10 Best Qwen Alternatives for AI Chat, Research, and Reports in 2026

Powerdrill Bloom·November 4, 2026

The best Qwen alternatives for AI chat, research, and reports start with Powerdrill Bloom, DeepSeek, Kimi, and Vibe by Mistral. The list also covers ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, and Manus. Three are assistants from other open-model labs, like Qwen. Four come from the large AI platforms. Two focus on research and finished reports, and one focuses on reports built from your own data.

This list is ordered for reading rather than ranked by score. A tool appearing above another says nothing about which suits your work better. Every price below was read from the vendor's own pages or App Store listings on November 4, 2026. No third-party review scores were used.

Why people look for Qwen alternatives

Qwen is Alibaba's AI assistant, powered by its Tongyi family of models. Its website calls it an AI assistant for everyone that is free to use and open to all. It offers chat, search, deep thinking, Deep Research reports, web development, and image and video generation.

So why compare? Search suggestions for the brand include "qwen alternatives free," "qwen ai alternatives," and "qwen chat alternatives." Several practical reasons sit behind those searches:

Language and region. On November 4, Qwen's website displayed in Simplified Chinese from our location. Some readers want an assistant whose site and support run in English.
Mobile access. A search of the US App Store on November 4 did not return an official Qwen app. US users may want an assistant with a native app.
Office files. Qwen's home page lists reports from Deep Research and websites from Web Dev. The page we read did not list slide decks or spreadsheets.
Work that starts with data. A report built from a sales export or a financial statement needs every number checked. Some tools are built around that step.
Team setup. Many teams already pay for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace and want AI inside those apps.

The right Qwen alternative depends on the job. A student wants a free chat assistant. A researcher wants cited sources. An analyst wants a report built from a spreadsheet. This list covers all three.

How these tools were evaluated

Eleven candidates were assessed. One was removed. Ten made the list.

Every candidate had to offer AI chat, research, or report output to individual users. Each needed a live product page or App Store listing we could open on the day of review.

Prices are written the way each vendor shows them. Where a page leaves something out, such as how a plan is billed, the entry says so. Where a pricing page could not be read, the entry says that too and uses the App Store listing instead. A missing detail did not remove a tool.

The one removal was outside the scope of this list:

Built for coding rather than chat and reports (1). Anthropic describes Claude Code as its "agentic coding tool for your terminal and IDE." It is a strong tool for that job, and readers searching for "qwen code alternatives" may want it. It is not an alternative to Qwen's chat assistant, so Claude itself is listed instead.

These checks depend on the day. Pricing and features in this space change often, so confirm on each vendor's page before you buy.

Why Powerdrill Bloom is recommended as a Qwen alternative

Powerdrill Bloom was read against the same criteria as every other tool here. It is recommended as a Qwen alternative for one part of the job: research and reports that start from real data. That covers sales exports, financial statements, survey results, and PDF reports.

Its homepage describes it as "The AI data analyst that shows its work." Each figure links back to its source. The AI Report Generator builds reports from Excel, CSV, or PDF files. A Free plan is available, and Pro is $13.27/mo.

Its focus is data and reports rather than casual chat. Readers who mainly want free, open-ended chat should look at DeepSeek or Vibe by Mistral. Readers who want cited web research should look at Perplexity.

Quick comparison

Tool	Best for	Entry paid price	Free option
Powerdrill Bloom	Reports and slides built from data files	Pro $13.27/mo	Free plan
DeepSeek	A free chat assistant from another open-model lab	Not listed for the app	Free app
Kimi	Slides, Office files, and agent swarms	App Store lists Plus at $19.00	Free app download
Vibe by Mistral	An agent for research, spreadsheets, and slides	Pro $14.99/mo, excluding taxes	Free plan
ChatGPT	Chat, Work tasks, and Codex in one plan	Go $8/month	Free plan
Claude	Chat, Cowork tasks, and Claude Design, Slides, and Docs	Pro $17 per month with annual subscription	Free plan
Gemini	Chat plus files you can open in Google Slides and Sheets	Google AI Pro $19.99/mo	Available to all Gemini app users
Microsoft Copilot	Copilot with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint	Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99 in the App Store	Free app
Perplexity	Cited answers and Deep Research	App Store lists Perplexity Pro at $20.00	Free app
Manus	A general agent that delivers research, slides, and sites	$20/month	Free chat in the app

1. Powerdrill Bloom

What it does

Powerdrill Bloom is an AI workspace that turns files, databases, and open data into analysis, reports, and slides. Its homepage says "Every number comes back with the page, the row and the figure behind it."

