Best Side alternatives in 2026
8 direct alternatives to Side, compared on pricing, features, and best-for use cases. Pick the right replacement without the marketing fluff.
Curated by Louis Corneloup · Updated Cite this list: Toolradar, best Side alternatives 2026, toolradar.com/alternatives/side
Why people consider alternatives to Side
Side is a macOS-first desktop app that brings your favorite AI models into a compact chat panel living beside your Dock. It's designed for the small moments in your workflow: a quick question in the middle of a thought, a sentence that…
Teams most often switch away when one of these starts to bite:
- A feature or quota ceiling that a paid specialist covers and this free tool does not.
- Missing integrations with the rest of your stack.
- Performance or scale limits as your needs grow.
- A specific feature gap you have hit in ai assistants.
The 8 alternatives below cover the same core job (AI assistants) with different trade-offs.
8 alternatives to Side
Ranked by G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editor review, plus how directly they replace Side.
- 1
ChatGPT
Free plan Battle-tested at scaleAdvanced AI models for web, iOS, Android, and desktop
4.6 /5 on G2 · 2,958 ratings, Aug 2026
- 2
Google Gemini
Paid Battle-tested at scaleGoogle's advanced AI models with multimodal understanding and deep integration
3.4 /5 across Trustpilot, G2 and Capterra · 1,177 ratings, Sep 2026
- 3
Perplexity AI
Free planGet sourced, real-time answers with AI context
4.3 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 388 ratings, Sep 2026
- 4
Claude
Free planYour AI assistant for web, mobile, and desktop
3.0 /5 across G2 and Trustpilot · 705 ratings, Sep 2026
- 5
Raycast
Free planYour Mac's command center for lightning-fast search and actions
4.7 /5 on G2 · 16 ratings, Aug 2026
- 6
Poe
Free planMulti-AI chat platform by Quora
4.5 /5 on G2 · 17 ratings, Aug 2026
- 7
LobeChat
PaidAgent teammates that grow with you, fostering collaboration and continuous learning.
4.2 /5 on G2 · 15 ratings, Mar 2026
- 8
Merlin
Free planAssign AI coding tasks to Claude and Codex from Slack, Linear, and GitHub
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Side?
Based on real-signal scoring (G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editorial review), the top alternatives to Side are ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity AI. Each solves the same core job with different trade-offs on pricing, features, and integrations.
Is there a free alternative to Side?
Side is already 100% free. There is no other fully free alternative in this list. ChatGPT is freemium (free tier plus paid plans), not 100% free.
Why do people look for Side alternatives?
Common reasons teams switch away from Side even though it is free: missing integrations with the rest of their stack, performance or scale limits, or a specific feature gap in ai assistants. The alternatives on this page solve the same core problem with a different feature set.
Side-by-side comparisons
In-depth comparison pages for Side versus each alternative.
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