9xchat
ChatGPT Plus is $20 a month for access to OpenAI's models, image generation and browsing. It is the default choice, and for a lot of people it is the right one.
But "the default" and "the best fit" are different questions, and they diverge fastest for people who use AI daily rather than occasionally. Here is the comparison, including where ChatGPT Plus wins outright.
Side by side
| ChatGPT Plus | 9xChat | |
|---|---|---|
| Models | OpenAI only | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, DeepSeek, xAI and local models via Ollama |
| Switching mid-conversation | Within OpenAI's range | Any model, any turn |
| Where conversations live | OpenAI's servers | Your device |
| Local models | No | Yes, and nothing leaves the machine |
| Cost | $20/month, ongoing | Pay once, then either your own API keys or Pro + AI credits |
| Account | Email required | A UID, created in the app. No email, no password |
| Runs on | Web, desktop, mobile | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone |
Where ChatGPT Plus is genuinely better
This is the part most comparison articles skip, so let's do it first.
- The models are first-party. New OpenAI capabilities land there first, and sometimes only there.
- It is one thing to learn. No keys, no credit accounting, no choosing between models — you type and it answers.
- The integrated tooling is mature. Browsing, image generation and code execution all work together without configuration.
- It works everywhere without installing anything. A browser tab on any machine you happen to be sitting at.
If you use one model, occasionally, and never think about where the data goes, ChatGPT Plus is a fine answer and $20 is not the deciding factor.
Where the difference starts to matter
You want a model ChatGPT doesn't have. Claude for long-form writing, Gemini for a large context window, DeepSeek for cost, a local model for something you would rather not send anywhere. One subscription cannot give you those, and four subscriptions cost more than four times as much attention.
You are tired of re-explaining your project. Persistent memory that survives across models, not just across sessions with one model.
Your work is sensitive. On a local model, 9xChat sends nothing anywhere at all. On a cloud model it sends your prompt to the provider you picked — and we say that plainly rather than describing the app as "private" and leaving you to find out. Either way the workspace itself, the notes and the history stay on your device.
You would rather not rent it. Pay once, then either bring your own API keys and pay providers directly, or take Pro + AI with credits included. Both are different from a subscription that continues whether you used it this month or not.
The honest answer
They are not really the same product. ChatGPT Plus is one very good model with excellent tooling around it. 9xChat is a private AI chat app — a workspace that happens to speak to many models, including OpenAI's.
If you already pay for Plus and it fits, keep it. If you have found yourself opening three AI tools in three tabs, paying for two of them and explaining your project to each one, that is the problem 9xChat was built for.
See every model it supports, with prices per million tokens and context windows, or get 9xChat — creating an account inside the app starts a 3-day Pro trial with welcome credits.
