Comparison · Updated October 2026
PolyCog vs Magai — taking turns, or arguing it out
Both put ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok in one place. Magai sells them as a monthly usage plan, one model per message, with a workspace of tools around the chat. PolyCog runs on your own API keys and has the models argue their way to one answer.
- The top GPT and Claude tiers: Magai, Pro: $40 a month; PolyCog, Free tier: $0, plus what you use
- Claude Fable 5.1: Magai, Not in Magai's model list; PolyCog, Free tier, on your Anthropic key
- Models that debate: Magai, Not a feature: one model per message; PolyCog, Sample mode, no account
- Try it without paying: Magai, Pay first, refund within 30 days; PolyCog, Sample mode: no card, no account
- Six models at once: Magai, One model per message; PolyCog, Pro: $10 a month
- Video generation: Magai, Standard: $20 a month, 10 video models; PolyCog, Not offered: pictures only
Magai from magai.co/pricing and magai.co/models, read October 2026 (billed yearly: $16.67, $33.33 and $166.67 a month); top-ups of $5, $10 or $20 on every plan. Premium models are Magai's own words: "the most expensive models, like the top GPT and Claude tiers."
Magai's premium models (the top GPT and Claude tiers) start on its $40 Pro plan and it has no free plan; PolyCog's free tier opens every model on your own keys, and answers 3 a day on PolyCog's own while you add them. Video generation is the other way round: Magai includes it from $20, PolyCog doesn't offer it.
The short version
Magai and PolyCog both put the major AI labs in one place, and that is where the overlap ends. Magai is a workspace: one chat where you switch models with a slash, plus image and video models, agents, scheduled tasks and 150+ integrations, sold as a monthly usage plan ($20 for the standard models, $40 once you want the premium tiers, no free plan). PolyCog is a debate: several frontier models answer at once on your own API keys, read each other, have their claims checked against web sources, and a flagship writes one synthesis. The interface is free, $10 a month or $250 once, and every model, Claude Fable 5.1 included, is open on the free tier. If you want one AI workspace that also makes pictures and runs your errands, Magai is built for that. If you want the strongest models to argue a question out and hand you one answer you can check, that's us.
Who pays for the AI
Most of the same models, two ways to pay for them. Not all: Claude Fable 5.1 isn't on any Magai plan.
Magai plans
Standard $20 · Pro $40 · Ultra $200 a month, usage included
You→ Usage balance→ AI providers
Your plan buys a monthly balance and Magai pays the providers. Each message draws on it by a multiplier Magai sets per model. How a multiplier turns into tokens isn't published, and Magai's help center notes that multipliers change.
PolyCog
BYOK · free tier, $10/mo or $250 once, for the interface only
You→ AI providers, directly
Your keys on every device, at provider list prices per token, with an estimate before each run and a monthly cap. Every call is a line in your own provider dashboard.
Magai's plans, as listed
From magai.co/pricing on the date above. Every plan includes agents, integrations and the canvas; the plans differ in usage, premium models and scheduled runs.
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | — | No free plan or trial; a 30-day money-back guarantee on every plan |
| Standard | $20/mo$200 a year ($16.67/mo) | $20 of usage a month · every standard model, image and video models · 100 scheduled task runs |
| Pro | $40/mo$400 a year ($33.33/mo) | $40 of usage · adds the premium models · 1,000 scheduled runs · multi-account integrations · priority support |
| Ultra | $200/mo$2,000 a year ($166.67/mo) | $200 of usage · premium models · unlimited scheduled runs |
| Top-ups | $5, $10 or $20 | Any time, without changing plans |
| Teams | $20 a seat | On Standard; Pro and Ultra seats by quote; enterprise above ten seats |
Each message draws on the balance by its model's multiplier; Magai's help center gives Claude Sonnet 5 at 0.8× and GPT-5.5 Pro at 14×, and says the balance resets each billing cycle. Premium models are Magai's own category: "the most expensive models, like the top GPT and Claude tiers."
Feature comparison
Checked October 2026 against magai.co, its pricing, models and FAQ pages, and help.magai.co.
