07
Research
No public research-quality leaderboard was attached. The composite uses a sourced free tier, entry price, and the product's App Store rating and review count. A tool under half the category weight has no numeric rank.
Updated · Compare ChatGPT and Gemini
Machine-readable scores: research.json. Method on the methodology page. Published by AIToolStack.
Quick answers
What is the top Research pick?
- ChatGPT is rank 1 of 5, with composite 93.6 and coverage 100%. Composite 93.6 from 100% of the category weight. Largest weighted input: Free tier.
What is the top free or freemium Research pick?
- ChatGPT is the highest-ranked freemium tool, at rank 1 of 5, with composite 93.6.
How do these ranks work?
- Composite equals evidence times coverage. Only sourced metrics count. A tool under 50% coverage is labeled Insufficient data and has no numeric rank. The full method is on the methodology page.
Rank 1 of 5.
ChatGPT
FreemiumOpenAI's assistant for writing, images, voice, and coding agents.
- Composite
- 93.6
- Evidence
- 93.6
- Coverage
- 100%
Composite 93.6 from 100% of the category weight. Largest weighted input: Free tier.
Score breakdown for ChatGPT Metric Value Weight Normalized Source Free tier YesFree planThe pricing page has a Free plan and says the free version is available to everyone. It does not print a dollar price for Go or Plus. 28% 100.0 Source for Free tier (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 Entry monthly price $8ChatGPT Go, USThe January 16, 2026 post says ChatGPT Go is $8 USD per month in the US, Plus is $20, and Pro is $200. The Go help article, updated in October 2026, still describes Go as the low-cost plan but does not restate the dollar amount and points at the pricing page. That pricing page returned 403 on this retrieval, so the cell keeps the blog figure and its date. 28% 80.0 Source for Entry monthly price (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-01-16 App Store rating 4.83ChatGPTApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.82592 and userRatingCount 11313295 for ChatGPT by OpenAI OpCo, LLC. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 24% 96.6 Source for App Store rating (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 App Store reviews 11313295ChatGPTApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.82592 and userRatingCount 11313295 for ChatGPT by OpenAI OpCo, LLC. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 20% 100.0 Source for App Store reviews (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 Rank 2 of 5.
Gemini
FreemiumGoogle's assistant for writing, research, and work in Google apps.
- Composite
- 93.4
- Evidence
- 93.4
- Coverage
- 100%
Composite 93.4 from 100% of the category weight. Largest weighted input: Free tier.
Score breakdown for Gemini Metric Value Weight Normalized Source Free tier YesWithout an AI planThe Gemini Apps help article lists a row for people without an AI plan, with standard limits and a 32k token context window. That is the free tier. Paid Google AI plans raise the limits. 28% 100.0 Source for Free tier (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 Entry monthly price $4.99Google AI PlusThe US comparison table lists Google AI Plus at $4.99 per month, Google AI Pro at $19.99 per month, and Google AI Ultra from $99.99 per month. Plus is the cheapest paid Google AI plan. 28% 87.5 Source for Entry monthly price (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 App Store rating 4.72Google GeminiApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.72459 and userRatingCount 2343258 for Google Gemini by Google LLC. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 24% 94.4 Source for App Store rating (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 App Store reviews 2343258Google GeminiApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.72459 and userRatingCount 2343258 for Google Gemini by Google LLC. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 20% 91.0 Source for App Store reviews (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 Rank 3 of 5.
Grok
FreemiumSpaceXAI's assistant for chat, search, images, video, voice, and code.
- Composite
- 91.4
- Evidence
- 91.4
- Coverage
- 100%
Composite 91.4 from 100% of the category weight. Largest weighted input: Free tier.
Score breakdown for Grok Metric Value Weight Normalized Source Free tier YesFreeThe X Subscription price table lists Free at $0. New self-serve plans include Grok. Existing SuperGrok plans can continue. 28% 100.0 Source for Free tier (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 Entry monthly price $8PlusPlus is $8 per month, or $80 per year. It is the cheapest paid individual plan in the table. Premium is $30 per month. Annual discounts are not scored. 28% 80.0 Source for Entry monthly price (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 App Store rating 4.87Grok AIApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.87411 and userRatingCount 1510343 for Grok AI by X Corp.. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 24% 97.4 Source for App Store rating (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 App Store reviews 1510343Grok AIApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.87411 and userRatingCount 1510343 for Grok AI by X Corp.. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 20% 88.3 Source for App Store reviews (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 Rank 4 of 5.
Claude
FreemiumAnthropic's assistant for chat, files, research, and code. Claude Code is the terminal agent.
