Tool category
Full-stack AI assistants - chat, writing, coding, research and image generation in one subscription - compared for India and Southeast Asia: INR billing, UPI support, and which plan actually earns its keep.
OpenAI
The default AI assistant - with budget Go plans across India and Southeast Asia.
From ₹399/mo
Best for: most people starting with paid AI in India — Go at ₹399 is the value benchmark
See pricing & verdict →Anthropic
The long-document and coding specialist — but the priciest for Indian wallets.
From ₹2,250/mo
Best for: long documents, careful writing and coding — if USD billing does not scare you
See pricing & verdict →Google's assistant with true INR pricing — and free AI Pro for Jio users.
From ₹399/mo
Best for: Jio users (18 months free) and anyone living in Google Workspace
See pricing & verdict →Perplexity AI
AI search with citations — huge in India after the Airtel giveaway.
From ₹1,760/mo
Best for: research with citations — students, analysts, anyone who needs sources
See pricing & verdict →Microsoft
Free frontier-model access in the browser, Office superpowers if you pay.
From ₹1,760/mo
Best for: free frontier-model access, and Office users who want AI inside Word and Excel
See pricing & verdict →Meta
The AI already inside WhatsApp — free, in Hindi, no app to install.
Freeto start
Best for: zero-friction everyday AI inside WhatsApp — and it speaks Hindi
See pricing & verdict →
