The best AI tools, honestly tested, plainly explained
17 tools put to work: Assistants, Images, Coding, Text, Video/Audio. We score against five fixed criteria and say plainly who a tool is worth it for, and who it is not.
The top 6 overall
Overall score from output quality, usability, feature set, value for money and data protection. The full ranking is in the tool overview, the procedure behind it in our test methodology.
Claude
AnthropicThe strongest assistant for long documents, careful analysis and writing with substance.
2DeepL
DeepL SETranslation at reference level, from Cologne, with European data protection.
3ChatGPT
OpenAIThe all-rounder with the widest feature set and the largest ecosystem.
4Adobe Firefly
AdobeLegally clean image AI, sitting where designers already work.
5Claude Code
AnthropicA terminal agent that takes on whole tasks in a repository by itself.
6GitHub Copilot
GitHub / MicrosoftThe standard in many development teams: unobtrusive, integrated, manageable.
AI tools by category
An all-rounder rarely replaces a good specialist. Start from the task, not the tool.
AI assistants & chatbots
All-rounders for research, writing, analysis and everyday questions.
AI image generators
From a written description to a finished image, for marketing, social media and concept work.
AI coding tools
Code completion, refactoring and agents that take on whole tasks.
AI translation & writing tools
Tools for translation, editing, knowledge management and marketing copy.
AI video generators & voice AI
Speech synthesis, video clips and avatars for training, advertising and social media.
All tools side by side
Sorted by overall score. Prices are vendor list prices as of August 2026, without warranty.
| # | Tool | Category | Overall score | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assistants | from about $20 per month | Knowledge work with long texts: research, analysis, editing, legal work | ||
| 2 | Text | from about 8.99 euros per month | Translating specialist texts, contracts and correspondence | ||
| 3 | Assistants | from about $20 per month | Anyone looking for one tool that covers as many tasks as possible | ||
| 4 | Images | from about 9.99 euros per month, included in Creative Cloud plans | Agencies and companies with approval processes | ||
| 5 | Coding | included in the Claude plans, from about $20 per month | Experienced developers, automation, larger rewrites | ||
| 6 | Coding | from about $10 per month | Development teams that need a centrally managed solution | ||
| 7 | Coding | from about $20 per month | Developers who write a lot of new code and iterate quickly | ||
| 8 | Video/Audio | from about $5 per month | Audiobooks, training videos, podcasts, accessibility | ||
| 9 | Assistants | from about 21.99 euros per month (Google One plan) | Users of Gmail, Google Docs and Android | ||
| 10 | Assistants | from about 14.99 euros per month | Public bodies, mid-sized companies and anyone with strict EU privacy requirements | ||
| 11 | Assistants | from about $20 per month | Research, market monitoring, journalism, competitive analysis | ||
| 12 | Images | Software free, costs come from hardware or hosting | Technically confident users, data protection edge cases, high volumes | ||
| 13 | Text | from about $10 per user per month on top of the Notion plan | Teams that already keep their knowledge in Notion | ||
| 14 | Images | from about $8 per month | Social media graphics, posters, logo drafts, packaging ideas | ||
| 15 | Images | from about $10 per month | Creatives, agencies, concept imagery and mood boards | ||
| 16 | Video/Audio | from about $29 per month | Training, onboarding and product video in many languages | ||
| 17 | Video/Audio | from about $15 per month | Advertising, music videos, moving images for social media |
New on the blog
Use cases, comparisons and field reports on artificial intelligence, see all articles.
Video AI in focus
CapCut: AI features inside the editor itself
ByteDance's video editor has grown into a toolbox with script-to-video, avatars and voice cloning. For short social formats it is the shortest route from idea to finished clip.
Video AI in focus
HeyGen: avatar video for training, sales and support
A script becomes a video with a talking avatar, in over a hundred languages. Where that holds up, where it shows, and what it requires legally.
AI use cases
AI use cases at the office: seven tasks where it pays off
Not every task suits AI. These seven do, with realistic time savings, the right tools and the places where a human still has to check.
Frequently asked questions
Which AI tool is the best?
There is no single best tool for every task. Claude and ChatGPT lead our overall ranking because they allow the most thorough and the broadest way of working respectively. For translation, DeepL beats any chatbot; for research with sources, Perplexity; for image work, Midjourney. What matters is the task, not the ranking.
How independent are your tests?
We test every tool with accounts we pay for ourselves, against the same five criteria. Vendors have no influence on scores and receive no texts in advance. Should we use affiliate links in future, we will mark them clearly; they have no bearing on the scores.
Are the free tiers enough?
For occasional private use, usually yes. As soon as you work with them for more than about an hour a day, or process company data, there is little way around a paid plan, mainly because of the data processing agreement, which free tiers generally do not include.
May I use AI tools in my company?
Yes, provided the data protection requirements are met: a data processing agreement, a clarified processing location, training on your inputs switched off, and an entry in the record of processing activities. On top of that come the transparency obligations of the AI Act. Our blog article on AI and the GDPR lists the checkpoints in detail.
How often do you update the scores?
We review the reports quarterly and again after major model changes. The date of the last update is in the footer and on every tool page.
Not sure which tool fits?
Our guide takes you from the actual task to the right software in five steps, including the questions worth settling before any rollout.