MaxAI vs Merlin (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Merlin grades higher than MaxAI: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Merlin grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
MaxAI
AI sidebar for Chromium browsers that chats about the page you are on
Free plan · from $12/mo
Merlin
AI sidebar extension with models from several labs in one account
Free plan
Which one is for you
Pick MaxAI if
- Fits if you read and write inside Chrome or Edge all day
- Works for people who want several AI models on one plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Firefox, Safari or a phone, since no extension or app is listed for them
- Tight if you stay free, as you get 3 Pro chats a day and limited uploads
- Watch out: image generation and model choice are Pro features, and payments are final and non-refundable
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $30 against $12 when billed yearly
Pick Merlin if
- Fits if you want an AI helper beside the web pages you read
- Works for long PDFs or YouTube videos where you only want the key points
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a clear price before you start, since its paid plans couldn't be confirmed
- Watch out: the App Store lists Pro at $20.00 a month and Unlimited at $15.00, and Google Play runs $3.49 to $499.99
- Skip it if you want voice chat, premium tools or team features for free, as they're described as premium
- Tight if you buy top-ups and forget them, since 3,000 queries for $4.99 expire after 30 days
- Tight if you go past 102 queries a day, the free plan's cap
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAMaxAIGood | 2.8GPAMerlinGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $12 a member a month billed yearly, which is the middle of what AI assistants charge ($12). It is shown as a limited-time saving off $30 monthly, with no end date. | CWe can't pin the price down. Merlin's site answers automated readers with a security check, and the store listings disagree: the US App Store lists Merlin Pro at $20.00 and Merlin Unlimited at $15.00 a month, and Google Play shows items from $3.49 to $499.99. |
| Free plan and trial | BChat with the fast free models is unlimited and needs no card, but Pro chats are capped at 3 a day and file uploads are limited. No trial is listed. | BUp to 102 queries a day across ChatGPT, Grok, DeepSeek, Gemini and Perplexity models, going by its Google Play listing. Most people could live on that. Voice chat, premium tools and team collaboration are the paid bits. |
| Features | CSidebar answers about pages, PDFs, videos and email, rewrite and translate tools, and image generation on Pro. The listing shows gaps: no mobile app, and model choice sits on paid plans. | CA sidebar on any tab that summarises, translates and answers questions about the page, a PDF or a video, with models from several labs, Projects on your own files and 70-odd extra tools. The basics of a sidebar assistant, and the listing can't say what the paid tiers add. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. It is an extension you add to the browser and sign in to, with nothing else to set up. | B4.5 from about 780 App Store ratings. One shortcut opens it beside whatever you're reading, so there's not much to learn. The plans are the muddle, with query top-ups that expire sold on top. |
| Platforms and integrations | BChrome and Edge extension plus a web app, working inside Gmail, Outlook, LinkedIn and YouTube. No Firefox, Safari, desktop or phone app is listed. | AA browser extension, a web app, and apps for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, all on one account. It works inside Gmail, LinkedIn and YouTube, and beside Google, Bing and Yahoo results. |
| Best for | an AI sidebar in Chrome or Edge | an AI sidebar on any web page |
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: MaxAI and Merlin. How we grade
Where they differ
- MaxAI also covers citations, grammar & style and image generation.
- Merlin also covers AI agents.
In commonFree planBrowser extensionWebAI featuresChat assistantAI search
At a glance
| MaxAI | Merlin | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12 per member / month, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | Unlimited chat with the free AI models, 3 Pro chats per day and limited file uploads. | Free plan with up to 102 queries per day across ChatGPT, Grok, DeepSeek, Gemini and Perplexity models, according to the Google Play listing. Paid plan prices could not be confirmed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | MaxAI.me | Foyer Tech, Inc. |
| Price read from | maxai.co | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
MaxAI
- The browser extension works on Chromium-based browsers such as Chrome and Edge; the vendor lists no Firefox, Safari or mobile app.
- The free plan allows 3 Pro chats a day; image generation and the larger model choices are paid features.
- The pricing page states that all payments are final and non-refundable.
- The $12 Pro price is shown as a limited-time saving with no end date, so the regular rate may differ.
Merlin
- Merlin's website answers automated readers with a security check, so its pricing page could not be read and paid plan prices are unverified.
- Store listings do not give a clear lineup: the US App Store lists Merlin Pro at $20.00 and Merlin Unlimited at $15.00 a month, and Google Play shows items from $3.49 to $499.99.
- The free plan is capped at up to 102 queries per day, and voice chat, premium tools and team collaboration are described as premium features.
- The US App Store also sells query top-ups that expire, such as 3,000 queries valid for 30 days at $4.99.
Key features
MaxAI
- AI sidebar
- Opens beside any web page in Chrome or Edge so you can ask about the page without copying text into another tab.
- Ask about different sources
- Questions can be asked about a web page, YouTube video, PDF, email, file, image or audio, and answers carry cited sources.
- Choice of AI models
- The pricing page lists models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, Meta and DeepSeek, split into Fast, Smart and Think tiers. Paid plans choose among them.
- Writing and reply tools
- Rewrite, fix grammar, change tone, shorten or lengthen selected text, and draft replies inside Gmail, Outlook, LinkedIn and several social and chat sites.
- Translation
- Translate selected text, or show a page's original and translated text side by side.
- Image generation
- Create images from text with models such as GPT-Image-1, DALL-E 3 and FLUX. Listed as a Pro feature.
Merlin
- Sidebar on any tab
- Ctrl+M or Cmd+M opens Merlin beside the page you are on, where it can summarize, translate or pull the key points out of that page.
- Multiple models in one interface
- Switches among models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, DeepSeek and other providers inside the same chat view.
- Projects
- Turns a knowledge base, uploaded files or links into a dedicated assistant, with the material kept together in one searchable place.
- Chat with files, pages and videos
- Answers questions about PDFs, documents, images and one or several open tabs, and summarizes YouTube videos, with bilingual subtitles available.
- Writing and translation help
- Suggests and rewrites text in any text box, including tweets, LinkedIn posts and Gmail, and translates selected text or whole pages in more than 50 languages.
- Search answers and AI tools
- Adds concise, citation-linked answers beside Google, Bing and Yahoo results, and bundles more than 70 tools such as an AI detector and an AI humanizer.
Plans
MaxAI
Free$0
per member / month
Unlimited chat with the fast free models, 3 Pro chats per day, limited file uploads.
Pro$12
per member / month, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly)
Unlimited Pro chat, model choice, image generation, higher upload limits. Shown as a limited-time 60% saving off $30, no end date.
Merlin
Pricing could not be confirmed. See getmerlin.in.
Ways to pay less
MaxAI
- Annual discount
Yearly billing at $12 instead of $30 monthly
The pricing page shows Pro at $12 per member per month billed yearly against $30 when billed monthly, marked as a limited-time 60% saving.
Merlin
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, MaxAI or Merlin?
As of Nov 12, 2026, MaxAI starts at $12 per member / month, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly), and Merlin has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, MaxAI or Merlin?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both MaxAI and Merlin have a free plan.
Which platforms do MaxAI and Merlin run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Merlin lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app and a browser extension. 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.