Compare AI Assistants for Image and File Uploads
If you need a ChatGPT alternative with image upload, compare the options for non-technical buyers and small businesses. Each row shows upload support, the free plan, the first paid plan and plan fit.
The fact matrix
Read across each row to compare uploads, free access, the first paid option and the limits that affect your choice. Under each cell is the vendor page we read and the date. The order of the rows is not a ranking.
| Assistant | Image and file upload | Free plan | First paid plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPTOpenAI · baseline | Free and paid plans can upload images or files in prompts. Vendor states Free users are limited to 3 file uploads per day; images are capped at 20MB each. help.openai.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Yes, there is a Free plan at no charge chatgpt.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Plus, US$20/month billed monthly (OpenAI help centre). The cheaper Go plan exists, but its US-dollar price is not verified: the help centre gives no figure, and the pricing page we could load showed the Australian price (A$13/month) and says Go may include ads help.openai.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| ClaudeAnthropic | Help page says you can upload documents and images (JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP): up to 20 files per chat, 500MB per file. The article does not say which plans this applies to. support.claude.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Yes, US$0 claude.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Pro, US$20/month billed monthly, or US$17/month on the annual plan (US$200 up front) claude.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| GeminiGoogle | Signed-in users can upload documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos and more: up to 10 files per prompt (subject to availability). Google AI plans get higher upload limits. support.google.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Yes, US$0/month with a Google Account gemini.google checked 2 Oct 2026 | Google AI Plus, US$4.99/month (2x the free usage limits, 400 GB storage); Google AI Pro is US$19.99/month (4x the free usage limits, 5 TB storage) gemini.google checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| Microsoft CopilotMicrosoft | You can upload images or supported files into a chat: up to 20 files per conversation, 50MB per file. The help page does not say which plan this applies to. support.microsoft.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Yes. Microsoft describes Microsoft Copilot (free) as available free of cost, for general questions and answers and web-based tasks, on the web, desktop and mobile apps and in Edge. support.microsoft.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Microsoft 365 Personal, US$9.99/month, includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook with Copilot and 1 TB storage; Premium is US$19.99/month microsoft.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Mistral (Vibe)Mistral AI | Libraries and document upload supports PDF, images, CSV, text files and Office files. The plan table lists it as Limited on Free, up to 15GB on Pro and up to 30GB per user on Team. mistral.ai checked 2 Oct 2026 | Yes, free tier on web and mobile mistral.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 | Pro, US$14.99/month excluding taxes mistral.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| GrokxAI | Vendor lists vision understanding (analyse screenshots, photos and diagrams) and file and PDF analysis (upload documents for summaries). Plan and limits are not stated on the page read. x.ai checked 2 Oct 2026 | Not verified The product page offers 'Try for free'; terms not stated x.ai tried 2 Oct 2026 | SuperGrok Lite US$10/month; SuperGrok US$30/month; SuperGrok Heavy US$300/month. Read from the price elements on grok.com/plans with the annual toggle off. grok.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| DeepSeekDeepSeek | The help centre has an image-upload entry listing failure reasons (unsupported format, no extractable text in the image, upload limit exceeded). Plan and limit figures are not stated. static.deepseek.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Not verified Web chat and apps are offered; the site shows no consumer price list deepseek.com tried 1 Oct 2026 | Not verified No consumer subscription listed; API pricing is published separately deepseek.com tried 1 Oct 2026 |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
About the prices. Vendor pages were read on 1 and 2 October 2026 from a connection in Australia. Where a vendor shows local prices, we took the US-dollar figure from its United States page or its help centre and link to that page. Where we could not read a US-dollar price, the cell says so and names the currency we saw. Prices in other countries can differ.
Who each one suits, and who it does not
These lines are drawn only from the facts we could read on vendor pages. We have not run our own tests, so nothing here ranks the tools on the quality of their output.
