Looking for a ChatGPT Plus alternative? The main options compared
The main alternatives to ChatGPT Plus ($20 a month) are Claude Pro ($20), Google AI Pro ($19.99) and Perplexity Pro ($20), with Midjourney Basic ($10) for pictures. Tinkerly is a different kind of option: GPT models in one account, paid per message instead of a monthly fee. Prices checked on 2 November 2026.
Updated · By The Tinkerly team
What are the alternatives to ChatGPT Plus?
Most alternatives are monthly subscriptions at about the same price, each built around one company’s models: Claude Pro for Anthropic, Google AI Pro for Google. Perplexity Pro includes models from several companies. Midjourney Basic is for pictures. Tinkerly charges per message rather than per month.
| Question | A month | Whose models | How you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | $20 | OpenAI | Flat monthly fee |
| Claude Pro | $20 | Anthropic | Flat monthly fee |
| Google AI Pro | $19.99 | Flat monthly fee | |
| Perplexity Pro | $20 | OpenAI, Anthropic and Google | Flat monthly fee |
| Midjourney Basic | $10 | None of OpenAI, Anthropic or Google | Flat monthly fee |
| Tinkerly | Free to start; buy credits when you need more | OpenAI (5 models) | Per message, from credits |
Prices are for one person, billed monthly, in US dollars. They were checked on 2 November 2026 on each company’s own pages: ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, Google AI Pro, Perplexity Pro, Midjourney Basic. Plans and models change, so each company’s site has the latest. Tinkerly’s side of the table is live: it shows what is on today.
Which alternative is best if you want one company’s models?
Pick the subscription of the company whose models you like most. Claude Pro ($20 a month) includes Anthropic’s models, and Google AI Pro ($19.99) includes Google’s. If you use one of them every day, its own subscription is usually the simplest choice and gives you that company’s own app.
We compare one of these in detail on Tinkerly vs Claude Pro, including the cases where Claude Pro is the better pick.
Which alternative gives you models from several companies?
Perplexity Pro includes models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google for $20 a month. Tinkerly has several models too, but bills each message instead of charging a monthly fee. Which fits better depends mostly on how much you use AI.
With a flat fee, heavy use costs the same as light use, which is good for people who use AI all day. With per-message pricing, a month you barely use costs very little: in Tinkerly prices run from 1 to 11 credits a message, depending on the model. Both are reasonable; they suit different habits.
Is there a ChatGPT Plus alternative for making pictures?
Midjourney Basic, at $10 a month, is a subscription made for pictures; it doesn’t include chat models from OpenAI, Anthropic or Google. Tinkerly makes pictures too, in the same account as its chat models, and each picture is paid from your credits.
In Tinkerly you can also ask for a picture in a chat and keep or discard it. Picture prices are listed with the other prices on the pricing page.
Is there a free alternative to ChatGPT Plus?
Tinkerly can be used for free: 15 free credits a day on the models marked Free and 25 one-time trial credits for any model. You need no card to sign up, and when the free credits run out, answers use credits you buy. The other companies list their own free options on their pricing pages.
When should you keep ChatGPT Plus?
Keep ChatGPT Plus if you use OpenAI’s models heavily every day, value one predictable bill, or rely on features that only exist in ChatGPT’s own app. An alternative is worth it when you want other companies’ models, use AI unevenly, or need something Plus doesn’t give you.
The detailed comparison is on Tinkerly vs ChatGPT Plus.
How do you choose an alternative?
Start from how you actually use ChatGPT Plus today: how often, which models, and what you make with it. Those three answers point to a subscription built around one company, one that bundles several, or paying per message. Then try your choice for a few weeks before you cancel anything.
Step 1: Count your use
Most days for hours, or a few times a week? Heavy daily use favors a flat fee; uneven use favors paying per message.
Step 2: Name the models you need
One company’s models point to its own subscription. Wanting several points to Perplexity Pro or Tinkerly.
Step 3: Think about what you make
If you want documents, slides, pictures, spreadsheets and diagrams rather than chat text, Tinkerly has a tool for each. For pictures only, Midjourney is made for that.
Step 4: Try before you cancel
Use the alternative alongside Plus for a few weeks, then compare what each would have cost you.
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