The 6 best Claude alternatives to try in 2025

Claude has certainly made a name for itself as a solid AI assistant. It's great at chewing through huge documents, has a natural conversational style, and is built with a focus on safety. For a lot of tasks, it’s a fantastic choice. But it’s definitely not the only option out there.

Maybe you're in a region where it’s not available, or you need specific features that Claude just doesn't have. Or maybe you need an AI that does more than just chat, you need one that can actually perform tasks for your business.

So, I spent weeks digging through the crowded world of AI tools to find the Claude alternatives that are actually worth your time. This list breaks down my top six picks, covering their strengths, weaknesses, and who they’re really built for. The goal is to help you find the right AI for what you need to get done.

What exactly are Claude alternatives?

It's a simple idea: Claude alternatives are just other AI platforms or models that can do similar things, like write content, help with code, analyze data, or hold a conversation.

Some are direct competitors offering a similar all-purpose chat experience. Others are completely different tools designed to solve very specific problems. Think of it like this: a general model like Claude is a Swiss Army knife, versatile, but not always the best tool for a specific job. Sometimes you need a power drill. Specialized alternatives are built for one thing, like automating customer support or streamlining deep research, and they do it exceptionally well.

How I picked the best Claude alternatives

To find the best options, I didn't just look for Claude clones. I had a mental checklist for each tool I tested:

First, how does it handle the basics? I looked at its core ability to write, reason, and summarize information compared to Claude. Then, I looked for what makes it unique. Does it have special features like deep software integrations, advanced research tools, or the ability to automate workflows?

Of course, it also had to be easy to use. You shouldn't need a technical background to get value out of it. And finally, I considered the price. Is it fair, are the plans clear, and does the tool provide enough value to justify the cost?

The best Claude alternatives in 2025: At a glance

For a quick overview, here’s how my top picks stack up.

Tool	Best For	Key Strength	Starting Price
eesel AI	Customer support automation	Integrates with helpdesks & automates workflows	$239/mo
ChatGPT	All-around general use	Industry-leading performance & features	Free
Google Gemini	Google Workspace users	Massive context window & ecosystem integration	Free
Perplexity AI	In-depth research	Conversational search with citations	Free
Microsoft Copilot	Windows & M365 users	Deep integration with Microsoft products	Free
Poe by Quora	Exploring different AIs	Access to multiple models in one app	Free

The 6 best Claude alternatives, reviewed

Alright, let's get into the details of what makes each of these tools a worthy alternative to Claude.

1. eesel AI

While Claude is a great general-purpose tool, most businesses need an AI that does more than just provide information. For teams that want to put AI to work, eesel AI is the answer. It’s designed to plug directly into your helpdesk (like Zendesk or Freshdesk), learn from your company's knowledge in places like Confluence and past tickets, and then handle customer support questions on its own.

The key difference is that unlike Claude, which can only give answers, eesel AI's AI Agent can actually do things. It can sort tickets, look up order details from your Shopify store, and know when to loop in a human agent. It’s less of an assistant and more of an automated team member.

One of the best things about it is how fast you can get it up and running. You can connect your knowledge sources and have it working in minutes, all without needing to talk to a salesperson. It even has a simulation mode that shows you how it would have handled your past tickets, so you can see exactly how it will perform before it ever interacts with a live customer.

Pros:

• Go live in minutes with one-click helpdesk integrations.

• Learns from your company's unique knowledge, including past tickets.

• Fully customizable workflows and AI actions (tagging, routing, API calls).

• Powerful simulation mode to test performance before launch.

Cons:

• Not designed for creative writing or general personal use.

• It's a business tool, so it costs more than consumer AI chatbots.

Pricing:

eesel AI's pricing is straightforward and based on usage, not how many tickets it resolves, so your bill won't be a surprise.

• Team Plan: Starts at $239/month (billed annually) for up to 1,000 AI interactions, 3 bots, and integrations with tools like Slack.

• Business Plan: Starts at $639/month (billed annually) and adds the ability to train on past tickets, use AI Actions for ticket sorting, integrate with Microsoft Teams, and run bulk simulations.

• Custom Plan: For enterprise needs with advanced integrations and unlimited interactions.

2. ChatGPT

OpenAI's ChatGPT is Claude’s biggest and most direct competitor, it’s the one that kicked off the whole AI chatbot craze. It's a ridiculously capable tool that's good at just about anything you can throw at it, from drafting an email to debugging a piece of code.

Its main edge is its massive and mature ecosystem. There's a huge library of custom GPTs built by the community for specific tasks, advanced data analysis features, and impressive image generation tools. It just often feels like it's one step ahead in terms of features. If you need an AI that can do a little bit of everything, ChatGPT is tough to top.

Pros:

• Excellent performance across a huge variety of tasks.

• Massive feature set, including voice chats and image generation.

• Access to a whole store of custom GPTs for specialized functions.

Cons:

• The free version uses an older model and can be slow when lots of people are using it.

• The writing style can sometimes be a bit generic or long-winded.

Pricing:

ChatGPT has a few different plans.

• Free: Access to GPT-4o with some usage limits.

• Plus: $20/month for more access to GPT-4o, higher limits, and advanced features like data analysis.

• Business: Starts at $25/user/month (billed annually) for a secure workspace, admin controls, and connectors to internal apps like Google Drive and SharePoint.

• Enterprise: Custom pricing for large companies needing advanced security and support.

