DeepL alternatives worth a look
Feature lists do not tell you which tool you will still be using in three months. Steps-per-task does.
Every tool below is genuinely good at something. The differences that actually decide which one you keep are workflow, language coverage and floor price — not feature counts.
Prices are approximate list prices checked in August 2026.
How we compared them
- Quality
- In-place workflow
- Language coverage
- Learning aids
- Price
At a glance
| Tool | Price | Where it works | Languages | Strengths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| aiCat | $0 / $6 per month | Every app, OS-wide | Any language | Rewrite, translate, check, detect, voice, image, video |
| Google Translate | free for consumers | Translator | Multilingual | Free, Enormous language coverage |
| ChatGPT | around $20 / month for Plus | Chat assistant | Multilingual | Best-in-class general reasoning, Huge ecosystem |
The list
1. aiCat
Best if you work across many apps and languages
Why: One hotkey set covering ten tasks, everywhere on your computer, at $6/month with a free tier that is genuinely usable. It picks the cheapest adequate model per task instead of billing you frontier prices for a comma.
Watch out: Newer than the incumbents, and image/video generation needs Premium.
More →2. Google Translate
Best for free
Why: Free; Enormous language coverage; Camera and conversation modes.
Watch out: Requires leaving your app; Literal rather than idiomatic on hard text.
More →3. ChatGPT
Best for best-in-class general reasoning
Why: Best-in-class general reasoning; Huge ecosystem; Voice mode and image generation.
Watch out: Lives in its own window — you bring the text to it; $20/month regardless of how little you use it.
More →Try it on the text in front of you
Free to start, 10 aiCatCoins included, no card. Mac, Windows and Linux.
aiCat pricing at a glance
| Plan | Price | aiCatCoins / month | Max selection | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10 | 500 chars | All text tasks + free voice-to-text |
| Premium | $6/mo (was $10) | 3 000 | 5 000 chars | Voice, image, video, premium models |
| Team + Offline | $18/member | 12 000 | 50 000 chars | Local models, no-internet mode, team sync |
| Enterprise | $90/member | 150 000 | Unlimited | SSO, audit, best coin rate |
Frequently asked
Which tool is the cheapest?
aiCat has the lowest floor: free with 10 aiCatCoins a month, $6 for Premium, and pay-as-you-go coins that do not expire.
Which one works outside the browser?
aiCat works in every application on macOS, Windows and Linux. Most of the others are browser extensions or web apps.
What is aiCat?
aiCat is a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux. You select text anywhere on your computer, press one hotkey, and an AI does what you need with it — rewrite, translate, proof-check, detect AI, explain, read aloud, dictate, or start a chat.
How much does aiCat cost?
Free to start, with 10 aiCatCoins a month and every text task included. Premium is $6 a month (40% off the $10 list price) and adds voice, image and video generation, 5000-character selections and 3000 coins a month. Team + Offline is $18 per member and adds local models that work without internet.
Which operating systems does aiCat support?
macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows 10/11, and Linux as AppImage, .deb or .rpm.