ChatGPTSource: chatgpt.com
- Best for
- The baseline. Its free plan lists unlimited text chats, so the reasons to switch are the limits on everything else.Based on: free-plan limits
- Not ideal for
- People who want a cheap ad-free tier: the plan below Plus is the one the vendor says may include ads.Based on: first paid plan
ClaudeSource: claude.com
- Best for
- Getting file creation and code execution without paying: both are listed on the free plan.Based on: free-plan limits
- Not ideal for
- Anyone who needs a published free message allowance to plan around: the page only says usage limits apply.Based on: free-plan limits
GeminiSource: gemini.google
- Best for
- Households already paying Google for storage: the paid tiers bundle 400 GB to 5 TB with the assistant.Based on: first paid plan, listed features
- Not ideal for
- A small team that only wants a few chat seats at consumer prices: the business edition starts at US$21 a seat.Based on: team seat
Microsoft CopilotSource: microsoft.com
- Best for
- People who live in Word, Excel and Outlook: the assistant comes inside the Microsoft 365 subscription.Based on: first paid plan, listed features
- Not ideal for
- Buyers who only want a chat assistant: every paid tier on the page is a Microsoft 365 bundle.Based on: first paid plan
Mistral (Vibe)Source: mistral.ai
- Best for
- A standalone assistant with a paid plan under US$15 a month: Pro is listed at US$14.99.Based on: first paid plan
- Not ideal for
- Heavy free use: messages, web searches and coding sessions are all described as limited.Based on: free-plan limits
GrokSource: x.ai
- Best for
- Questions about what is happening right now: the product page leads with live web and X search.Based on: listed features
- Not ideal for
- A low-cost paid step: the listed plans run from US$10 to US$300 a month.Based on: first paid plan
DeepSeekSource: deepseek.com
- Best for
- Trying a reasoning mode and search from the web chat once you have signed in.Based on: listed features
- Not ideal for
- A business that needs a team plan with listed terms: none is published on the site.Based on: team seat
How to choose from this table
Start with the files you need. Claude accepts documents and JPEG, PNG, GIF and WebP images, with up to 20 files per chat and 500MB per file. Microsoft Copilot accepts up to 20 files per conversation and 50MB per file. Gemini accepts documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos and more, with up to 10 files per prompt, subject to availability.
Set your budget before choosing a paid tier. Gemini lists Google AI Plus at US$4.99/month with 400 GB storage. Mistral Pro is US$14.99/month excluding taxes, while ChatGPT Plus is US$20/month billed monthly. We could not verify a consumer subscription or listed price for DeepSeek.
Check limits that may affect regular uploads. The vendor states that ChatGPT Free users are limited to 3 file uploads per day, with images capped at 20MB each. Google says Gemini paid plans get higher upload limits, but the free limit is not stated. Claude and Microsoft Copilot pages do not say which plans the listed upload allowances apply to.
Match the plan to your working setup. Microsoft 365 Personal includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook with Copilot and 1 TB storage. Gemini paid plans bundle 400 GB to 5 TB with the assistant. Claude lists file creation and code execution on its free plan, while Grok’s listed paid plans range from US$10/month to US$300/month.
Treat not verified as a reason to check, not a mark against the product. It means the vendor page did not show us the detail on the day. Every figure, with its source and date, is also in the fact ledger.
Related: AI tools compared by task, price and usage limits, Find an alternative to ChatGPT for everyday work, Business AI plans compared by cost and limits, Free AI tools and their plan limits.
Questions people ask
Which ChatGPT alternatives let me upload images?
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot all list image or file upload support. Mistral lists document and library upload as Limited on Free. Grok lists image understanding and file and PDF analysis, but the page read did not state plan limits.
Which option has the lowest listed first paid price?
Gemini lists Google AI Plus at US$4.99/month with 400 GB storage. Gemini also lists Google AI Pro at US$19.99/month with 5 TB storage. The table shows each first paid plan and its stated price.
How many files can I upload at once?
Claude lists up to 20 files per chat, Microsoft Copilot lists up to 20 files per conversation, and Gemini lists up to 10 files per prompt, subject to availability. The vendor states that Google AI plans get higher Gemini upload limits.
Which plan fits an existing small-business setup?
Microsoft Copilot is included with Microsoft 365 Personal, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook plus 1 TB storage. Gemini paid plans include 400 GB or 5 TB storage. DeepSeek’s site did not publish team-plan terms.