# Qwen review, pricing and alternatives

Source: https://listme.name/software/qwen
Website: https://qwen.ai/

Free AI assistant from Alibaba Cloud with search, Deep Research and image generation

Qwen is an AI assistant from Alibaba Cloud that is free to use, with web search, Deep Research, image and video generation and a Web Dev feature. Its API uses a format compatible with the OpenAI API, and the site offers apps for phones and desktops.

Qwen is an AI assistant from Alibaba Cloud, powered by its Qwen series of models. It offers chat with image and video understanding, image and video generation, Deep Research and a Search mode for finding information on the web. Its Web Dev feature builds a complete web page from a text prompt, and Artifacts is a separate tab in the same app.

The homepage describes Qwen as free to use and open to all, and it links to apps for phones and desktops. The Qwen API platform uses an API format compatible with the OpenAI API, so developers familiar with that format can work with it. The research page lists open-source models, such as Qwen-Image-2.1. The homepage describes no paid tiers or usage limits, which makes Qwen less clear than ChatGPT or Claude about what extra usage costs.

- Free | Web, iOS, Android
- Price: Free to use; API is a separate developer platform
- Checked: 2026-10-10

## Strengths

- Free to use, with web search and Deep Research
- OpenAI-compatible API format for developers
- Image and video generation in the same app

## Limits

- Paid plans and usage limits are not described on the homepage
- Less detail on the homepage than ChatGPT or Claude

## Rankings

- #10 of 10 in [best AI chatbots](https://listme.name/best/ai-chatbots), score 78.5: Qwen is free to use and has web search, Deep Research and a Web Dev feature, along with an OpenAI-compatible API. Its homepage describes no paid tiers, which makes it less clear than ChatGPT or Claude on what extra usage costs.

## Alternatives

- [ChatGPT](https://listme.name/software/chatgpt), score 94.0
- [Claude](https://listme.name/software/claude), score 92.5
- [Gemini](https://listme.name/software/gemini), score 91.0
- [Microsoft Copilot](https://listme.name/software/microsoft-copilot), score 85.5
- [Perplexity](https://listme.name/software/perplexity), score 83.5
- [Grok](https://listme.name/software/grok), score 82.0
- [Mistral Vibe](https://listme.name/software/mistral-vibe), score 81.0
- [DeepSeek](https://listme.name/software/deepseek), score 79.5