If you only read one line: pick by workload, not by benchmark charts.
For Everyday questions and spoken practice; Short-video and Douyin scripts, Doubao is the more direct fit. For Free PPT and spreadsheet generation; WeChat and public-account content, Yuanbao gets there with less fighting.
Both have free tiers, so cost only separates them once you hit the limits. Context limits aren't published for both, so treat this as untested until you hit the ceiling yourself.
| Dimension | Doubao | Yuanbao |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | Core features free; paid tiers CNY 68/mo (CNY 688/yr), CNY 200/mo (CNY 2,048/yr) and CNY 500/mo (CNY 5,088/yr) (checked 2026-10-29) | Every feature is free as of this check, including generating and downloading PPT, Word, Excel, PDF and HTML files; a July 2026 report said no paid plan was scheduled (checked 2026-10-29) |
| Context window | 1M tokens (doubao-seed-2.1-pro; Volcano Ark prices 0-1024K input in bands) (checked 2026-10-29) | not published |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, macOS | Web, iOS, Android, Desktop (PC) |
| Best for | Everyday questions and spoken practice; Short-video and Douyin scripts; Students and light office tasks | Free PPT and spreadsheet generation; WeChat and public-account content; Students and light office work |
| Availability | Directly reachable in mainland China with no proxy, and a China edition exists (checked 2026-10-29). | Directly reachable in mainland China with no proxy, and a China edition exists (checked 2026-10-29). |
Everyday questions and spoken practice; Short-video and Douyin scripts; Students and light office tasks. Its strongest point: Free tier already covers daily chat, search and images. Watch out for: Professional document work sits behind the paid tiers.
Free PPT and spreadsheet generation; WeChat and public-account content; Students and light office work. Its strongest point: Agent-style office work, including file export, costs nothing. Watch out for: Flagship model context window is not published.
Most people I know keep both tabs open — one for finding things, one for producing the final draft — and stop paying for whichever they touch last.
Doubao if you want Everyday questions and spoken practice. Yuanbao if Free PPT and spreadsheet generation. Neither has a learning curve worth worrying about past the first day.
Yes — both have free tiers, and the pair covers more ground than either alone.
Context limits aren't published for both, so treat this as untested until you hit the ceiling yourself.