Criterion Microsoft CopilotQwen Chat
CategoryAI Chatbots & AssistantsAI Chatbots & Assistants
In one sentenceMicrosoft's AI assistant, free on its own and built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook through Microsoft 365 plans.Alibaba's free Qwen assistant on web and mobile, with Qwen models also sold per token through Alibaba Cloud Model Studio.
Problem it solvesBrings AI help into the Office apps people already use for documents, spreadsheets, slides and email.Provides a free general-purpose assistant and a separate low-cost model API for developers.
Free planYesYes
Developer APINoYes — docs
Open sourceNoNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, iOS, Android, Microsoft 365 appsWeb, iOS, Android
Pricing (summary)The Copilot app is free with limited usage. Microsoft 365 Personal ($9.99/month), Family ($12.99/month) and Premium ($19.99/month) add Copilot in Office apps. Businesses can buy bundles with Copilot or a Copilot Business add-on per user.
Checked 2026-10-19
Qwen's site describes the Qwen Chat app as free. API usage is billed per 1M tokens through Alibaba Cloud Model Studio, with a 1M-token free quota for 90 days in the international (Singapore) region.
Checked 2026-10-23
Strengths
  • Deep Office integration
  • Bundles storage and Office apps
  • Business add-on priced per user
  • Free consumer app
  • Cheap flash-tier API
  • Long context on flagship models
Limitations
  • Models used per plan are not named on pricing pages
  • Family plan AI features are owner-only
  • No AI features in Microsoft 365 Basic
  • Default app model not documented on pages checked
  • App usage limits not published
  • API free quota only in the Singapore region and for 90 days