Which AI should I subscribe to?
LLMs recommend LLMs.
It is time for a Large Language Model bake-off. I asked this question to four AIs, as surely they would know better than me the answer.
Is there any real value to subscribing to multiple LLM services (Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude , etc)? Or should I focus on one? Which one is best at the $20 or so per month level.
I expected them to favour themselves, but to their credit (or loss), they did not. By design, some AI content follows:
CLAUDE: (FREE VERSION):
AT THE ~$20 PRICE POINT
…
ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) is probably the most well-rounded choice for a single subscription. It has GPT-4, strong plugin ecosystem, image generation with DALL-E, and broad capabilities.
Claude Pro ($20/month) is excellent if you prioritize long conversations, nuanced analysis, or writing assistance. The context window is massive and useful for working with documents.
Perplexity Pro ($20/month) is best if you do a lot of research and want cited, up-to-date information.
Practical recommendation: Start with one (ChatGPT Plus for versatility), use it for a month, then add a second only if you find specific gaps in what you need.
…
PERPLEXITY (FREE VERSION):
…
A practical strategy around $20/month
• Pick one paid plan that matches your main workflow (Perplexity Pro if research‑heavy, ChatGPT/Claude if creation/coding‑heavy, Gemini if you’re deep in Google).[photonpay +4]
• Use the free tiers of the others when you want a second opinion or a different style.[gmelius +2]
• Only add a second paid sub if you repeatedly hit a real limitation (e.g., your main tool struggles with code but is great at research, or vice versa).[dev +2]
GOOGLE GEMINI (FREE VERSION):
WHICH ONE IS BEST AT THE ≈$20/MONTH LEVEL?
Most premium subscriptions are priced around $20 USD per month (ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, Perplexity Pro, Gemini Advanced/Pro). The “best” choice is the one that aligns with your most frequent and important tasks.
Here is a breakdown to help you decide on a single focus:
….
CHATGPT (PAID $20/MONTH VERSION):
…
IF YOU FORCE ME TO PICK “BEST AT ~$20”
One subscription only, general use: ChatGPT Plus. ChatGPT
One subscription only, heavy web research: Perplexity Pro. Perplexity AI
One subscription only, lots of writing and revision: Claude Pro. claude.com
…
CONCLUSION
They all sort of said the same thing, which was: overall ChatGPT, for research Perplexity, for writing, and for coding Claude. Which is, I guess, a summary of what the Internet says. Which is what LLMs are best at, synthesising the consensus of what everyone knows. But I guess I won’t be subscribing to Google Gemini at this point. (In any case, it will get built into Apple Siri shortly)
My own ad hoc tests, a bit biased since I’ve been using ChatGPT Plus and Pro for a while is that I prefer ChatGPT despite sometimes high level of frustrations. The free version of Google Gemini is faster, and fine for most common knowledge, but lies (hallucinates) more often. The free version of Claude also has a lying problem and is sufficiently annoying in its attempts to engage that I actually deleted my accounts from Claude. (I don’t code much, so obviously your mileage may vary).
