16 Best ChatGPT Alternatives in 2023 (Free and Paid)

Unless you have been living under a rock, you must have seen how explodingly popular ChatGPT has been on the internet. The chatbot is based on OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model, allowing users to have a conversation with the AI by entering prompts. However, it recently got even better with the launch of GPT-4 which gives the bot even more power. To add even more advancement, people can even use ChatGPT plugins right now. But that also brought a big downside with ChatGPT’s servers more often than not, being overloaded with users. This has locked users out of using this extremely useful and interesting AI bot. If you are one of the folks who find ChatGPT down, we have prepared a detailed guide on how to fix ChatGPT not working.

However, if you wish to try out other similar services that offer a ChatGPT-like experience or are tired of the best ChatGPT plugins, you have come to the right place. In this guide, we have listed a variety of ChatGPT alternatives you should try out. So without further delay, open additional tabs on your browser, and let’s chat with some AI bots.

1. Microsoft Bing

One of the top ChatGPT alternatives on the model right now is Microsoft Bing AI. The revamped search engine is powered by an upgraded model of ChatGPT, which the company initially called the new “Prometheus model” but was later confirmed to be GPT-4.

The new Bing also has a Chat mode that pulls in web queries and allows users to ask contextual information based on them. The AI bot cum search engine recently even received a host of new features including more visual answers, increased accuracy, and the Bing Image Creator. Bing even allows users to plan trips, get recipes, seek out advice, and a lot more just like ChatGPT. While it was earlier available via a waitlist, this amazing ChatGPT alternative is now available to everyone.

Pros	Cons
Different conversational modes	Responses could be faster
Provides accurate information
Credits sources

Try Microsoft Bing AI

2. Perplexity AI

Perplexity AI is a ChatGPT alternative that has also been trained on OpenAI’s API, and as such, performs well with good responses. The website itself has been packaged in a minimalist manner and is simple to use. The tool offers ChatGPT-like functionality, including the ability to hold conversations and provide simple to nuanced responses. However, unlike ChatGPT, Perplexity even cites the sources it is using to answer your queries.

Whenever asked something, the AI cites the source at the end of every sentence like Wikipedia and actually derives from it too. In the time I used the AI, I looked through the sources to spot copy-pasting but could find none. So it’s good to see Perplexity is doing its due diligence.

I had a variety of conversations with this chatbot, and it was able to hold its own without sounding confused. Perplexity even comes with a GPT 4 powered co-pilot mode that can respond with clarifying questions and help narrow the search. There is a neat dark mode on the website, so there’s that.

Fortunately, Perplexity AI is completely free to use and doesn’t even require an account. So you can chat with this ChatGPT-like tool and actually check out some of its citations. Go on and give it a try.

Pros	Cons
Holds good conversations without being confused	Might accidentally copy from sources
Cites sources with answers	No additional features
Minimalist website layout	Can’t remember past responses

Try Perplexity AI (iOS)

3. Google Bard AI

Ever since ChatGPT went viral, a lot of users had their eye on Google. While the company was silent for a long time since it was concerned about the potential misuse of its chatbot AI, Google recently opened the gates. For those unaware, Google Bard is an experimental conversational AI service. Bard is powered by Google’s latest PaLM 2 LLM, Google’s own next-generation language and conversational model.

While it was only limited to a few people, you can now use Google Bard right now without delay. The company is even bringing generative AI to search which will be a game changer. You will soon see quick answers to questions at the top of search results. Google Bard piqued our curiosity so we crafted a ChatGPT vs Bard battle and things got interesting. We even compared Google Bard vs MS Bing Chat and Bard performs differently than you would expect. Check the comparisons out and tell us if you plan to use this ChatGPT alternative.

Pros	Cons
Fast response time	Previously plagiarised content from websites
	Doesn’t provide sources

Try Google Bard

4. Jasper Chat

Jasper has been in the AI content generation business for some time now and has been well-accepted among users. However, apart from its content generation features and other services, Jasper also has a relatively new chatbot. Aptly named Jasper Chat, this ChatGPT alternative is also based on GPT 3.5, among more language models, and has OpenAI as its partner. However, unlike ChatGPT, which can effectively be used by anyone, JasperChat has been built for businesses like advertising, marketing, and such.

