Duck.ai vs Kagi Assistant

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

Kagi Assistant

• Kagi Search subscribers who want an assistant on the same plan
• People who want several model developers without separate subscriptions
• Research that should draw on ad-free, personalized search results

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.

Kagi Assistant

• Kagi Assistant is not sold on its own: it comes with a Kagi Search subscription, and the plans listed are Kagi's plans.
• Premium models and Research mode are limited to Ultimate at $25 per month. Other plans use standard models and Quick mode.
• Usage is capped by value: the plan price sets the token allowance, and AI interactions stop until the next billing cycle once it is used up.
• The free Trial is a one-time allowance of 100 searches and 100 AI interactions and does not renew.

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.

Kagi Assistant

Many models, one subscription

Pick from models by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, Meta, DeepSeek and others, and switch model in the middle of a thread. Premium models are limited to the Ultimate plan.

Web access through Kagi Search

A toggle controls whether the Assistant searches the web. Its searches can apply your Kagi Lenses and personalized results, and pasted URLs are fetched as context.

Quick and Research modes

Quick answers within seconds on every plan. Research, on Ultimate, plans multi-step work with up to about 15 tool calls, including a Python interpreter, image generation and Wolfram|Alpha.

Custom assistants

Save assistants that combine a chosen model, custom instructions and web access settings, and open built-in ones such as Code, Study and News with bangs from the search box.

File uploads

Upload text, PDF, DOCX, PPTX, spreadsheets, images and audio as context, up to 30 MB in total. Uploaded content stays in the thread for later messages.

Thread retention and privacy

Threads are deleted after 24 hours of inactivity unless set to permanent. Kagi says data is not used to train models and no account information is shared with model providers.

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.

Kagi Assistant

• Starter$5

  per month, or $54 per year

  Kagi plan with 300 searches and up to 300 AI interactions a month on standard Assistant models, plus Kagi Translate.

• Professional$10

  per month, or $108 per year

  Kagi plan with unlimited searches and Kagi Assistant on standard models in Quick mode, with a larger monthly usage allowance.

• Ultimate$25

  per month, or $270 per year

  Everything in Professional, plus premium models and Research mode in Kagi Assistant and best-quality mode in Kagi Translate.

• Duo$14

  per month for 2 accounts, or $151.20 per year

  Two Professional accounts for a couple. Each member can be upgraded to Ultimate features for $15 a month.

• Family$20

  per month for up to 6 members, or $216 per year

  Professional accounts for up to 6 family members with Kagi for Kids and parental controls. Members can be upgraded to Ultimate for $15 a month each.

• Team$10

  per user / month, monthly billing only

  Team Professional with admin controls and shared lenses. Team Ultimate, with Research mode and flagship models, is $25 per user / month.

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.

Kagi Assistant

• Annual discount

  10% off with annual billing

  Kagi's pricing page lists 10% off for paying annually: Starter is $54, Professional $108 and Ultimate $270 a year. Team plans are monthly only.

• Other savings

  Unused months are credited back

  Under Kagi's fair pricing policy, a month with no searches or AI interactions is credited in full to the next billing cycle. On yearly plans the same applies to a whole unused year.