Merlin vs Sider
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Merlin
AI sidebar extension with models from several labs in one account
Sider
AI sidebar for the browser with many models and mobile apps
Where they differ
- Only Merlin lists a web app.
- Sider also covers grammar & style.
At a glance
| Merlin | Sider | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $9.99 per month (Basic, US App Store); a mobile Pocket Plan is $49.99 per year |
| Free plan | 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. | The iOS app is free to download and the Chrome extension lists free multi-chatbot support. Neither store listing says how much usage the free tier includes. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Foyer Tech, Inc. | Vidline Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Merlin
- People who want an AI sidebar on any website
- Summarizing pages, PDFs and YouTube videos while browsing
- Trying models from several labs with one account
Sider
- People who want an AI side panel on every browser tab
- Comparing answers from several models in a single chat
- Summarizing and translating pages, PDFs and YouTube videos
Worth knowing
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.
Sider
- Sider's website answers automated readers with a security check, so the prices here are US App Store in-app prices and web prices may differ.
- The store listings do not say how much usage the free tier includes or what each paid plan adds.
- Sider told an App Store reviewer that the Pocket Plan is for mobile use and that its credits cannot be spent in the desktop browser.
- The App Store also lists legacy Basic subscriptions and a $40.00 Plus plan without describing them, and Google Play shows items from $9.99 to $999.99.
Key features
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.
Sider
- Sidebar with many models
- The extension opens a side panel on any tab for chatting with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek and other models. A Fusion model picks a model for each request automatically.
- AI group chat
- Put the same question to several models in one chat by @-mentioning them, then compare their answers as they arrive.
- Chat with files and pages
- Ask questions about PDFs, images, audio files, a web page or several open tabs. The mobile app accepts more than 30 file formats as well as images and URLs.
- Reading and video summaries
- Summarizes articles, web pages and PDFs, and condenses YouTube videos into highlights, with bilingual subtitles available while watching.
- Writing and translation
- Offers writing help in any input box, rewording and tone changes, a grammar checker, and translation of selected text, full pages, PDFs and images into 50+ languages.
- Wisebase and Sider Claw
- Wisebase is a knowledge base for uploaded files and saved websites. Claw, in the mobile app, takes a request and researches, compares, extracts and compiles the results.
Plans
Merlin
Pricing could not be confirmed. See getmerlin.in.
Sider
Free$0
The apps and the browser extension are free to install. The store listings do not state how much usage is included without a plan.
Pocket Plan$49.99
per year (US App Store in-app purchase)
A plan for mobile use. Sider's reply to an App Store review says Pocket credits cannot be used in the desktop browser.
Basic$9.99
per month (US App Store in-app purchase)
Listed as Sider Basic Plan Monthly. The App Store listing does not describe what the plan includes.
Pro$19.99
per month (US App Store in-app purchase)
Listed as Sider Pro Plan Monthly. The App Store listing does not describe what the plan includes.
Unlimited$39.99
per month, or $299.99 per year (US App Store)
Listed as Sider Unlimited Plan, monthly or yearly. The App Store listing does not describe what the plan includes.
Ways to pay less
Merlin
No public discounts listed.
Sider
- Annual discount
Unlimited costs less when paid yearly
The US App Store lists the Unlimited plan at $39.99 a month or $299.99 a year. Twelve monthly payments come to $479.88, so the yearly price is about 37% lower.