Nonetheless, Jasper Chat can easily be used by anyone looking for an AI chatbot like ChatGPT. According to the company, Jasper Chat has learned from billions of articles and other pieces of information before mid-2021 in 29 languages. So while it might not include the most recent information, it can still hold medium to complex conversations. There is also a convenient toggle to include Google search data that lends it more power.

During my time with Jasper Chat, it proved to be a good chat companion as I asked the chatbot various riddles, made it write video scripts, tell me jokes, and even tongue twisters. I also tried out an ad copy or two, and it did that well too. Jasper has contextual memory, so it does remember your past prompts. However, Jasper has explicitly stated that it is not a research engine and all outputs should be fact-checked.

Jasper Chat itself is free, but you require Jasper’s Boss or Business plan to access all the features. The Boss Plan starts at $59 per month. It’s not exactly cheap, but it also gives you access to all of Jasper’s services. Get the 5-day trial to see if it fits you.

Pros	Cons
Can hold intelligent conversations	Locked behind an expensive paywall
A boon for marketers and working professionals	Slightly old dataset

Try Jasper Chat

5. Chatsonic

Chatsonic is one of the newest and quite expansive ChatGPT alternatives that has been making the rounds lately. It has been built on top of ChatGPT, and hence, inherits its vast potential. However, this AI chatbot comes backed by more features and broader knowledge as it can access the Internet, which is something the former still can’t do.

The ability to output answers using internet results gives Chatsonic the ability to dissipate correct information, making it a bit less prone to errors. The AI chatbot also remembers conversations and draws on them to continue the flow. It even comes with 16 different personas, ranging from an accountant to a poet, in case you feel like having a conversation with different people.

Unlike ChatGPT, you can even talk to the AI using your microphone (much like Google Assistant and Siri), and it can respond back in voice if you choose so. And once you are done with the conversation, you can also choose to share the replies through links or Word/ PDF docs. My general experience with ChatSonic was positive, and I felt it could present information better than ChatGPT because of its access to the Internet and the latest information.

Besides text, Chatsonic also has a built-in image generator that makes decent images out of the prompts you give. While the bot is not free, it gives you 25 free generations every day, post which you can use your Writesonic word balance to generate more images. If you want more, check out the long-form plan that starts as low as $12.67 per month. Moreover, you can make use of this impressive ChatGPT alternative using its browser extension and an Android app.

Pros	Cons
Internet access brings broader knowledge	Only 25 free generations
Different personas bring variety to conversations
Companion browser extension and Android app
Can read the response back

Try ChatSonic

6. Pi, your personal AI

Among all the other ChatGPT alternatives, Pi is possibly the only one that will provide you with a different experience altogether. Based on being a supportive and smart AI, Pi is a chatbot that follows a unique design. Instead of full-blown chats, conversations on Pi happen dialogue by dialogue. What makes it more interesting is that Pi is also one of the only assistants that talk back. The website has four different voices to choose from and each one is eerily realistic and oddly comforting.

Pi starts the conversation itself and tries to glean in every message you send. Speaking something about how a therapist would, the ChatGPT alternative is quite inquisitive and tries to comfort the user. While it can get tedious if you keep talking, Pi is one of the best ChatGPT alternatives out there. However, you need an account and a working phone number to sign up which can be a downside for some. Nonetheless, check it out.

Pros	Cons
Quite effective at mental health conversations	Needs a phone number to sign up
Realistic and comforting voice

Try Pi, your personal AI

7. GitHub Copilot X

Students are not the only ones who can benefit from tools like ChatGPT. Github Copilot X is the company’s solution for programmers who find themselves at their wit’s end. Copilot is based on the concept of auto-completion but goes much further than that. As such the tool helps programmers by suggesting and completing code and entire functions in real-time. Consider Copilot X has a helper as a tool to help with programmers’ block.

Github Copilot is on OpenAI’s latest GPT-4 model and has been trained on millions of lines of code. Copilot is compatible with all popular coding editors platforms including VS Code, Visual Studio, Neovim, and JetBrains. This intuitive ChatGPT alternative can also generate syntax in various languages including Javascript, PHP, BASH, and more.