Against Qwen, it covers the data-heavy end of research. Qwen's Deep Research starts from the web and writes a report. Powerdrill Bloom starts from your spreadsheets, documents, and open data sources, and builds the report around the numbers.

It suits analysts, finance teams, researchers, and managers whose reports must match the source data.

Key features

Reports from data. The AI Report Generator says "Simply upload your data file, and let the AI do the rest."
Market research. The AI Research page says it analyzes your internal data "while simultaneously scanning billions of real-time public web data points."
Slides from files. The Excel to PPT tool says it can "Create professional PowerPoint slides in seconds from any topic, Excel, CSV or PDF."
Documents from notes. The AI Document Generator creates "policies, SOPs, memos, product specs and briefs" and exports "as Word, PDF or Notion."
Recurring work. The homepage announces "Scheduled Agent — your recurring analysis runs itself."

Pricing

The pricing page lists Free at $0.00 and Pro at $13.27/mo. Every plan includes 1,000 daily refreshed credits, and paid plans add monthly credits. The Free plan lists "Upload Excel, CSV, PDF, and docs" and "Search built-in open data sources." Pro lists 20 scheduled tasks.

For a first test, you can try Powerdrill Bloom with one spreadsheet you report on every month.

Pros

Builds reports, slides, and documents from the same uploaded data.
Combines your own files with public web data for research.
Each figure can be traced back to its page or row.
Exports to PowerPoint, Word, PDF, and Notion.

Cons

Its focus is data and research work rather than casual chat.
Its pages do not describe video generation.
Usage is credit-based, so heavy analysis draws down the allowance faster.

2. DeepSeek

What it does

DeepSeek is a free AI assistant from the Chinese lab of the same name. Its App Store listing invites users to "Experience seamless interaction with DeepSeek's official AI assistant for free!"

Of all the tools here, it is the closest to Qwen in spirit. Both come from Chinese AI labs, both offer a free assistant, and both offer models to developers through an API. DeepSeek's homepage lists DeepThink and Search modes, an API platform, and a tool called DeepSeek Harness.

It suits people who want a free, capable chat assistant with a reasoning mode.

Key features

Free chat. The app is listed as free, with no in-app purchases shown in the US App Store.
DeepThink. A reasoning mode is listed on the homepage next to Search.
Search. The assistant can look up current information from the web.
Recent model updates. The homepage says DeepSeek V4.1 Flash "has been updated to version V4.1-Flash-1017."
API platform. Developers can use DeepSeek models through a separate API with its own pricing.

Pricing

The US App Store lists the DeepSeek app as free and shows no in-app purchases. The homepage links to a separate API pricing page for developers. No paid plan for the chat assistant was shown on the pages we read.

Pros

Free to use, with no paid tier needed for chat.
A reasoning mode and web search are built in.
Available on the web and as a US App Store app.
A close match for readers who like Qwen's free model.

Cons

Its App Store listing and homepage do not describe slide or spreadsheet output.
The App Store description is short, with few feature details.
Business controls are not described on the consumer pages we read.

3. Kimi

What it does

Kimi is an AI agent from Moonshot AI, another Chinese lab. Its App Store listing names Kimi K3.1 Pro, with "Major upgrades to 3D creation, coding, content creation, and financial research."

Kimi goes further than Qwen on office work. It makes slide decks, converts Office files, and runs large multi-agent research jobs.

It suits people who want slides, documents, and research from one agent app.

