What is the best free AI assistant?

For most beginners ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude: all three have a free version that is more than enough to learn. The quality difference is small; choose what fits your daily use.

Which AI assistant is the most privacy-friendly?

None is simply private. With Claude you choose at signup whether your chats may be used for training, and with most others you can switch it off. Mistral is a European company. Never paste sensitive data into a chatbot.

Best AI assistant for beginners in the Netherlands (2026)

ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Mistral and more compared for Dutch beginners: usage, price, privacy and where your data goes.

In short

For most Dutch beginners, the free version of ChatGPT is the safest start: it is the most used. If you use a lot of Google services, pick Gemini; if you write a lot, Claude. Mistral is the European choice. We advise against DeepSeek because data is stored in China.

Fact-checked on 2 November 2026

We rank the assistants for one specific reader: a Dutch beginner who wants to pick one assistant. For that we look at what people actually use, what it costs and what happens to your data. Explanation and sources are in the lesson Which assistant should you pick?.

1
ChatGPTBest start
By far the most used; most tutorials and colleagues assume it.
App Store NL (1 Nov 2026)
#5
Web traffic (Sep 2026)
57.5%
Around €20 a month
Plus €22.99 (App Store)
Training on your chats
on by default, can be switched off
Company / data
US (OpenAI)
2
GeminiFor Google users
Fits Gmail, Android and Google Photos; paid steps from €4.99.
App Store NL (1 Nov 2026)
#13
Web traffic (Sep 2026)
25.7%
Around €20 a month
AI Pro €21.99
Training on your chats
on while "Keep Activity" is on
Company / data
US (in the EEA: Google Ireland)
3
ClaudeFor writing
Fastest growing; strong at writing and documents. Free tier with limits per 5 hours and per week.
App Store NL (1 Nov 2026)
#4
Web traffic (Sep 2026)
9.8%
Around €20 a month
Pro $20 excl. VAT
Training on your chats
you choose at signup (opt-out)
Company / data
US (Anthropic)
4
Mistral VibeEuropean choice
Formerly Le Chat. French company with euro prices, but far less used.
App Store NL (1 Nov 2026)
outside top 100
Web traffic (Sep 2026)
not measured
Around €20 a month
Pro €14.99 excl. VAT
Training on your chats
on by default, can be switched off
Company / data
EU (France)
5
Microsoft Copilot
Strong as part of Word, Excel and Outlook; declining use as a standalone chat app.
App Store NL (1 Nov 2026)
#29
Web traffic (Sep 2026)
0.6%
Around €20 a month
via Microsoft 365
Training on your chats
no (new app since Aug 2026)
Company / data
US (Microsoft)
6
Meta AI
Already in WhatsApp and Instagram; in the EU Meta also uses Meta AI chats for training (you can object).
App Store NL (1 Nov 2026)
#53
Web traffic (Sep 2026)
not measured
Around €20 a month
free
Training on your chats
yes, you can object
Company / data
US (Meta)
7
Grok
Small share; ongoing EU investigations into deepfakes.
App Store NL (1 Nov 2026)
outside top 100
Web traffic (Sep 2026)
2.0%
Around €20 a month
not checked
Training on your chats
on by default, can be switched off
Company / data
US (SpaceXSI)
8
Perplexity
AI search engine with sources; declining use.
App Store NL (1 Nov 2026)
outside top 100
Web traffic (Sep 2026)
0.9%
Around €20 a month
Pro $20
Training on your chats
on by default, can be switched off
Company / data
US
9
DeepSeek
Strong model, but the app stores data in China; the Dutch Data Protection Authority warned against it.
App Store NL (1 Nov 2026)
outside top 100
Web traffic (Sep 2026)
3.5%
Around €20 a month
free
Training on your chats
yes
Company / data
China

Web traffic: share of visits to the seven largest AI chatbot sites worldwide (Similarweb via Momentic, September 2026). App Store: position among free iPhone apps in the Netherlands on 1 November 2026. Prices and settings: provider websites, 1 November 2026.