C
CGeneral-purpose AI chat assistant for writing, research, coding and everyday tasks
Free, from $8/mo
Microsoft Copilot vs Mistral
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
M
Choose Microsoft Copilot if…
- you work on Windows, macOS
- you're in its core audience: individuals, students
M
Choose Mistral if…
- you want the lower entry price ($14.99/mo vs $18/mo)
- you need an API to build on
- you want open source you can self-host or audit
- you work on VS Code, JetBrains, Self-hosted
- you're in its core audience: developers, enterprises with data-control requirements
Side by side
Feature Microsoft Copilot Mistral
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$18/mo$14.99/mo
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
Trains AI on your content—Yes, unless you opt out
Data retention—Vibe input/output kept until you delete conversation or account
Web search
File upload & analysis—
Image generation
Voice conversations—
Memory—
Custom assistants—
App connectors / MCP—
Runs locally—
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, API, VS Code, JetBrains, Self-hosted
CategoryAI ChatbotsLocal & Open Models
CompanyMicrosoftMistral AI
Based in—France
Founded—2023
Part of——
Key features
M Microsoft Copilot
- Chat for brainstorming, summarizing and planning
- Web-grounded answers for research
- Content drafting and image generation
- Researcher for in-depth research
- Guided Learning study mode
- Notebook for organizing projects
- Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams on business plans
- Pre-built agents for research and data analysis
M Mistral
- Open-weight models that can be self-hosted
- Model customization on your own data with Forge
- Terminal coding agent powered by Devstral
- VS Code and JetBrains plugin with tab completion
- Remote coding agents in isolated sandboxes
- Custom MCP connectors and 100+ app connectors
- Spreadsheet, slide and image generation in chat
- Scheduled prompts, agents and workflows
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
Microsoft Copilot
FreeFree
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (add-on)$18/user/mo billed yearly (first-year promotional price); $25.20/user/mo monthly
Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot$23.50/user/mo billed yearly; $28.20/user/mo monthly
Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot$32/user/mo billed yearly; $38.40/user/mo monthly
Mistral
FreeFree
Pro$14.99/mo excluding taxes
Team$24.99/user/mo excluding taxes
EnterpriseCustom
Strengths and limitations
Microsoft Copilot
- Free tier available with a Microsoft account
- Apps for web, Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, plus Microsoft Edge
- Works inside Microsoft 365 apps on business plans
- Free tier has usage limits on some capabilities
- Advanced business features such as Cowork and Autopilot are billed by usage on top of the license
- The $18 add-on price is a first-year promotion and requires an eligible Microsoft 365 Business plan
Mistral
- Free plan includes chat, coding sessions and image generation
- Models can be self-hosted, on-prem or in your VPC
- Students can get Pro for $5.99/mo
- Pro includes $15/mo in API credits
- Commercial self-hosting requires a separate Mistral license
- Paid plans are subject to fair usage limits
- Enterprise pricing is available only through sales
More comparisons
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GG
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G
GxAI's chat assistant for questions, writing and research, with free and paid tiers
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G
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G
xAI's chat assistant for questions, writing and research, with free and paid tiers
AI ChatbotsFree planAPI
C
CC
Free, from $17/mo
D
DD
Paid
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Free
D
Private search engine, browser and Duck.ai chat for people who avoid tracking
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Built from each vendor's public website; we haven't tested them hands-on. Editorial policy