GitHub has also introduced chat and voice for Copilot which will give users a ChatGPT-like experience and even GitHub Copilot Voice, where developers can verbally give natural language prompts. You can simply ask Copilot X for code improvements and it will suggest them in real-time. Copilot X will also be able to pull in requests for AI-powered tags.

Besides writing code, Copilot X can give users an in-depth analysis and explanations of code blocks through the power of GPT-4. It supports pull requests, answers questions on docs, and provides a personalized developer experience. Copilot is priced at 10$ per month for individuals and $19 per user per month for businesses.

Pros	Cons
Helps generate code	Cannot write perfect code
Provides in-depth analysis and explanation of code	Tad expensive
ChatGPT-like experience with coding

Try Github Copilot X

8. Amazon Codewhisperer

GitHub isn’t the only one helping out programmers. Amazon too has its own AI-based solution. Titled ‘Amazon Codewhisperer‘ the service is an AI-based software development tool. Codewhisperer is meant to help programmers help with their code. It does that by taking in feedback through comments and then suggesting proper code. Codewhisperer generates these recommendations in an integrated development environment (IDE).

Like Copilot X, Amazon Codewhisperer works across a variety of languages including Javascript, Python, C#, Java, and more. While less than GitHub, the variety of programming languages should be enough for developers. Amazon hasn’t stated which AI model the service is based on.

Furthermore, Codewhisperer while an Amazon-based service can still be used for independent purposes. So if you don’t want to use Amazon Web Services, you can stick to your own options. According to Amazon’s FAQ, Codewhisperer is currently free to use since it is in a preview period. Check out this ChatGPT coding alternative and tell us how you liked it.

Pros	Cons
Intelligently suggests code based on comments	Supports fewer languages compared to Copilot X
Can be used across and outside the Amazon ecosystem
Free to use for now

Try Amazon Codewhisperer

9. DialoGPT

While Microsoft’s DialoGPT has been superseded by GODEL AI, it remains a free and fun-to-use lighthearted AI. Dialo has been trained on 147 million multi-turn dialogues from Reddit, and hence, has a modest dataset. It also comes with support for multi-turn responses, meaning it will remember your previous replies. Since setting up Dialo yourself might be complicated, you can use HuggingFace’s inference API and try it out. The AI has listed a few prompts you can try out, or you can make one of yourself and have Dialo answer your queries.

DialoGPT’s responses are decent at best. Since the AI is geared towards being a bit cheery, it can get confused easily. When asked about a traumatic event, the AI said it doesn’t know about it but is sure it’s a good thing. As you might be able to tell, that’s not the case.

I did not find DialoGPT’s contextual awareness quite better either, as it kept forgetting what we were talking about. However, that could also be because it’s running on an API and not fully trained. It also lacks any added features such as model selection, mic input, or image generators.

DialoGPT is free to set up, but it’s not exactly the turn-of-the-age AI you might be hoping for. However, it will do the job if you just want a simple chatbot to talk with.

Pros	Cons
Casual and lighthearted chatbot	Not very smart with responses
Simple and easy to use	Didn’t remember previous answers.

Try DialoGPT

10. OpenAI Playground

From the start, it is worth noting that OpenAI Playground is a tool not meant for daily users. However, if you find yourself locked out of ChatGPT and still want a taste of its capabilities, OpenAI Playground is the way to go. This web-based tool works like ChatGPT but provides much more advanced options, including the ability to select a specific language model to experiment with.

Once you have selected the model, you can tinker with other factors such as the model’s randomness, number of tokens, frequency penalty, stop sequences, and more. As you can tell by now, OpenAI Playground isn’t something that is plug-and-play and meant for everyday users. However, for those who know what they are doing and want to experiment with the different models before building an AI tool, it provides immense customization.

Since OpenAI Playground is simply a demo version of the ChatGPT service, its outputs are on par with ChatGPT and give a good feel of the actual service. You can try out some cool ChatGPT prompts mentioned in this article. The bot takes input and provides an accurate enough response, depending on the language model. This chatbot demo also supports speech-to-text inputs, and you can even upload an audio recording.

