# Claude Alternatives 2027: 11 Paid, Free & Open-Source

Source: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/claude/
Prices checked: 2026-11-11 (Zekai Price Ledger)

The best Claude alternatives in 2027 are ChatGPT (best overall, $20/mo), Gemini (best free plan: Flash-Lite model, 15 GB storage) and LibreChat (best open source, MIT). Claude itself starts at $20/mo. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 11 Nov 2026; 8 more are compared below, including 4 with a free plan and 3 open source.

| Tool | Type | Starting price | Free plan limit | Licence | Best for | Price checked | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude (the tool being replaced) | — | $20/mo | Limited usage every 5 hours and every week | — | — | 2026-11-11 | [pricing](https://claude.com/pricing) |
| ChatGPT | Free plan + paid | $20/mo | Unlimited text chats with GPT-6, subject to abuse guardrails; limited uploads, images, voice | — | General chat with voice, images and Codex | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://chatgpt.com) [pricing](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6950777-what-is-chatgpt-plus) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/chatgpt/) |
| Gemini | Free plan + paid | $4.99/mo | Baseline usage with a Google Account; Flash-Lite model, 15 GB storage | — | Free use inside Google accounts | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://gemini.google.com) [pricing](https://gemini.google/subscriptions/) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/gemini/) |
| Mistral Le Chat | Free plan + paid | $14.99/mo | Limited messages and web searches; limited coding sessions; up to 5 scheduled tasks | — | Cheaper paid chat from a European lab | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://mistral.ai) [pricing](https://mistral.ai/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/mistral-ai/) |
| Perplexity | Free | Free plan; paid price not published | 3 Pro searches a day, 1 research query a month, basic searches practically unlimited | — | Cited answers from live web search | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://perplexity.ai) [pricing](https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/11187416-which-perplexity-subscription-plan-is-right-for-you) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/perplexity/) |
| Microsoft Copilot | Free | Free plan; paid price not published | Free baseline experience; usage limits apply | — | Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://copilot.microsoft.com/) [pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/for-individuals) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/microsoft-copilot/) |
| DeepSeek | Paid | Not checked | No free plan | — | Low-cost API access to DeepSeek models | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://deepseek.com) [pricing](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/deepseek/) |
| Poe | Free | Free plan; paid price not published |  | — | Many AI models in one app | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://poe.com) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/poe/) |
| LibreChat | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | Self-hosted multi-provider chat interface | 2026-11-11 | [code](https://github.com/danny-avila/LibreChat) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/librechat/) |
| Open WebUI | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | Open WebUI License (branding-preserving; see LICENSE_HISTORY) | Self-hosted chat UI for Ollama | 2026-11-11 | [code](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/open-webui/) |
| Ollama | Open source | $20/mo (hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | Running open models on your computer | 2026-11-11 | [pricing](https://ollama.com/pricing) [code](https://github.com/ollama/ollama) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/ollama/) |
| Jan | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | Apache-2.0 | Offline desktop chat app | 2026-11-11 | [code](https://github.com/janhq/jan) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/jan/) |

## How each alternative compares with Claude

- **ChatGPT** (Free plan + paid, $20/mo, checked 2026-11-11): ChatGPT Free allows unlimited text chats on GPT-6, with separate limits on uploads, image creation, voice and Codex; OpenAI's free FAQ says ads may appear in some countries. Switch if you want unlimited free text chats plus built-in image creation and voice conversations in one app. Stay with Claude if you prefer Claude's Projects, Claude Code and an ad-free free plan with rolling five-hour usage windows.
- **Gemini** (Free plan + paid, $4.99/mo, checked 2026-11-11): Gemini's paid ladder starts at Google AI Plus, $4.99 a month with 400 GB storage, and Google AI Pro at $19.99 includes 5 TB and a 1M-token context window. Switch if you want a sub-$5 paid tier and cloud storage bundled with Gmail, Drive and Photos. Stay with Claude if you want a stand-alone chat subscription whose plans scale by usage rather than Google storage.
- **Mistral Le Chat** (Free plan + paid, $14.99/mo, checked 2026-11-11): Mistral's Pro plan is $14.99 a month excluding taxes and includes $15 a month in API credits; verified students pay $5.99, and Team is $24.99 per user. Switch if you want a paid plan below $20 that bundles monthly API credits and a student rate. Stay with Claude if you want Claude's Projects and Claude Code included, and a yearly plan priced per month.
- **Perplexity** (Free, Free plan; paid price not published): Perplexity's Standard plan lists three Pro searches a day and one research query a month; Education Pro is $10 a month with SheerID verification, and Enterprise Pro starts at $40 per seat. Switch if you want sources attached to every answer and a $10 education plan with student verification. Stay with Claude if you mostly write, code or analyse documents and do not need a source list on each reply.
- **Microsoft Copilot** (Free, Free plan; paid price not published): Copilot's paid route is Microsoft 365 Premium, which adds Office apps, up to 6 TB of storage (1 TB per user) and Microsoft Defender to the assistant. Switch if your work sits in Word, Excel and PowerPoint and you want one subscription covering Office and the assistant. Stay with Claude if you want a chat subscription without Office apps, storage and security software in the bundle.
- **DeepSeek** (Paid, Not checked): DeepSeek bills API use per million tokens and halves rates off-peak (weekends and outside 01:00-04:00 and 06:00-10:00 UTC weekdays); its pricing page lists no chat subscription. Switch if you call a model through an API and want token billing with off-peak half-price hours. Stay with Claude if you want a ready-made app with a fixed monthly plan, memory, projects and file creation.
- **Poe** (Free, Free plan; paid price not published): Poe is a chat app for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and web that lists bots from several providers in one account; its about page states no subscription price. Switch if you want to try bots from several AI providers inside a single account and app. Stay with Claude if you want one lab's model with its own memory, Projects and desktop integrations.
- **LibreChat** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): LibreChat is an MIT-licensed web interface that connects to many providers at once, including Claude models through an Anthropic API key, billed at API rates instead of a subscription. Switch if you want one self-hosted interface with user accounts across several API providers, Claude included. Stay with Claude if you do not want to run a server, a database or manage API keys.
- **Open WebUI** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Open WebUI installs by pip, Docker or Kubernetes with no account, pairs with Ollama or OpenAI-compatible APIs, and its licence requires keeping the Open WebUI branding. Switch if you want a browser interface on your own server for local Ollama models. Stay with Claude if your team cannot maintain a server or accept a branding-restricted licence.
- **Ollama** (Open source, $20/mo (hosted), checked 2026-11-11): Ollama runs open models locally without limits and sells optional cloud access: Pro is $20 a month with $60 usage credits, Max $100 with $300. Switch if you want chats to stay on your own hardware with no usage windows or weekly limits. Stay with Claude if your computer lacks memory for large models and you want frontier quality by default.
- **Jan** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Jan is an Apache-2.0 desktop app described as an open-source alternative that runs 100% offline, with downloaded models and an optional local API server. Switch if you want an offline desktop chat app with no Docker or server setup. Stay with Claude if you want frontier-scale models and phone access without managing model downloads.