- Composite
- 80.2
- Evidence
- 80.2
- Coverage
- 100%
Composite 80.2 from 100% of the category weight. Largest weighted input: Free tier.
Score breakdown for Claude Metric Value Weight Normalized Source Free tier YesFreeFree is listed at $0. Opus is marked No on Free and Yes on Pro. Claude Code is marked No on Free and Yes on Pro. 28% 100.0 Source for Free tier (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 Entry monthly price $20ProPro is $20 if billed monthly, or $17 per month with the annual plan. The monthly price is the one scored. 28% 50.0 Source for Entry monthly price (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 App Store rating 4.72Claude by AnthropicApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.7217 and userRatingCount 279701 for Claude by Anthropic by Anthropic PBC. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 24% 94.4 Source for App Store rating (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 App Store reviews 279701Claude by AnthropicApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.7217 and userRatingCount 279701 for Claude by Anthropic by Anthropic PBC. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 20% 77.8 Source for App Store reviews (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 Rank 5 of 5.
Perplexity
FreemiumAnswer engine that searches the web and shows the pages it used.
- Composite
- 67.5
- Evidence
- 93.7
- Coverage
- 72%
Composite 67.5 from 72% of the category weight. Largest weighted input: Free tier.
Score breakdown for Perplexity Metric Value Weight Normalized Source Free tier YesFreeThe pricing page lists a free plan at USD 0 per month. Pro is shown at USD 17 per month with annual billing, so that figure is not used as the monthly entry price. 28% 100.0 Source for Free tier (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 Entry monthly price Not available 28% — Not available App Store rating 4.82Perplexity - AI Search & ChatApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.82029 and userRatingCount 515215 for Perplexity - AI Search & Chat by Perplexity AI Inc.. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 24% 96.4 Source for App Store rating (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 App Store reviews 515215Perplexity - AI Search & ChatApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.82029 and userRatingCount 515215 for Perplexity - AI Search & Chat by Perplexity AI Inc.. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 20% 81.6 Source for App Store reviews (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 Insufficient data
Gemini Notebook
Price not availableGoogle's research notebook. Answers stay inside the sources you add. Formerly NotebookLM.
- Composite
- 37.0
- Evidence
- 84.2
- Coverage
- 44%
Insufficient data. Coverage is 44%, under 50% of the category weight, so this row has no numeric rank.
Score breakdown for Gemini Notebook Metric Value Weight Normalized Source Free tier Not available 28% — Not available Entry monthly price Not available 28% — Not available App Store rating 4.86Gemini NotebookApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.86266 and userRatingCount 62960 for Gemini Notebook by Google LLC. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 24% 97.2 Source for App Store rating (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16 App Store reviews 62960Gemini NotebookApple App Store listing in the US. iTunes Search API lookup on 2026-10-16 returned averageUserRating 4.86266 and userRatingCount 62960 for Gemini Notebook by Google LLC. The stored rating is that average rounded to two decimal places. The store page does not print a rating timestamp. 20% 68.6 Source for App Store reviews (opens in a new tab)as of 2026-10-16
Latest releases
Claude Personal Finance beta
Anthropic is rolling out Personal Finance in Claude in beta, with read-only bank and card connections through Plaid, on Pro, Max, and Ultra plans in the US. The article date is November 5, 2026.
Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash generally available
Google made Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash generally available on November 5, 2026, for generating and editing video up to 15 seconds, on the Gemini API and Google Cloud. Google says 720p video is $0.07 per second, 30% less than Omni 1.1; that price comparison is vendor-reported.
Perplexity Teammates
Perplexity launched Teammates, agents for ongoing work that plan projects and bring results back for review. The blog is dated November 4, 2026. Perplexity's changelog says Teammates are available to Max subscribers on the web.
Gemini app file editing
Google added file generation, preview, and editing in the Gemini app for documents, PDFs, slides, spreadsheets, and code. PDF preview and editing work on web and mobile; Google says the other formats are web only, and that this is available to all users where the Gemini app is available.
Gemini 4 Carbon, limited access
Google announced Gemini 4 Carbon, and it is not generally available. Access starts with a subset of cyber defenders through the Fairwind Program, with wider availability later, at an introductory $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens.
iCloud Mail and Calendar in ChatGPT
OpenAI's English release notes for October 27, 2026 say iCloud users can connect Mail and Calendar in ChatGPT to find emails, catch up on an inbox, check a schedule, and update calendar events. It is available on all ChatGPT plans on the web, the desktop app, and iOS.
OpenAI release notes (opens in a new tab)ChatGPT on AIToolStack