Last updated: 2026-10-12
Monica is a browser-sidebar AI assistant from Stack Network Limited that bundles GPT, Claude, and Gemini into one persistent panel, available on Chrome, Edge, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. It reads the open webpage to summarize, translate, and draft replies without copying content elsewhere, and opens instantly with a Ctrl+M hotkey.
About Monica
Monica is an all-in-one AI assistant built by Stack Network Limited, founded in 2015. It ships as a browser extension for Chrome and Edge, a desktop app for Windows and macOS, and a mobile app for iOS and Android, embedding a persistent sidebar into any webpage so users can reach GPT, Claude, Gemini, and other models without switching tabs or apps.
The core differentiator is contextual awareness: Monica reads the open webpage, summarizes YouTube videos, analyzes PDFs, and drafts Gmail replies directly in the browser, without requiring the user to copy content elsewhere. The sidebar opens with a Ctrl+M hotkey and stays accessible on every site.
It is particularly strong for multilingual users, with built-in translation and rephrasing available from a right-click context menu in dozens of languages. A separate developer API platform at platform.monica.im lets teams integrate Monica's underlying models into their own products. The company took a seed round from Tencent in 2025 and operates from multiple locations.
Pricing
Free plan with 40 daily accesses to basic models. 30 a month billed annually ($99 a year), with 5,000 basic model queries and 200 advanced model queries monthly plus 1,500 Advanced Credits. 60 a month billed annually ($199 a year, a flash-sale price against $299) with 4,500 Advanced Credits.
90 a month billed annually ($995 a year) with 20,000 Advanced Credits. The Pro+ plan no longer appears on the pricing page. The vendor says Max and Ultra rules and pricing may change.
| Tier | Monthly price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | |
| Pro | $9.90/mo | |
| Max | $16.60/mo | |
| Ultra | $82.90/mo |
Key Features
- Multi-Model AI Sidebar: Provides access to GPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok in a single browser sidebar, activated with Ctrl+M on any webpage without switching tabs.
- Contextual Web Summarization: Reads the current webpage or YouTube video and produces a structured summary in seconds, reducing reading time by up to 90% according to Monica's own benchmarks.
- 80+ Writing Templates: Pre-built templates for marketing copy, blog posts, Gmail replies, and social content reduce drafting time for repeat writing tasks.
- In-Browser Translation and Explanation: Highlights any text on any webpage to trigger Monica's context menu for instant translation, rephrasing, or explanation in dozens of languages.
- PDF and Document Analysis: Uploads and analyzes PDF documents directly in the sidebar, allowing Q&A over document content without a separate tool.
- Cross-Platform Sync: Conversations and history sync across Chrome extension, macOS/Windows desktop app, and iOS/Android mobile app under one account.
Pros
- Single subscription replaces separate ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, and Perplexity plans, saving users up to $60/month on multi-model access.
- Works across Chrome, Edge, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android with full sync, unlike browser-only alternatives like Merlin.
- Contextual webpage reading means users never need to copy-paste content into a separate chat window, which speeds up everyday research and writing tasks.
Cons
- Users report 'Unlimited' plan (now Max) credits deplete after heavy use within a day, with no clear credit counter before hitting limits.
- Cancellation does not always stop billing immediately: multiple Trustpilot reviews cite charges appearing after cancellation, paired with slow support responses.
- YouTube video summarization fails intermittently, with no clear indication to the user when external content access is blocked.
Product Information
- Cloud
- Yes
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do you pay for Monica?
The free tier gives 40 daily accesses to basic models instead of a credit pool. Paid tiers: Pro at $9.90 month-to-month, falling to $8.30 on the annual plan, which covers 5,000 basic-model queries and 200 advanced-model queries a month, Max at $16.60 a month on an annual plan ($199 a year) with 4,500 Advanced Credits, and Ultra at $82.90 a month on an annual plan, the tier with the largest allowance at 20,000 credits. Max was called Unlimited until recently, and several users report its credits still run out before the billing cycle ends.
Can you use Monica without paying?
Yes, on a free plan capped at 40 daily accesses to basic models. Free users get chat, basic web summarization, and light writing help, plus limited trials of image generation, ChatPDF, and the AI agent. Advanced models such as GPT-6.1 Sol and Claude Sonnet 5.5, plus full image and video generation, sit behind Pro and above.
What are Monica's closest competitors?
Monica's closest browser-sidebar competitors are MaxAI.me and Merlin, which offer similar multi-model access but without a native mobile app. On HokAI, ChatGPT and Perplexity AI cover the single-model chat and cited-search use cases, and Grammarly is a narrower pick if grammar and style checking is the only job you need done.
Is Monica better than ChatGPT?
ChatGPT gives you one flagship OpenAI model with strong coding and image generation, built by the same company that trains it. Monica instead layers GPT, Claude, and Gemini behind a single browser sidebar, so you are not locked into one vendor's model choices. Monica also reads the webpage you are on and ships a large library of writing templates that ChatGPT's browser extension does not match feature-for-feature.
How long does it take to get going with Monica?
Under five minutes, most of it spent installing the extension. Add it from the Chrome Web Store or Edge Add-ons, then sign in with an email or Google account to land on the free plan. Press Ctrl+M on any webpage to open the sidebar and start chatting, summarizing, or translating; higher daily limits are a settings-panel upgrade away.
Top Alternatives
- Poe: Pick Poe if you want a standalone chat app with many models and community-built bots rather than a sidebar that follows you across web pages.
- Liner: Choose Liner when your daily work is reading and highlighting web sources for research, and you want answers tied back to those pages.
- Perplexity AI: Pick Perplexity if every answer must link to its sources; stay with Monica when the job is rewriting, translating or summarizing pages you already have open.
HokAI guides covering Monica
- Best AI Tools for YouTube Research in 2026: TubeAI, Gemini Notebook, AI Summarizer, Glasp, and Genspark compared for YouTube research: real 2026 pricing, free-tier limits, and who should pick each one.
- Best AI Assistant Apps for Android in 2026, Now That Google Assistant Is Dead: Google Assistant shut down on Android September 4, 2026. Here is how Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, Meta AI and Claude compare as its replacement.
- Six Questions, Three Tools: Inside a Smart Match Run: We ran HokAI Smart Match on 19 August 2026: six questions, three ranked tools, and every pick traced back to fields carried across all 443 tool listings.