## Open-source options in detail

- **LibreChat** (https://github.com/danny-avila/LibreChat): Licence: MIT
- **Open WebUI** (https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui): Licence: Open WebUI License (branding-preserving; see LICENSE_HISTORY); Last release: 2026-11-08
- **Ollama** (https://github.com/ollama/ollama): Licence: MIT; Last release: 2026-11-03
- **Jan** (https://github.com/janhq/jan): Licence: Apache-2.0; Last release: 2026-10-20

## Questions

### What is the best alternative to Claude in 2027?
ChatGPT is the best overall Claude alternative on this page ($20/mo). For no cost, Gemini has a free plan (Baseline usage with a Google Account; Flash-Lite model, 15 GB storage). To self-host, LibreChat is open source (MIT).

### Is there a free version of Claude?
Yes. Claude has a free plan: Limited usage every 5 hours and every week. Paid plans start at $20/mo, checked on 11 Nov 2026.

### Is there a 100% free alternative to Claude?
Yes. LibreChat, Open WebUI, Ollama, Jan are open source and free to self-host. ChatGPT, Gemini, Mistral Le Chat, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Poe have a free plan with limits, shown in the table.

### What is cheaper than Claude?
Mistral Le Chat starts at $14.99/mo, against $20/mo for Claude, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 11 Nov 2026.

### How much do Claude alternatives cost for a team of 5?
If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 11 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is Gemini $24.95/mo, Mistral Le Chat $74.95/mo, ChatGPT $100/mo, against Claude $100/mo for Claude. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size.

### Which is better, ChatGPT or Claude?
ChatGPT Free allows unlimited text chats on GPT-6, with separate limits on uploads, image creation, voice and Codex; OpenAI's free FAQ says ads may appear in some countries. Choose ChatGPT if you want unlimited free text chats plus built-in image creation and voice conversations in one app. Stay with Claude if you prefer Claude's Projects, Claude Code and an ad-free free plan with rolling five-hour usage windows.

### Why are people leaving Claude?
The documented reasons are: Claude's paid plans have a five-hour session limit plus a weekly limit across all models; Anthropic's help article says it may adjust limits to manage capacity and does not guarantee uninterrupted service (11 Nov 2026); On the Pro plan, the Fable model is paid with usage credits; Max ($100 a month) includes it up to half of the weekly limit, so access depends on the tier (11 Nov 2026). Each is sourced in the section above.

### What is better than Claude?
It depends on the job. ChatGPT is the closest all-round paid rival, Gemini suits Google account users, and Perplexity fits cited web research.

## Related on Zekai

- [ChatGPT alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/chatgpt/)
- [Gemini alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/gemini/)
- [Perplexity alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/perplexity/)
- [Microsoft Copilot alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/microsoft-copilot/)
- [DeepSeek alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/deepseek/)
- [Poe alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/poe/)
- [Abacus.AI alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/abacus-ai/)
- [Genspark alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/genspark/)
- [Open WebUI alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/open-webui/)
- [AI for Education & E-learning](https://zekaiwork.com/professions/ai-education-elearning-teaching-tools/)

---
Live table, team cost finder and price alerts: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/claude/