Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs
LMArena vs Perplexity 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 choosing between AI tools, and people who want to know which model is leading right now.
Pick it if: Anyone who researches as part of their job and is sick of having ten tabs open.
Pick it if: Anyone after a capable free assistant with image, video, slides and website tools, and developers who want open models.
Perplexity scores highest overall, but LMArena gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | LMArena | Perplexity | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Free site where you compare AI models side by side and see which ones people rate best. | Ask a question and get a short answer from the web, with links to every source. | Alibaba's generous free assistant for research, slides, websites, images and video. |
| Pricing model | Free | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | Free | $17/mo | $4/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | LMArena | Perplexity | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.8 | 4.2Winner | 4.0 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 3.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | LMArena | Perplexity | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | Yes | No |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | No |
| API access | No | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | No | Yes | No |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | No | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | No | 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 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | No | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 7/ 17 | 15/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | LMArena | Perplexity | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | FreeOur pick Free Everyone. | Free Free Everyday questions and quick fact-checks. | FreeOur pick Free Most people. The free limits are generous for chat and research. |
ProOur pick $17/mo billed yearly Anyone who researches as part of their job. | Go $4/mo Regular users who want higher chat limits. | ||
Max $167/mo billed yearly Power users running the Computer agent all day. | Plus $19/mo Creators making images and video most days. | ||
Enterprise Pro $34/seat/mo billed yearly Teams that need admin controls and data protection. | Pro $99/mo Heavy video and image users who need priority. | ||
Enterprise Max $271/seat/mo billed yearly Research teams working with large datasets and files. | |||
| Which plan to pick | There's nothing to buy. Use it free, and pay for whichever assistant comes out best for your work. | Start free and see how often you hit the Pro search limit. If you research most days, Pro pays for itself in saved tabs. Its 4,000 bonus Computer credits are a one-off and run out after about 30 days, so don't count them as a monthly allowance. Max only makes sense if you're using the Computer agent heavily enough to burn through the credits. | 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 | LMArena | Perplexity | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | LMArena | Perplexity | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | LMArena | Perplexity | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
|
Questions people ask
Which is better, LMArena, Perplexity or Qwen Chat?
Perplexity scores highest overall in our ratings (LMArena 3.8/5, Perplexity 4.2/5 and Qwen Chat 4.0/5). LMArena is best for choosing between AI models with your own prompts and checking which model leads after a launch. Perplexity is best for fact-checking and quick research and competitor and market research. 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, LMArena, Perplexity or Qwen Chat?
LMArena: It's free to use. Perplexity: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $17/mo. Qwen Chat: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $4/mo.
Which is easier to use, LMArena, Perplexity or Qwen Chat?
Perplexity rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who researches as part of their job and is sick of having ten tabs open.
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 AI Assistants & LLMs in the library.
