ChatLLM vs LMArena (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ChatLLM grades higher than LMArena: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
ChatLLM grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. LMArena grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ChatLLM
Multi-model AI assistant and agent platform from Abacus.AI
Which one is for you
Pick ChatLLM if
- Fits if you want many frontier models without a subscription to each lab
- Works for teams that want chat, an agent and app building on one bill
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try before you pay, as there's no free plan or free trial
- Tight if you want the agent on Basic, which stops at 3 tasks of limited complexity and 3 Studio conversations
- Skip it if you expect refunds for poor results, since Abacus.AI says it gives none based on output or performance
- Watch out: heavy models, images, video and agent tasks burn through the 20,000 monthly credits faster
- Pricey if you're a team, as it's $10 for every user, and $20 each with Pro
Pick LMArena if
- Fits if you are choosing a model and want to see answers from several at once
- Works for people who follow community-voted AI rankings
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a daily assistant with memory and files, as it is built for comparison
- Not for you if you mind your votes being public, as they feed the leaderboards
- Watch out: the cost and any limits could not be confirmed from the pages read
- Watch out: in Battle mode models stay anonymous until you vote, and an account may be needed for some features
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAChatLLMFair | 2.2GPALMArenaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $10 a user a month, the middle of this category, and it covers every chat, image and video model with 20,000 credits. The agent stops at 3 limited tasks, though, and lifting that means Pro at $20. | CThe listing calls it free, but no price page exists and the homepage sits behind a bot check, so the cost is not confirmed. That leaves it in the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing is free. No free plan and no free trial, so the first look costs money. The nearest thing to a taster is a first month of Basic at $7 instead of $10, and that month brings 14,000 credits rather than 20,000. | CListed as free, but the terms say an account may be required for some features, and no usage limits are published. |
| Features | BMore than 100 models with RouteLLM picking one for you, an agent that builds apps, slides and reports, image and video generation, file and data analysis, web search and a team workspace. That's the job covered. | CBattle, Side by Side and Direct modes, leaderboards, image and video generation. A focused tool for comparing models, not a daily assistant. |
| Ease of use | A4.9 from about 3,600 App Store ratings. Leave the picker on Auto and it chooses the model, so you needn't know which is which. Credits are the thing to watch, as heavy models, images and video eat them faster. | BA website where you type a prompt and pick the better answer. No store rating is on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android with a voice mode, plus a Chrome extension, and it connects to Slack, Teams, Google Drive, SharePoint, Confluence, Salesforce and Gmail, with an API that routes between models. No desktop app in the platform list. | CWeb only. The pages name no apps and no integrations. |
| Best for | many AI models on one $10 subscription | comparing AI models side by side and voting |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: ChatLLM and LMArena. How we grade
Price against what you get
ChatLLM starts at $10 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. LMArena has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
ChatLLM scores higher, and starts $10 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI assistants on the chart, 5 score higher than ChatLLM for less, and none scores higher than LMArena for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- ChatLLM also covers AI agents and app builder.
- LMArena also covers image generation and video generation.
At a glance
| ChatLLM | LMArena | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free |
| Starts at | $10 per user / month (Basic) | Free |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Abacus.AI, Inc. | Arena Intelligence Inc. |
| Price read from | abacus.ai | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
ChatLLM
- There is no free plan or free trial. Billing is monthly at $10 per user, or $20 per user with Pro.
- Usage runs on credits: Basic has 20,000 a month, and heavy models, images, video and agent tasks use them faster. A set of lighter models stays unlimited.
- Basic limits the Abacus AI Agent to 3 tasks of limited complexity and Abacus AI Studio to 3 conversations. Pro removes both caps.
- Abacus.AI states that it does not give refunds based on the output or performance of its models and agents.
LMArena
- The pricing could not be confirmed: the homepage sits behind a bot check and no pricing page exists, so cost and any usage limits are not verified here.
- In Battle mode the models are anonymous until you vote, and your votes become part of the public leaderboards.
- The terms say an account may be required to access certain features of the service.
- The vendor's pages describe a web product and name no desktop or mobile apps.
Key features
ChatLLM
- 100+ models with automatic routing
- Chat with models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI and open-weight labs, or leave the picker on Auto and RouteLLM chooses a model for each task.
- Abacus AI Agent
- A general-purpose agent that builds and hosts apps from a description, creates slides, documents and research reports, and automates work with tasks and triggers.
- Image and video generation
- Image models include Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image and FLUX. Video generation runs through Abacus AI Studio with models such as Veo, Kling and Seedance.
- Documents, data and web search
- Analyzes uploaded PDFs, Word and PowerPoint files, charts data from CSV and Excel files, searches the web and runs generated code in a playground beside the chat.
- Team workspace and connectors
- Invite any number of users at the per-user price, organize chats and files in projects, and connect Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, SharePoint, Confluence and other systems.
- Mobile apps, extension and desktop tools
- iOS and Android apps with voice mode, a Chrome extension, and Abacus AI Desktop with a coding agent and CLI are included with the subscription.
LMArena
- Battle mode
- Two anonymous models answer the same prompt and you vote for the better reply. Pre-release models can show up under codenames, according to the FAQ.
- Side by Side and Direct modes
- Side by Side lets you pick two models to compare, and Direct Mode lets you chat with one model of your choice. The FAQ describes how votes are used in each.
- Public leaderboards
- Rankings come from votes using the Bradley-Terry rating system and cover categories such as text, WebDev, vision, document, search, image and video.
- Image and video generation
- The site lists use cases for generating images and videos, with matching text-to-image, image edit and video leaderboards, and a help article on Video Arena.
- Agent and web app building
- The navigation lists an Agent leaderboard and use cases for building apps and websites and completing multi-step tasks.
Plans
ChatLLM
Basic$10
per user / month
Every chat, image and video model, 20,000 credits a month, 3 AI Agent tasks of limited complexity and limited Abacus AI Studio use.
Pro$20
per user / month (Basic plus a $10 upgrade)
30,000 credits a month, unrestricted Abacus AI Agent and Studio use while credits last, a stronger agent and the always-on SuperComputer.
Abacus.AI EnterpriseFrom $5000
billing period not stated
The separate enterprise platform for organizations that need enterprise features, sold through the sales team.
LMArena
Pricing could not be confirmed. See arena.ai.
Ways to pay less
ChatLLM
- Other savings
$7 for the first month of Basic
New subscribers are charged $7 instead of $10 for the first month, then $10 billed monthly. The discounted month comes with 14,000 credits instead of 20,000.
LMArena
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ChatLLM or LMArena?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ChatLLM starts at $10 per user / month (Basic), and LMArena has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, ChatLLM or LMArena?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only LMArena has a free plan. ChatLLM does not.
Which platforms do ChatLLM and LMArena run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only ChatLLM lists iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.