Key features

Agent Swarm. "Kimi coordinates up to 300 AI agents across 4,000 parallel steps," covering research, analysis, and report writing.
AI Slides. It can "Make a professional PowerPoint presentation from just a topic or visual reference."
Office Agent. It converts PDF to Word, Word to PDF, and PDF to Excel, writes Excel formulas, and turns data into charts.
Vibe Coding. It builds websites from a description or a visual reference.
3D creation. It can generate 3D models and multiplayer 3D games from text.

Pricing

The US App Store lists in-app purchases including Plus at $19.00, Pro at $39.00, Max at $99.00, and Ultra at $199.00. It also lists a Plus Annual Pass at $180.99. The listing does not say which plans are monthly. The app itself is free to download.

Pros

Covers slides, Office conversions, and research in one app.
Agent Swarm handles large research tasks in parallel.
A free download, with paid plans for heavier use.
Strong focus on financial research in the latest model.

Cons

The App Store listing shows two sets of plan names, such as Moderato and Plus, at the same prices.
Billing periods are not stated for most in-app purchases.
A wide feature set, including 3D and games, makes the app busier than a pure research tool.

4. Vibe by Mistral

What it does

Vibe by Mistral is the assistant formerly called Le Chat. Its App Store name is "Vibe by Mistral (ex-Le Chat)." Mistral describes it as "your AI agent for long-horizon tasks, fluent in your knowledge and tools."

Like Qwen, it comes from a lab that releases open-weight models. Mistral is based in Europe, which matters to some teams.

It suits people who want an agent that researches, analyzes spreadsheets, and drafts reports from connected tools.

Key features

Deep research. The listing says it can "Run deep research across the web, internal docs, and connected tools with sourced analysis."
Spreadsheet analysis. It can "Analyse spreadsheets and connected resources to surface patterns, anomalies, and key signals."
Report drafting. It can "Draft reports, updates, and announcements from internal context."
Slides and sheets on Pro. The pricing page lists "Generate spreadsheets and slides" among Pro features.
Connectors. The Free plan lists "100+ connectors."

Pricing

Mistral's pricing page lists Free, Pro, Team, and Enterprise. Pro is $14.99 per month, and Team is $24.99 per user per month, both excluding taxes. Enterprise is by contact. The App Store also lists Vibe Pro at $14.99 and $149.99.

Pros

A Free plan with web search, connectors, and basic image tools.
Pro adds spreadsheet and slide generation.
Sourced analysis for research tasks.
A European vendor with open-weight models.

Cons

The Free plan lists limited messages and web searches.
Prices are shown excluding taxes, so the final cost depends on where you live.
Several Pro features focus on coding, which some readers will not use.

5. ChatGPT

What it does

ChatGPT is OpenAI's assistant. Paid plans include ChatGPT Work, which OpenAI calls "a separate ChatGPT experience for longer research and deliverable tasks." Plans also include Codex, OpenAI's coding agent.

Against Qwen, it offers a much larger set of features in English, with apps on every major platform.

It suits people who want one plan for chat, research, documents, and coding.

Key features

Intelligent UI. Since October 7, ChatGPT "can now combine text, visuals, and interactive elements to fit your question."
ChatGPT Work. Longer research and deliverable tasks run in Work on paid plans.
Audio uploads. You can "Upload audio files to ChatGPT to create transcripts, summarize recordings, and ask questions."
Codex. OpenAI says "Codex is included across ChatGPT plans, including Free and Go."
Shared usage. OpenAI says that starting in December, Plus, Pro, and Business usage "will be shared across ChatGPT and Codex."

Pricing

OpenAI's pricing docs list Free at $0/month, Go at $8/month, and Plus at $20/month. Pro starts at $100/month, with tiers at $100, $200, or $500. Business is $20 per user per month billed annually, or $25 billed monthly.

Pros

A Free plan, plus a low-cost Go tier.
Work handles longer research and deliverable tasks.
Coding through Codex is included across plans.
Native apps on web, desktop, and mobile.