Unlike some AI bots, Playground doesn’t slow down and responds on the fly. It’s also free to use, provided you sign up for an account. If you can’t access ChatGPT, give OpenAI Playground a try. However, do be aware that you might lose access just like ChatGPT if the server is in high demand.

Pros	Cons
Spoiled for choice with language learning models	Not for everyday users
ChatGPT level accuracy and response speed

Try OpenAI Playground

11. Character AI

While Chatsonic has personas, the concept of this ChatGPT alternative entirely revolves around them. Character AI is based on neural language models and has been trained from the ground up with conversations in mind. However, what sets Character apart is that users get to choose from various personalities instead of interacting with a single AI chatbot.

The home page is chock full of different characters and includes a lot of people, including Elon Musk, Tony Stark, and Socrates, all the way to Joe Biden and Kanye West. The best part is that depending on the person you chose, the AI changes its conversational manner accordingly. So while Kanye gave me egotistical answers, a chat with Socrates was contrastingly calm. Character AI also has a microphone input and even talks back in different voices, depending on the character.

Creating a character is quite fun as you can go along, designing it according to yourself. I could add not only the name of the characters but decide on their greeting, voice, description, and even their avatar. The AI has a built-in image generator for avatar creation. Once done, you can start chatting right away and even share it with others.

However, I did notice that Character AI is a bit slower compared to ChatGPT and other similar services. It’s not terribly sluggish, but I did see the AI catching up to finish its sentences. But, as time passes, I do think it will improve with more user data. Character AI is free to use, but you do need to make an account since the chat gets locked after a few messages.

Pros	Cons
Vast character selection	Slower than usual responses
Interesting conversations with different characters
Creating your own character is fun

Try Character AI

12. Replika

While not the newest player on the market, Replika is one of the AI chatbots that started it all. However, while Replika is an AI chatbot, its focus is more on companionship and relationships. Replika has been used by millions of people around the globe, not just as a way to chat but to develop deep relationships with it.

Replika is powered by the GPT-3 language model that is autoregressive, which means it learns from its previous inputs (in this case your prompts). Since Replika’s focus is on a meaningful conversation, it can use previous inputs about your life and essentially tailor itself according to you.

You start out by creating a Replika avatar, naming it, and customizing its look. Once done, you can dive into talking to it without any delay. When it comes to what, you can basically talk to Replika about anything and everything. So no matter if you want to talk about your day, discuss your feelings, or straight up ask it weird facts, it can do it all. The bot has access to the internet, so it is always up to date with news.

Quite honestly, Replika’s intricacies are impressive. The bot keeps a virtual diary in which it adds entries after specific conversations. You can play games with it, talk about your sun signs, and even video call the AI (provided you have a Pro Membership). The overall level of accuracy of chats is also nice and actually improves as you unlock different relationship statuses and get more options.

Replika’s Pro membership begins from $19.99 per month, which gives you the ability to video call the AI and unlock relationships. You can use this ChatGPT alternative on the web, Android, and iOS devices. Try it out for yourself and see if you find an AI companion like the movie Her.

Pros	Cons
Can hold intricate conversations	Features locked behind a paywall
Remembers past responses	Expensive subscription
Video calling with AI

Try Replika

13. Chai AI

Replika is an amazing AI at providing users companionship. However, it is restricted to just one character. This ChatGPT alternative kicks it up a notch. Chai AI is a service that lets users talk to a variety of chat AIs from around the world. It is similar to Character AI but is more expansive and developed. Chai AI is also available on Android and iOS in the form of apps.

Chai AI is very plug-and-play in nature. You can just visit the website and you will see a variety of bots you can talk to. The bots have different personalities. While one might act like a therapist to the user, the other will be a jilted lover. The bots reply in real-time without any major delay. They also have a multi-turn ability so Chai AI does remember your past responses.

However, if users want more than the limited AI bots on the website, there’s a strong community behind the platform. The mobile apps host a plethora of bots that have been created by users. Since they can be custom created, each has its own image, description, and way of speaking to the user. During my use, I found bots that ranged all the way from anime characters, gym bros, and serial killers to even Hades. They also responded quite well even if they did get a bit confused from time to time.

