Best AI assistants and chatbots 2026: independent ranking
We rank AI assistants by verifiable facts only: whether your chats train the model, context window, features, price of the cheapest plan, App Store reputation and transparency. Every fact links to the official page it comes from and carries the date we checked it. Paid placement never changes the Score.
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- You can stop chats from training the model
- Yes
- Context window, tokens
- 128,000
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest paid plan, per month
- $4.99
Pros
- You can keep your chats out of model training
- Low price of the paid plan
- Highly rated by App Store users
- Very large context window
Cons
- Chats are used for training unless you opt out
Details Visit site ↗ 96% backed by facts
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- You can stop chats from training the model
- Yes
- Context window, tokens
- 256,000
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest paid plan, per month
- $14.99
Pros
- You can keep your chats out of model training
- Very large context window
- Free plan available
- Publishes model cards for its models
Cons
- Chats are used for training unless you opt out
Details Visit site ↗ 96% backed by facts
-
- You can stop chats from training the model
- Yes
- Context window, tokens
- Not verified
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest paid plan, per month
- $8.00
Pros
- You can keep your chats out of model training
- Highly rated by App Store users
- Free plan available
- Publishes model cards for its models
Details Visit site ↗ 79% backed by facts
-
- You can stop chats from training the model
- Yes
- Context window, tokens
- 1,000,000
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest paid plan, per month
- $20.00
Pros
- You can keep your chats out of model training
- Highly rated by App Store users
- Very large context window
- Free plan available
Cons
- Chats are used for training unless you opt out
- No image generation
Details Visit site ↗ 93% backed by facts
-
- You can stop chats from training the model
- Yes
- Context window, tokens
- Not verified
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest paid plan, per month
- $9.99
Pros
- You can keep your chats out of model training
- Highly rated by App Store users
- Free plan available
- Publishes model cards for its models
Cons
- Chats are used for training unless you opt out
Details Visit site ↗ 83% backed by facts
-
- You can stop chats from training the model
- Yes
- Context window, tokens
- Not verified
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest paid plan, per month
- $20.00
Pros
- You can keep your chats out of model training
- Highly rated by App Store users
- Free plan available
- Independently certified security (SOC 2 / ISO 27001)
Cons
- Chats are used for training unless you opt out
Details Visit site ↗ 86% backed by facts
-
- You can stop chats from training the model
- Yes
- Context window, tokens
- 1,000,000
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest paid plan, per month
- $0.00
Pros
- You can keep your chats out of model training
- Low price of the paid plan
- Very large context window
- Free plan available
Cons
- Chats are used for training unless you opt out
Details Visit site ↗ 80% backed by facts
-
- You can stop chats from training the model
- Yes
- Context window, tokens
- Not verified
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest paid plan, per month
- Not verified
Pros
- You can keep your chats out of model training
- Free plan available
- Publishes model cards for its models
- Has released open-weight models
Cons
- Chats are used for training unless you opt out
Details Visit site ↗ 71% backed by facts
-
- You can stop chats from training the model
- Not verified
- Context window, tokens
- Not verified
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest paid plan, per month
- $7.99
Pros
- Highly rated by App Store users
- Free plan available
- Publishes model cards for its models
- Has released open-weight models
Cons
- Chats are used for training unless you opt out
Details Visit site ↗ 70% backed by facts
Not ranked yet: not enough verified data
These services are known to us, but we haven't verified enough facts to rank them fairly.
- ChatGPT (63% backed by facts)
- Poe (35% backed by facts)
- Qwen Chat (58% backed by facts)
Frequently asked questions
Which AI assistant is the best right now?
The one at the top of the ranking above has the highest Score by our public methodology. The best choice for you depends on what matters most: check the factor bars — privacy, capabilities, price — and pick the leader in that factor.
Do AI assistants use my chats to train their models?
It depends on the service. Some never train on consumer chats, some train by default but let you opt out, and some do not offer an opt-out. See the “Privacy” facts of each service — every one links to the official policy page.
Is there a good free AI assistant?
Most services in this ranking have a free plan with limits. The “Free plan” fact shows which ones; paid plans usually unlock newer models, larger limits and longer context.
How do you rank AI assistants?
By facts from official pages, each with a link and a check date, combined by a fixed public formula. We do not test answer quality by hand, so the ranking is reproducible and cannot be bought.