Cons

Usage limits depend on the model and task, so heavy users need to watch the allowance.
From December, chat and Codex will draw from one shared pool on paid plans.
The most capable options sit on the Pro tiers.

For more on that usage change, see our roundup of ChatGPT Work alternatives.

6. Claude

What it does

Claude is Anthropic's assistant. Its release notes say you can "hand Claude a bigger task, like a report, spreadsheet, or presentation, without choosing a mode first."

Against Qwen, Claude adds strong document and slide tools inside the chat. Its pricing page lists Claude Design, Slides, and Docs on the Free plan.

It suits writers, researchers, and analysts who want finished documents from a conversation.

Key features

Cowork in every conversation. Cowork tasks, projects, connectors, and skills carry over into normal chats.
Design, Slides, and Docs. Anthropic says "Artifacts, including Claude Design, Claude Slides, and Claude Docs, are available on every plan, including Free."
Projects. The Pro plan lists Projects for organizing work.
Microsoft 365 and Chrome. The Pro plan lists Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365.
Claude Duet. A research preview for Pro and Max, where "Claude works as a proactive agent."

Pricing

Claude's pricing page lists Free at $0, with "Limited usage every 5 hours." Pro is $17 per month with an annual subscription, or $20 billed monthly. Max is $100 per month, and Ultra is $200 per month. Team standard seats are $20 per seat per month billed annually, or $25 billed monthly.

Pros

Design, Slides, and Docs are included on the Free plan.
Large tasks run from any conversation.
Clear plan tiers with stated usage multiples.
Connectors to Microsoft 365 and Chrome on Pro.

Cons

The Free plan has limited usage every five hours.
Higher usage needs Max or Ultra, at $100 or $200 per month.
Claude Duet is still a research preview.

7. Gemini

What it does

Gemini is Google's assistant. On October 29, Google said you can "generate, preview, and edit files right within your Gemini app chat."

Against Qwen, its main advantage is the link to Google's apps. Slide decks open in Google Slides, and spreadsheets open in Google Sheets.

It suits people who already work in Google Workspace or use Google apps daily.

Key features

Slide decks. Gemini can draft decks and open them "in Google Slides, or downloading as a PPTX or PDF."
Sheets. It can "Generate structured trackers, tables, and data models from a prompt."
Documents and PDFs. It drafts PDFs, Google Docs, LaTeX, Markdown, or TXT files and edits them inline.
Wide availability. Google says file generation is "available to all users in all languages where the Gemini app is available."
Google AI plans. Paid plans add more Gemini access and storage.

Pricing

The Gemini app is free to use. Google's AI plans page lists Google AI Pro at $19.99/mo or $199.99/year. Google AI Ultra is $99.99/mo, and Google says "Ultra plans are billed monthly only." A Google AI Plus plan is also listed, but its price did not appear in the page text we read.

Pros

File generation is open to all Gemini app users.
Decks and sheets open directly in Google apps.
Exports to PPTX and PDF.
Paid plans bundle storage with Gemini access.

Cons

PDF preview works on mobile, but other file formats are web only.
The deepest features sit on paid Google AI plans.
Teams outside Google Workspace gain less from the app links.

8. Microsoft Copilot

What it does

Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's assistant app. Its App Store listing says "The Microsoft Copilot app is the AI built for work."

Against Qwen, its advantage is the tie to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. It creates documents and decks in the formats most offices already use.

It suits people who work in Microsoft 365 every day.

Key features

Office files. The listing says you can "Create polished documents, presentations, and spreadsheets."
Cowork. "With Cowork, Copilot can take on multi-step work and help deliver finished files and completed to-dos."
Connected apps. Copilot "connects to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and more."
Model choice. You can choose "between leading AI models" for each task.
File uploads. You can upload Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images, or PDF files from your phone.

Pricing

The Copilot app is free to download. Its US App Store in-app purchases include Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 and $99.99, and Family at $12.99. They also list Microsoft 365 Premium Monthly at $19.99 and Premium Annual at $199.99, plus Basic at $1.99.

