Compare AI tools

	Fathom S	DALL-E 3 B	Ideogram S	Perplexity S
Tagline	Meeting notes, free forever for individuals.	OpenAI's image model. Built into ChatGPT Plus.	The one that actually gets text in images right.	AI search done right. Cited answers, not chat theater.
Category	meeting	image	image	research
Pricing	Free for individuals + $15-$29/user/mo teams	Included with ChatGPT Plus $20/mo	Free + $8/mo + $20/mo + $60/mo	Free + $20/mo Pro
Best for	Solo operators, freelancers, small teams on a budget.	ChatGPT Plus users who want images without paying extra.	Anything with text — posters, ads, album covers, slide decks.	Replacing Google for any question where you want a cited answer in seconds.
Strengths	Unlimited free tier for solo use Strong summaries + action items Works in Zoom, Meet, Teams	Excellent prompt understanding Built into ChatGPT — no extra subscription Good at composition + concepts	Best text rendering in the game Strong free tier Good for logos, posters, thumbnails	Sources every claim Fast, current answers Pro Search runs multi-step research Spaces for persistent context
Weaknesses	Bot-joining model Team features gated	Aesthetic ceiling below Midjourney + Ideogram Text rendering worse than Ideogram No fine control	Aesthetic ceiling below Midjourney Less style variety	Not a general chatbot Answers can be shallow on complex topics
Kai's verdict	S-tier for solo + free. The best free option, hands down.	B-tier standalone, A-tier value if you already pay ChatGPT. Don't pay for it separately.	S-tier for text-in-image. Use this for posters, Midjourney for art.	S-tier for search. I use it before Google now. If you're still Googling everything, try this for a week.
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