ChatGPT vs Duck.ai

ChatGPT

• General-purpose help with writing, questions and brainstorming
• People who want chat, voice, images and web search in one assistant
• Trying an AI assistant at no cost before paying

Duck.ai

• People who want to use mainstream AI models without an account
• Privacy-minded users who do not want chats used for model training
• DuckDuckGo browser users who want an assistant built in

ChatGPT

• Pro is sold at three price points, $100, $200 or $500 per month, well above the $20 Plus plan.
• Business requires at least 2 users. SCIM, EKM and role-based access control are reserved for Enterprise and Edu.
• OpenAI's pricing page says the Go plan may include ads, and Wikipedia reports ad tests in the free version for logged-in adult US users since January 2026.
• The Linux desktop app is a preview, limited to recent Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and Arch Linux releases on x64 and ARM64.

Duck.ai

• Free use has a daily limit, and the most advanced Claude and GPT models are reserved for Plus and Pro subscribers.
• Advanced models cannot be bought on their own: the subscription bundles them with DuckDuckGo's VPN and identity services.
• The subscription is sold only to residents of the US, UK, EU and Canada, and its VPN and identity features work only in the DuckDuckGo browser.
• There is no standalone app: outside a web browser, Duck.ai is built into the DuckDuckGo browser for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows.

ChatGPT

Conversational help

Answers questions, drafts and reworks text, explains topics and reads uploaded photos in a chat, with history synced across your devices.

Image generation

Creates original images from a description, or transforms existing images from a short instruction.

Advanced Voice Mode

Hold a real-time spoken conversation in the mobile app by tapping the soundwave icon.

Search and Deep Research

ChatGPT Search draws on the web for more up-to-date answers, and Deep Research generates a report from extensive web searches.

Codex

A coding agent that runs on the web, in a CLI, in an IDE extension and on iOS from the Plus plan, with integrations such as automatic code review and Slack.

GPTs and agents

GPTs customize ChatGPT's behavior for a specific use case, and ChatGPT agent carries out multi-step tasks.

Duck.ai

Anonymized chats

Metadata such as your IP address is removed before a prompt reaches the model provider, so requests appear to come from DuckDuckGo rather than from you.

Choice of models

Free models come from Anthropic, Mistral AI and OpenAI, plus two open models hosted by Tinfoil. Subscribers add more advanced Claude and GPT models.

Chat history kept on your device

Recent chats are saved locally by default, up to 5 can be pinned, and the Fire Button deletes the rest. Optional Sync & Backup stores chats end-to-end encrypted.

Image creation

Select New Image, describe what you want, then refine the result with follow-up prompts. A daily limit applies, with higher limits for subscribers.

Voice chat and dictation

Speak with an OpenAI voice model over an encrypted relay, or dictate a prompt for up to 5 minutes per session. Audio is not kept after the session ends.

Image and PDF uploads

Some models accept image and PDF uploads, with PDF limits of 15 pages on Free, 35 on Plus and 50 on Pro. Spreadsheets are not supported.

ChatGPT

• Free$0

  Unlimited text chats, with limits on uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory.

• Go$8

  per month

  More messages with tools, more uploads, image creation and voice chats than Free, and longer memory. OpenAI notes this plan may include ads.

• Plus$20

  per month

  Advanced reasoning models, expanded deep research and memory, plus projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs.

• Business$20

  per user / month, billed annually

  For 2 or more users: a dedicated workspace with admin controls, SAML SSO and MFA. $25 per user / month when billed monthly.

• ProFrom $100

  per month

  A choice of three usage tiers at $100, $200 or $500 per month, with the highest limits, pro reasoning and an always-on agent.

• Enterprise & EduCustom

  Sold through sales, with priority request processing, SCIM, EKM, user analytics, domain verification and role-based access control.

Duck.ai

• Free$0

  Six free chat models, image creation and voice chat within a daily limit, with PDF uploads of up to 15 pages.

• Plus$9.99

  per month, or $99.99 per year, plus tax if applicable

  Adds GPT-5.6 Terra and Claude Sonnet 4.6, higher daily and weekly limits and 35-page PDF uploads, plus DuckDuckGo's VPN and identity services.

• Pro$19.99

  per month, or $199.99 per year, plus tax if applicable

  Everything in Plus, with Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.6 Sol, higher reasoning effort, 2x the Plus usage limits and 50-page PDF uploads.

ChatGPT

• Annual discount

  Business is cheaper when billed annually

  OpenAI's pricing page lists Business at $20 per user / month when billed annually, against $25 per user / month when billed monthly.

Duck.ai

• Annual discount

  About 17% off with yearly billing

  Plus is $99.99 a year against $9.99 a month, and Pro is $199.99 a year against $19.99 a month, a saving of about 17% over twelve monthly payments.