Pros

Works closely with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Cowork handles multi-step tasks that end in files.
Model choice for different tasks.
Free app download, with Microsoft 365 plans for more.

Cons

Some Personal and Family purchases do not state the billing period in the listing.
Business features depend on a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.
People outside Microsoft 365 gain less from the app ties.

9. Perplexity

What it does

Perplexity is an AI answer engine. Its App Store listing promises "Accurate answers to any question, backed by sources and citations."

Against Qwen, its focus is research with visible sources. Every answer links to where the information came from.

It suits students, analysts, and anyone who needs to check sources quickly.

Key features

Cited answers. The listing says "Cited sources for every answer."
Deep Research. "Perplexity Pro Search & Deep Research: Guided AI search for deeper exploration."
Labs. "Perplexity Labs: Bring your reports and projects to life faster than ever before."
Assistant. It can "Draft emails, schedule appointments, book reservations, and more."
Several model makers. The app "leverages the power of the top AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and more."

Pricing

Perplexity's pricing page returned an access error from our location on November 4. The US App Store lists in-app purchases including Perplexity Pro at $20.00 and $200.00, and Perplexity Max at $200.00. It also lists credit packs from 500 credits at $5.00 to 5,000 credits at $50.00. The listing does not state billing periods.

Pros

Sources and citations on every answer.
Deep Research and Labs for longer reports.
Access to models from several AI companies.
A free app, with Pro and Max for heavier use.

Cons

We could not read the pricing page directly, so confirm prices on Perplexity's site.
The App Store listing does not state billing periods.
Credit packs are sold separately for heavier use.

10. Manus

What it does

Manus calls itself "a general AI agent that bridges mind and action." Its App Store listing says it works "asynchronously in the cloud," so a task keeps running after you close the app.

Against Qwen, Manus is built to deliver finished products, not just answers. Research, slides, and websites all come from one prompt.

It suits people who want one agent to research, build, and deliver without supervision.

Key features

Wide Research. "Multiple sub-agents work in parallel to synthesize findings and draft detailed reports automatically."
Slides. It can "Generate complete, polished slide decks tailored to your needs with one prompt."
Data analysis. It can "Transform raw Excel or CSV data into clear visual insights and interactive dashboards."
Free chat. The listing describes "FREE & UNLIMITED CHAT," with an upgrade to Agent Mode for complex work.
Scheduling. Every plan on the pricing page lists 20 scheduled tasks and 20 concurrent tasks.

Pricing

In the monthly view, the pricing page shows plans at $20/month, $40/month, and $200/month. They include 4,000, 8,000, and 40,000 credits per month, plus 300 refresh credits every day. Annual billing is also offered. The page does not show plan names.

Pros

One agent covers research, slides, sites, and dashboards.
Tasks keep running in the cloud while you do other work.
Free chat in the app, with agent work on paid plans.
Every plan includes 20 scheduled tasks.

Cons

The pricing page does not name its plans.
Agent work is tied to credits, so heavy use costs more.
The pricing page displayed in Chinese from our location, so the wording may differ in your region.

What Qwen itself offers

Before you switch, it helps to know what Qwen already does. These details come from Qwen's website, which displayed in Simplified Chinese from our location on November 4.

A free assistant. Qwen describes itself as free to use and open to everyone, powered by the Tongyi model family.
Deep Research. An agent system runs multi-step web searches and writes comprehensive, easy-to-read reports.
Web Dev. It builds complete web pages from natural language prompts.
Image and video generation. Qwen VLo edits and generates images, and the site lists video generation.
Multimodal understanding. It works with text, images, audio, and video, including data in charts.
API platform. Developers can use Qwen through an API in an OpenAI-compatible format.

Qwen also releases open-weight models. Our guide to Qwen3.8 covers the latest open release and how to run it locally.

If those features cover your needs, Qwen may be enough on its own. The alternatives above help most when you need English-first support, a US app, office files, or reports from your own data.

Free plans and trials compared

Many readers search for free Qwen alternatives. Here is what each vendor offers at no cost, based on its own pages.

