Standout features	No account needed Anonymised prompts Choice of models Voice chat and images Local chat history Built into the browser	Free chat Agent mode GLM Coding Plan Open models Vision coding

Pros and cons

Attribute	Duck.ai	Z.ai
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 chat with a top open model and a capable Agent mode Coding Plan plugs GLM into Claude Code, Codex and similar tools for less than top Claude plans Open models under an MIT licence for most versions GLM is strong at coding and long agent tasks
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	Slowdowns, rate limits and throttling at busy times, with a public apology from Zhipu in 2026 Prices and usage rules keep changing, including a 30% rise and a switch to credits Zhipu is on the US trade blacklist and its hosted service filters sensitive topics No international mobile app and a plainer chat experience than Qwen or Kimi Users report locked accounts, slow support and dashboard token counts far higher than their tools show

Who each one is for

Attribute	Duck.ai	Z.ai
Best for	Quick private questions Using AI without signing up A shared or work computer Voice chat and simple image making	Cheaper agentic coding in Claude Code or OpenCode Free chat with a top open model Quick slides and websites from Agent mode Developers who want open models
You'll find it used by	Privacy-minded professionals DuckDuckGo users Casual AI users Students	Developers Indie hackers Students Open-model fans

Questions people ask

Which is better, Duck.ai or Z.ai?

Duck.ai scores highest overall in our ratings (Duck.ai 4.0/5 and Z.ai 3.5/5). Duck.ai is best for quick private questions and Using AI without signing up. Z.ai is best for cheaper agentic coding in Claude Code or OpenCode and free chat with a top open model.

Which is cheaper, Duck.ai or Z.ai?

Duck.ai: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr. Z.ai: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $18/mo or $12.60/mo.

Which is easier to use, Duck.ai or Z.ai?

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.

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

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