---
title: "SumizAI vs DuckDuckGPT"
url: "https://sumizai.com/alternative-to/sumizai-alternative-to-duckduckgpt.html"
date: "2026-08-14T00:00:00+02:00"
modified: "2026-08-14T00:00:00+02:00"
description: "Looking for a DuckDuckGPT alternative? SumizAI and DuckDuckGPT side by side: price, licence, platforms and what each one actually does."
tags: ["ai notes", "sumizai", "duckduckgpt", "alternative to DuckDuckGPT"]
---

# SumizAI vs DuckDuckGPT

Looking for a DuckDuckGPT alternative? SumizAI and DuckDuckGPT side by side: price, licence, platforms and what each one actually does.

## What DuckDuckGPT is

DuckDuckGPT is an open-source userscript adding an AI chat interface and search-result summaries directly to the DuckDuckGo search engine. It's not a standalone app, but a script run in the browser through a userscript manager, distributed from a public GitHub repository under an MIT-style license.

Key features:

An optional Proxy API Mode (disabled by default) returns text responses using GPT-4o without needing a chatgpt.com account. When that mode is off, a ChatGPT account is required, but responses arrive faster, as a stream. The script works with Tampermonkey (recommended) or Violentmonkey across many browsers — Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi, LibreWolf, Ghost, QQ, Whale, and Kiwi.

Who it's for:

DuckDuckGPT appeals to DuckDuckGo users who want an AI assistant woven directly into search results, without switching to a separate ChatGPT tab every time they need extra context for a query.

Use cases:

In practice, DuckDuckGPT works well for quickly getting an AI summary alongside classic search results, using GPT-4o without setting up a separate account thanks to Proxy API Mode, and working in less common browsers, like LibreWolf or Ghost, where official AI extensions can be rare.

Pricing and business model:

DuckDuckGPT is entirely free and open source — the code is publicly available on GitHub (the TaReport/duckduckgpt and KudoAI/duckduckgpt repositories), with no licensing or subscription fees.

Limitations and what to watch for:

As a userscript rather than a native browser-store extension, installation requires an extra step — installing a userscript manager like Tampermonkey. The non-Proxy-API mode requires an active ChatGPT account, limiting fully anonymous use of the script, and any ai notes generated this way stays stuck in the search window until manually copied elsewhere.

A userscript versus a browser store extension:

Distribution as a userscript, rather than an official Chrome Web Store extension, also means no automatic updates without a userscript manager, and less visibility for casual users looking for a solution directly in the browser's store.

AI notes from search results and AI summaries:

DuckDuckGPT offers no lasting notes system of any kind — a summary or answer you want to keep as a ai notes entry has to be copied by hand from the search window into a separate notes app.

A userscript as a lightweight alternative to a full extension:

The userscript format, instead of a full browser extension requiring store approval, lets the project react faster to changes in DuckDuckGo's interface and run on niche browsers that official stores rarely support.

What's worth checking before choosing:

Before installing, check whether your browser is on the supported list, and whether you prefer Proxy API Mode with no account or faster streaming responses requiring login.

Bottom line:

DuckDuckGPT is a free, open-source userscript weaving AI into DuckDuckGo results, at the cost of an extra install step and no notes system. Anyone who wants ai notes from such summaries to land automatically in an organized archive needs a separate notes app.

Comparison with SumizAI:

DuckDuckGPT and SumizAI differ in context. DuckDuckGPT weaves AI into search results, with no lasting notes system. SumizAI is a standalone notebook where the conversation with an AI model is the main entry point, and answers worth keeping land automatically as Markdown files in the user's vault, on your own API key to one of seven providers. Anyone who wants AI woven into DuckDuckGo search results will pick DuckDuckGPT; anyone who wants these notes from AI conversations to build a lasting knowledge archive will find SumizAI the better-fitting tool.

**Key facts**

- Price: Free
- License: Open Source
- Origin: United States
- Category: AI Chatbot, AI Writing

## What SumizAI is

A note-taking application built around a conversation with an AI model. You ask a question, the answer streams back, and the answers worth keeping become Markdown notes — filed into a vault that is a folder on your own disk.

A vault is a directory holding `base.md`, a generated table of contents up to six levels deep, and a `notes/` folder with one `.md` file per note. Before a note is written it is checked against the ones already there, so the fourth note about the same idea gets merged instead of added. Links between notes are ordinary Markdown links to files that exist.

The model is never ours: you bring your own API key to one of seven providers — Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, a local Ollama or your own server — and pay that provider directly. A question sends the table of contents plus at most five relevant notes within a 24,000-character budget, and the app shows you which five it used.

## Where they differ

- DuckDuckGPT is a place to have the conversation. SumizAI is not a chatbot — the conversation is the input, not the product. What comes out of it is a `.md` file with a title, a place in `base.md` and a duplicate check against the notes already in the vault. If you only want to talk to a model, you do not need SumizAI.
- DuckDuckGPT is open source, and SumizAI is not. If reading the source is what decides it for you, that is a real argument for DuckDuckGPT. The guarantee SumizAI offers instead is structural rather than legal: the notes are Markdown files in a folder you chose, so they open in any editor whether or not the application is running.
- AlternativeTo's description of DuckDuckGPT does not mention Markdown, so check what format your notes end up in before you fill it up. SumizAI writes standard `.md` files to a folder you picked, and an unpaid account can still export all of them.
- AlternativeTo lists no mobile version of DuckDuckGPT. SumizAI runs on macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
- Both search. SumizAI's search reads the whole note — title, summary, body and the original question and answer — rather than titles alone.

Full side-by-side comparison table and pricing: [https://sumizai.com/alternative-to/sumizai-alternative-to-duckduckgpt.html](https://sumizai.com/alternative-to/sumizai-alternative-to-duckduckgpt.html)