3. Google Gemini

Backed by all of Google's tech, Gemini is a serious competitor, especially if your entire work life is in Google Workspace.

Gemini's most talked-about feature is its huge context window (up to 2 million tokens), which means it can process and analyze incredibly long documents or entire codebases in one go. It also connects smoothly with apps like Google Docs, Sheets, and Gmail, so you can ask it to pull information or do tasks across your different apps without ever leaving the page you're on.

Pros:

• Incredibly large context window for analyzing long-form content.

• Deeply integrated with Google products.

• Strong at handling text, images, audio, and even video.

Cons:

• The user interface isn't quite as slick as some of the others.

• Some of its newer features can still feel a bit like they're in a testing phase.

Pricing:

Gemini's pricing is connected to Google One subscriptions.

• Free: The standard Gemini model is free to use.

• Google AI Pro Plan: For $19.99/month, you get access to the more powerful Gemini Advanced models, Gemini features inside Workspace apps (Gmail, Docs), and 2 TB of Google One storage.

4. Perplexity AI

Perplexity calls itself a "conversational answer engine," which is the perfect way to put it. If you're tired of AI models just making things up (we've all been there), this is the tool for you. It's built for people who need accurate, current information with sources you can actually trust.

Every answer it gives you is backed by citations. You can click on them to see exactly where the information came from. This makes it an amazing tool for students, researchers, journalists, or anyone who just needs to check their facts. It's less of a creative writing partner and more of a super-smart research assistant.

Pros:

• Provides cited sources for all its answers, so you can trust the information.

• Excellent for finding real-time information and doing complex research.

• Lets you choose which AI model to use for your search (including Claude's own models).

Cons:

• Not the best choice for creative writing or open-ended brainstorming.

• The official pricing page was down when I wrote this, which is a bit of a pain if you're trying to compare plans.

Pricing:

Based on other sources, Perplexity's pricing is simple.

• Free: A solid free version is available for most uses.

• Pro Plan: Around $20/month for access to more powerful models, unlimited file uploads, and higher usage limits.

5. Microsoft Copilot

Since Microsoft is a huge partner of OpenAI, its Copilot is powered by the same great models as ChatGPT, like GPT-4o. This makes it a fantastic alternative if you spend your day in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Its biggest selling point is how deeply it's woven into Windows, Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft 365 apps. You can pull it up in the Edge sidebar to summarize the webpage you're on, ask it to help you write an email in Outlook, or even have it create a PowerPoint presentation from a Word doc. It makes for a really connected and seamless workflow.

Pros:

• Powered by OpenAI's latest models, often for free.

• Deeply integrated into Microsoft's software.

• Has web access through Bing right out of the box.

Cons:

• The experience can sometimes feel like it's trying to sell you on other Microsoft products.

• It can sometimes be a little behind ChatGPT in getting the newest OpenAI features.

Pricing:

Like with Perplexity, Microsoft's official Copilot pricing pages were down during my review, but the prices are widely known.

• Free: A powerful free version is built right into Windows and Edge.

• Copilot Pro: For $20/month, you get priority access to newer models, faster performance, and better AI features inside Microsoft 365 apps.

6. Poe by Quora

Poe isn't just one AI model. It's more of a hub that gives you access to dozens of different chatbots from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic (yes, you can use Claude here too), Meta, and others, all in one app.

If you like to experiment and see which model is best for a certain task, Poe is the ultimate AI playground. You can ask a bunch of bots the same question and see their answers side-by-side. It's a great way to find the perfect tool for a specific job without needing to sign up for a dozen different services.

Pros:

• Access a wide variety of top AI models from one place.

• Lets you create your own custom bots using different base models.

• The free tier is generous enough to let you try out different AIs.

Cons:

• The number of choices can be a little overwhelming at first.

• Your access to the very best models might be more limited than if you paid for them directly.

Pricing:

Poe's pricing page was also having issues, but its subscription model is pretty standard.

• Free: A free plan with daily limits on how often you can use the premium models.

• Subscription: $19.99/month for much higher message limits and better access to top models like GPT-4o and Claude 3 Opus.

This video provides a helpful overview of the top Claude AI alternatives to consider in 2025.

How to choose the right Claude alternative for you

With so many good options, how do you pick one? It's easier than it looks.

If your goal is general creativity and helping with everyday tasks, your choice will probably come down to which ecosystem you prefer. If you're all-in on Google, Gemini is a no-brainer. If you're a heavy Microsoft user, Copilot's integration is a huge plus. If you don't have a strong preference, ChatGPT is still the most powerful and feature-packed generalist.

If your main focus is research and getting factual answers with sources you can check, then Perplexity AI is the best tool for the job, period.

But if your goal is business and support automation, you need a tool that was built for that from the ground up. If you want to automate workflows in your helpdesk, train an AI on your company's private knowledge, and have it perform actions for you, then a specialized platform like eesel AI is the clear winner.

The best Claude alternatives go beyond chat

The world of Claude alternatives is bigger and more interesting than ever. While general-purpose chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini are fantastic for personal productivity, the real value of AI for businesses comes from specialized platforms that fit right into how you already work.

The "best" AI always depends on what you need it to do. For brainstorming a novel, a generalist is perfect. But for improving business efficiency, cutting support costs, and keeping customers happy, you need an AI that was designed for that specific purpose.

Ready to see how a specialized AI can transform your customer support? Sign up for eesel AI for free and you can build your first AI agent in just a few minutes.