Tool	Free option	What the free option includes, per the vendor
Powerdrill Bloom	Free plan, $0.00	1,000 daily refreshed credits, file uploads, open data search, 1 scheduled task
DeepSeek	Free app	The official assistant, offered "for free"
Kimi	Free download	App access, with paid plans in the App Store
Vibe by Mistral	Free plan	Limited messages and web searches, 100+ connectors
ChatGPT	Free plan, $0/month	Chat, with Codex included
Claude	Free plan, $0	Limited usage every 5 hours, Claude Design, Slides, and Docs
Gemini	Free app	File generation for all Gemini app users
Microsoft Copilot	Free app	The app, with Microsoft 365 plans for more
Perplexity	Free app	Answers with cited sources
Manus	Free chat	Chat in the app, with agent tasks on paid plans

For research with sources, Perplexity's free app is a strong start. For slides and documents, Claude's Free plan includes Design, Slides, and Docs. For reports from your own spreadsheets, Powerdrill Bloom's Free plan covers uploads and charts.

How to choose between them

Start with what you hand over and what you need back.

You want a free chat assistant like Qwen. Look at DeepSeek first. Vibe by Mistral and the free plans of ChatGPT and Claude are also options.

You want cited research. Perplexity puts sources on every answer. Vibe by Mistral and Manus also produce sourced research and reports.

You want slides and documents. Claude, Kimi, and Gemini all generate decks. Gemini opens them in Google Slides, and Microsoft Copilot works with PowerPoint.

You want reports from your own data. Powerdrill Bloom builds reports and slides from spreadsheets and PDFs, with each figure traced to its source.

You want one agent to deliver a full project. Manus and Kimi run multi-step tasks and return finished work.

You already pay for an office suite. Microsoft 365 users should try Copilot first. Google Workspace users should try Gemini first.

Test two or three tools with the same task. Use a real question or file from your work, and compare the results side by side.

Final verdict

Qwen is a capable free assistant, and many readers will find it enough. The alternatives in this list help when you need something Qwen does not focus on.

DeepSeek is the closest like-for-like swap, with a free assistant from another open-model lab. Kimi and Vibe by Mistral add office files, slides, and research agents. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot bring large platforms and app links. Perplexity is the pick for cited research, and Manus for hands-off projects.

For research and reports that start from your own data, Powerdrill Bloom is the fit. It turns spreadsheets and PDFs into reports and slides, and every number links back to its source.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to Qwen?

DeepSeek is the closest free alternative, as a free assistant from another Chinese AI lab. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Vibe by Mistral also have free plans. For reports from your own files, Powerdrill Bloom has a Free plan at $0.00.

Is Qwen free to use?

Yes. Qwen's website describes the assistant as free to use and open to everyone. Developers can also use Qwen models through a paid API or download open-weight releases.

What is the closest alternative to Qwen for research?

Perplexity is the closest for cited web research, with sources on every answer. Vibe by Mistral offers sourced deep research across the web and connected tools. Manus runs parallel research agents and drafts reports.

Which Qwen alternative can make slides and reports?

Kimi, Claude, Gemini, Manus, and Microsoft Copilot can all generate slide decks. For reports and slides built from spreadsheets or PDFs, Powerdrill Bloom traces each figure back to its source.

Is there a Qwen alternative from Europe?

Yes. Vibe by Mistral, formerly Le Chat, comes from Mistral, a European AI company. It has a Free plan, and Pro is listed at $14.99 per month, excluding taxes.

Sources: Qwen · DeepSeek · DeepSeek on the App Store · Kimi on the App Store · Mistral pricing · Vibe by Mistral on the App Store · ChatGPT and Codex pricing · ChatGPT release notes · OpenAI Help, Understanding ChatGPT and Codex usage limits · Claude pricing · Claude release notes · Claude Code · Google Workspace Updates, Create, preview, and edit files directly in the Gemini app · Google AI plans · Microsoft Copilot on the App Store · Perplexity on the App Store · Manus on the App Store · Manus pricing. Details read on November 4, 2026.