| PolyCog | Magai | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing model | BYOKInterface free, $10/mo or $250 once; AI billed by your providers | Usage planA monthly balance each model draws on by a multiplier; top-ups $5 to $20 |
| Price | Free tier · $10/mo · $250 oncePlus your provider bill, usually a few dollars | $20, $40 or $200 a month$16.67, $33.33 or $166.67 billed yearly; usage included |
| The top models | On every tier, free includedClaude Fable 5.1 and GPT-6 Astra, on your own keys | From Pro, $40 a monthPremium models: the top GPT and Claude tiers |
| Models at once | Six seats in parallelFour on the free tier | One per messageSwitch with a slash; the next model reads the thread |
| Multi-model workflow | Debate + verify + synthesisParallel answers, difference scan, debate rounds, claims checked against web sources, one answer | A relay, by handYou choose which model answers next |
| Models | 6 providers · 13 AI labsOpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, xAI on their own keys, plus Qwen, Kimi, GLM, Mistral, Meta’s Llama and Muse, MiniMax, Venice and Nous through one OpenRouter key — current text models | 51 chat modelsPlus 13 image and 10 video models; 23 providers |
| What one answer costs | That model's list priceShown before you run; in your own provider dashboard | Words × multiplierDrawn from the balance at a rate Magai sets |
| A light month | Pay for what you useNo minimum on the free tier | The full plan priceThe balance resets each billing cycle |
| Pictures and video | Pictures in CreateFour seats draw, two sketch; no video | Image and video13 image and 10 video models |
| Agents and automation | Not offered | Agents, schedules, 150+ appsPlus MCP connections |
| Where chats live | Your accountAny device, share links with replay, PDF export; 20 saved free, 500 paid | WorkspacesFolders, sharing with teammates, export |
| Try it first | Sample mode + free tier3 prompts a day with no sign-up; the free tier never expires | No free plan or trialA 30-day money-back guarantee |
| Teams | Not yet | Seats from $20Shared workspaces; enterprise above ten seats |
One prompt, two ways to ask several models
Magai hands the thread from one model to the next when you type a slash. PolyCog runs them together and has them answer each other.
Magai: one model per message; you type a slash and a model's name, and the next model reads the thread. PolyCog: parallel answers, a difference scan, a debate round, one synthesis.
Where Magai beats us
A comparison you can trust has to cut both ways.
It does more than chat
Agents (50+ built in), scheduled tasks, 150+ integrations and MCP connections, all on the $20 plan. PolyCog is built for one job: getting the best answer to a question.
Images and video
Thirteen image and ten video models, Veo, Kling and Runway among them, in the same thread. PolyCog's Create mode has four seats that draw and two that sketch, and no video.
No keys, one bill
Sign up, pay monthly, and the providers are Magai's problem. PolyCog asks you to make a key at each provider you want (our guides walk each one in a few minutes).
Built for teams
Shared workspaces, shared agents and chats with permissions, $20 a seat on Standard. PolyCog has no team seats yet.
Where PolyCog wins
A debate, not a relay
Magai's models take turns: type /Gemini and the next reply comes from Gemini, which reads the thread. In PolyCog several answer at once, each reads all the others and replies, a verify pass checks their claims, and a flagship writes one synthesis that names what they still disagree on.
Every model from $0
The top GPT and Claude tiers sit behind Magai's $40 Pro plan, and Claude Fable 5.1 isn't in its list at all. On PolyCog's free tier every model, Fable 5.1 and GPT-6 Astra included, runs on your own keys; you pay the provider for what you use.
Light months cost less
Magai's cheapest plan is $20 a month ($16.67 billed yearly) however little you use it, and its help center says the balance resets each billing cycle. On PolyCog's free tier, a light month of sixty debates on the everyday roster comes to about $8 of provider charges.
Try it before you pay
Magai has no free plan or trial, only a refund within 30 days. PolyCog's sample mode needs no account and no card, and the free tier on your own keys doesn't expire.
Common questions
Is Magai worth it?
If you want one workspace that chats, makes pictures and video, and runs agents and scheduled tasks for a flat monthly price, it can be: plans start at $20 a month ($16.67 billed yearly), with a 30-day refund. It fits less well if you use AI lightly (the plan costs the same however little you use it), if you want the top GPT and Claude tiers without paying for Pro, or if you want several models to argue a question out.
Does Magai's $20 plan include every model?
Not the premium ones. Magai's plan table lists premium models (the top GPT and Claude tiers, anything that costs 3× or more to run than a standard model) as included on Pro ($40) and Ultra ($200), and its models page says the same; Standard has every standard model plus image and video. In PolyCog every model is open on every tier, the free one included, on your own keys.
Can I use my own API keys with Magai?
Not that Magai describes: its FAQ says one Magai subscription is the only account you need, and that Magai calls every provider for you. PolyCog is built the other way round: your own keys are the whole model, and every call shows up in your own provider dashboard.
Can Magai's models debate each other?
Not as a feature. You can switch models mid-chat by typing a slash and a model's name, and the next model reads the whole thread, so you can relay a question from one to the next by hand. PolyCog does that step for you: the models answer in parallel, read each other, debate, have their claims checked against web sources, and a flagship writes one synthesis.
How does Magai count usage?
Each plan buys a monthly balance ($20, $40 or $200) and every message draws on it by the model's multiplier; Magai's help center gives Claude Sonnet 5 at 0.8× and GPT-5.5 Pro at 14×, and says chat usage is the words the model generates times that multiplier. When it runs out you can top up $5, $10 or $20, and the balance resets each billing cycle. Magai doesn't publish what one unit buys in tokens, so we don't convert it.
Is there a free trial of Magai?
No. Magai offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on every plan instead. PolyCog's sample mode runs three prompts a day with no account, and the free tier on your own keys never expires.
See the difference in one prompt
Run the same question through several frontier models, watch them debate, and read the synthesis. Free sample mode, no signup, no keys needed.
Free tier forever · $10/mo · $250 lifetime · your API keys, your bill