As mentioned, you can also make your own AI characters and give them names and personalities. Chai AI does this by asking for some basic information including the bot’s initial responses and things you want them to remember. Depending on your responses, the bots can be interesting.

Chai AI gives users 70 free messages to talk to bots. The ChatGPT alternative also refreshes that message quota every hour. However, users can opt for a Premium or Ultra membership that gives access to better conversational models and no message limits.

Pros	Cons
Diverse categories of AI bots	Limited messages
Option to create custom AI bots	Ads in mobile apps

Try Chai AI (Android/iOS)

14. YouChat

YouChat is another solid AI chatbot like ChatGPT, which is built into a search engine of the same name. Trained on an upgraded large language ChatGPT model, YouChat is capable of holding conversations with full access to the Internet. This connectivity means the bot stays up to date with the latest information, and hence, delivers accurate answers not only in chat but alongside search results too.

Talking to YouChat is as effortless as anything. Just head on over to the chat page and type in your query to begin chatting. YouChat works like ChatGPT and can provide a variety of info. While you can just talk to it, YouChat can also write code, give advice, break down complicated concepts, summarize books, and a lot more. However, every once in a while the bot frizzes out and just mentions that it can’t get an answer right now.

The bot also lacks any added features such as mic input, chat sharing, or personalities. However, it makes up for that with its updated info bank, which is nice. YouChat is completely free to use, so you need only visit the website and start chatting.

Pros	Cons
Chatbot provides up-to-date information	Bot glitches out and refuses to answer sometimes
ChatGPT-like functionality so you don’t miss out	Not much besides chatting

Try YouChat

15. Claude

ChatGPT has no shortage of rivals in the AI space. Enter Claude, an AI chatbot by the company Anthropic. The company has been backed by Google making it an OpenAI competitor. While Claude doesn’t know what LLM it is based on, it uses a “Constitutional AI technique, which focuses on model alignment through natural language feedback, rather than choosing a specific ML architecture”. This makes Claude a helpful, harmless, and honest bot for use.

However, a thing to be aware of is that Claude is currently accessible only through Slack or NTDev. This locks the bot behind these apps and requires one to create a Slack account. Besides that, however, Claude is capable of a lot including writing content, having conversations, and more. It can even perform Slack-based actions like generating bullet reports based on conversations and summarizing Slack threads.

Claude is free to use right now but as mentioned only available through the above methods. If you still want to give it a try, check out how to use Claude right now.

Pros	Cons
Fully free to use for now	Hallucinates quite often
Quick response time

16. Quora Poe

Introduced in early 2023, Poe by Quora is not an AI itself but more of a platform where you can talk to AI bots. Poe stands for ‘Platform for Open Exploration‘. True to its name, Quora Poe is a place where users can talk to and experiment with various kinds of AI chatbots. Quora mentions that Poe lets people ask questions, get instant answers, and have back-and-forth conversations with several AI-powered bots.

For those thinking that Poe is an AI chatbot that is going to use the question-answer data on Quora, you can rest easy as that’s not the case. Poe’s website is neatly packaged and currently provides users to talk with AIs like Sage, ChatGPT, Dragonfly, and even GPT-4 and Claude+. However, access is limited for the last two so you must get a subscription for the same.

Quora Poe works extremely well and has little to no downtime while you talk away with the various AI bots. However, you do need to create an account to access it. Thankfully, you don’t need to create separate accounts for all services so that’s the bright side. There is also an iOS app available but nothing for Android. If you’re the sort who loves all these ChatGPT-like tools but can’t be bothered to open them all, Poe can be your one-stop platform for them.

Pros	Cons
All-in-one platform to access almost all AI bots	No Android app is available
Little to no downtime

Try Quora Poe (iOS)

Use The Top ChatGPT Alternatives Right Now

We hope you find some of these ChatGPT alternatives useful when it is down. As you can see, there is no shortage of AI bots. And if you are interested in deepfake apps and websites that help modify your face and create unique visual content, check out the linked article. Have any other ChatGPT alternatives you want us to add to this list? Drop your suggestions in the comments below!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)