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Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs

Le Chat vs Perplexity vs Venice

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

Le Chat

4.1

From $14.99/mo

Best overall

Perplexity

4.2

From $17/mo

Venice

3.4

From $18/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best value

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

Best overallEasiest to use

Pick it if: Anyone who researches as part of their job and is sick of having ten tabs open.

Pick it if: People who want a capable AI that doesn't keep their chats or refuse sensitive and creative requests.

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

Overview

AttributeLe ChatPerplexityVenice
In one lineMistral's fast European assistant, with a usable free plan and a cheaper Pro plan.Ask a question and get a short answer from the web, with links to every source.A private, uncensored AI app for chat, images and video, with chats kept on your device.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$14.99/mo$17/mo$18/mo
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code No Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeLe ChatPerplexityVenice
Overall rating4.14.2Winner3.4
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
4.5
3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
3.5
3.5
4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
3.5
4.5
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
4.0
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
5.0
4.5
3.0

Feature comparison

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

AttributeLe ChatPerplexityVenice
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes Yes
Desktop app Yes Yes No
Browser extension No Yes No
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes No
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes No
Connects to other apps Yes Yes No
Open source or self-hosted Yes No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes Yes
Understands images Yes Yes Yes
Makes images Yes 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 Yes
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score15/ 1715/ 1711/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeLe ChatPerplexityVenice
Plans

Free

Free

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

Free

Free

Everyday questions and quick fact-checks.

Free

Free

Trying the privacy and tone before paying.

ProOur pick

$14.99/mo

Anyone who wants a capable daily assistant for less.

ProOur pick

$17/mo billed yearly

Anyone who researches as part of their job.

ProOur pick

$18/mo, or about $15/mo billed yearly

Daily private chat and image making.

Team

$24.99/user/mo

Small teams that want shared billing and higher limits.

Max

$167/mo billed yearly

Power users running the Computer agent all day.

Pro Plus

$68/mo

Regular video makers and API users.

Enterprise

Custom

Organisations with compliance and custom needs.

Enterprise Pro

$34/seat/mo billed yearly

Teams that need admin controls and data protection.

Max

$200/mo

Heavy video generation and frontier model use.

Enterprise Max

$271/seat/mo billed yearly

Research teams working with large datasets and files.

Which plan to pickThe 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.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.Use Free for a day to see if it suits you. Pro is the sensible plan for private chat and images. Only go higher if you make a lot of video, and check that auto top-up is switched off in billing before you do.

Key features

AttributeLe ChatPerplexityVenice
Standout features
  • Fast answers
  • Work mode
  • Code mode
  • Documents and images
  • Memory
  • EU hosting and open models
  • Cited answers
  • Deep research
  • Comet browser
  • Computer
  • Spaces
  • Choice of models
  • Chats stay on your device
  • Privacy modes
  • Fewer refusals
  • Images and video
  • Studio editor
  • Agentic chat and API

Pros and cons

AttributeLe ChatPerplexityVenice
Pros
  • 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
  • Sources on every answer make it the easiest assistant to fact-check
  • Short, direct answers instead of padded essays
  • Free plan is useful on its own and Comet is free
  • Lets you pick from the best models from several companies
  • Fast, and the mobile app is good
  • Chat history stays in your browser, not on Venice's servers
  • Answers creative and sensitive questions other assistants refuse
  • Text, images, video and a video editor in one app
  • Wide choice of open and frontier models, plus an API
Cons
  • 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
  • Weak for long writing, planning or creative work
  • Computer credits are confusing: Pro's bonus credits expire after about 30 days, and Comet's browser actions and Automations spend them
  • Sources are sometimes low quality, so you still need to read them
  • Max is expensive for what most businesses need
  • Privacy protections differ by mode and model, which is easy to misunderstand
  • Credits run out fast on video, and failed generations can still cost credits
  • Reports of surprise auto top-up charges and slow support on billing problems (Trustpilot 1.9 from 63 reviews)
  • Video models now block some content with face-detection errors, despite the uncensored pitch
  • Clearing your browser loses your chats, and generations are wiped when a plan lapses

Who each one is for

AttributeLe ChatPerplexityVenice
Best for
  • Fast everyday questions
  • Privacy-conscious organisations
  • A cheaper paid plan
  • Reading and summarising documents
  • Fact-checking and quick research
  • Competitor and market research
  • Comparing products before you buy
  • Getting up to speed on a new topic
  • Private conversations you don't want stored
  • Fiction and creative work other assistants refuse
  • Trying open models without setting anything up
  • Image and video experiments in one app
You'll find it used by
  • Privacy-conscious teams
  • European businesses
  • Solo founders
  • Developers
  • Researchers
  • Marketers
  • Consultants
  • Founders
  • Privacy-minded professionals
  • Fiction writers
  • Crypto and Web3 users
  • AI hobbyists

Questions people ask

Which is better, Le Chat, Perplexity or Venice?

Perplexity scores highest overall in our ratings (Le Chat 4.1/5, Perplexity 4.2/5 and Venice 3.4/5). Le Chat is best for fast everyday questions and privacy-conscious organisations. Perplexity is best for fact-checking and quick research and competitor and market research. Venice is best for private conversations you don't want stored and fiction and creative work other assistants refuse.

Which is cheaper, Le Chat, Perplexity or Venice?

Le Chat: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $14.99/mo. Perplexity: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $17/mo. Venice: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $18/mo.

Which is easier to use, Le Chat, Perplexity or Venice?

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.

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