ChatGPT alternatives, sorted by why you're leaving
People switch for three reasons: cost, coding, or long documents. The right replacement depends on which one is yours.
If you're leaving over cost
Pick a tool with a free tier that covers your volume, not the one with the longest feature list. The free-tier list shows where each plan actually caps out.
If you're leaving over coding
Claude and GitHub Copilot are the two serious answers, and they solve different problems: Copilot lives inside the editor and knows your repository; Claude is better when you paste a file and want it changed according to your instructions. See Claude vs Copilot.
If you're leaving over long documents
Context window is the spec that matters. See the context column on the main table — anything under 200K will struggle with a full book or a long contract.