Comparison
Surikat or Gemini?
Gemini is the assistant many people use without having chosen it: it is built into Google's services. That is a considerable advantage, and an honest comparison starts by saying so.
In one sentence: Gemini has a free tier and an integration with Google's ecosystem that we cannot match; Surikat costs less per person, keeps processing in Europe, and has nobody reading your conversations.
Request beta accessWhat Gemini does better than us
A free tier
Google's subscription page shows a free plan at €0 a month. We have none, and no public free trial either.
gemini.google/subscriptions, read on 28 July 2026.
An entry plan priced very close to ours
Google AI Plus is listed at €4.99 a month, in euros, with no tax basis stated on the page. Our Solo plan is €4.50 including tax a month. The gap is small, and it would be dishonest to present it as a decisive argument.
gemini.google/subscriptions, read on 28 July 2026.
Integration with services you already use
If your day happens inside Google's services, the assistant is right there. We are a standalone app, with no connector to your mail or your documents: on that ground we cannot compete, and we are not trying to.
Observation about our own feature scope, as of 28 July 2026.
What we do better
Nobody reads your conversations
Google's help centre states that a subset of chats is reviewed by human reviewers to help improve its services, that reviewed chats are retained for up to three years, and asks users not to enter confidential information. With us, no conversation is reviewed to improve a model.
support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961, updated 15 July 2026, read on 28 July 2026.
Cost per person
The Family plan gives 4 private accounts for €3.00 including tax per person per month. The cheapest paid plan we found at Google, AI Plus, is €4.99 a month for one account.
gemini.google/subscriptions, read on 28 July 2026. Our own pricing grid, in euros including tax.
Processing that never leaves Europe
Your conversations and the model inference stay on European infrastructure, hosted in France. Nothing is sent outside the European Union to be computed.
Our privacy policy, available from inside the app.
Genuinely separate accounts
Every member of the Family plan keeps their own conversations, memory and quota. Whoever pays never sees anyone else's usage or content.
Our pricing page and plan comparison table.
Who each one is right for
Choose Gemini if
- you want a free tier;
- you already use Google's services daily and want the assistant built into them;
- you want a very broad feature catalogue: ours is deliberately narrow.
Choose us if
- you do not want a human reviewer able to read your exchanges to improve a service;
- you want to share one subscription across 4 people at €3.00 including tax each;
- you want your data processed in Europe, with no exception;
- you prefer a simple app with no settings to a full ecosystem.
The facts, with their source and date
| Criterion | Surikat | Gemini (Google) |
|---|---|---|
| Free tiergemini.google/subscriptions, read on 28 July 2026. | None | Yes, shown at €0 a month |
| Cheapest paid plangemini.google/subscriptions, read on 28 July 2026. Our own pricing grid, in euros including tax. | €4.50 including tax a month (Solo) | €4.99 a month (Google AI Plus), shown in euros, with no tax basis stated |
| Mid-tier plangemini.google/subscriptions, read on 28 July 2026. Our own pricing grid, in euros including tax. | €9.99 including tax a month (Pro) | €21.99 a month (Google AI Pro) |
| Lowest cost per persongemini.google/subscriptions, read on 28 July 2026. Our own pricing grid, in euros including tax. | €3.00 including tax per person per month (Family, 4 accounts) | €4.99 a month, for 1 account |
| Human review of conversationssupport.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961, updated 15 July 2026, read on 28 July 2026. | No review to improve a model | A subset of chats is reviewed by human reviewers |
| Retention of reviewed conversationssupport.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961, updated 15 July 2026, read on 28 July 2026. | Not applicable | Up to three years |
| Where conversations are processedOur privacy policy, available from inside the app. | European Union (France) | Not surveyed |
A note on method: the one.google.com page about AI plans does not display its amounts when read without running its code, which is what stopped us publishing them in an earlier survey. The prices above come from gemini.google/subscriptions, which does display them, read on 28 July 2026. Other vendors' prices are quoted in the currency and tax basis they display themselves. Ours are in euros, including tax. We do not convert for you: an exchange rate frozen into this page would age faster than everything else on it.
Every price and every policy quoted on this page was read on the vendors' own pages on 28 July 2026, and each one carries its source. This information changes often: check with the vendor before deciding. If you spot a line that has gone stale, write to us and we will fix it.
Is Gemini free?
Yes, a free plan at €0 a month was shown on Google's subscription page on 28 July 2026, alongside paid plans at €4.99, €21.99 and from €99.99 a month. We have no free tier: if that is your main criterion, Gemini is the better choice.
Does anyone read my conversations?
With us, no conversation is reviewed to improve a model. Google's help centre states that a subset of chats is reviewed by human reviewers, that reviewed chats are retained for up to three years, and asks users not to enter confidential information (page updated 15 July 2026, read on 28 July 2026).
Want to try a European alternative?
Access is invitation only during the private beta. Leave your address and we will open access gradually.
Request beta accessBack to the home page