Best HARPA AI Alternatives in 2026
Compare the 5 best alternatives to HARPA AI for in-browser AI chat, page summarising, and web data extraction.
Why Look for HARPA AI Alternatives?
HARPA AI is unusual because it is really two products in one extension: a multi-model chat panel behind Alt+A, and a browser-automation engine that scrapes pages, watches URLs for changes, and fires results into Make.com or n8n. Most people only use one half. If you use the chat half, you are paying a token balance for machinery you never touch; if you use the automation half, a dedicated scraping tool is usually faster. That split is what drives most switches.
💸 Token balances are hard to budget
HARPA meters usage in megatokens per year. Sider and MaxAI charge a flat monthly fee instead, which is far easier to plan around.
🧭 Too much machinery for simple chat
If you only ever pressed Alt+A to summarise a page, HARPA's automation engine is overhead. Monica and Sider do the chat half with a fraction of the surface area.
🍎 No Safari support
HARPA is a Chromium extension. MaxAI is the only comparable assistant in this list that also runs in Safari.
📊 Scraping deserves a dedicated tool
HARPA's extraction is a bonus feature. Thunderbit is built for it, with one-click templates for Amazon, eBay, and Google Maps and spreadsheet output.
Quick Comparison: HARPA AI vs Alternatives
| # | Tool | Pricing | Free Tier? | Key Differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sider AI | Freemium | ✓ Yes | The cheapest way to get a multi-model sidebar on every page |
| 2 | Monica AI | Freemium | ✓ Yes | The most polished all-round browser copilot |
| 3 | Thunderbit | Freemium | ✓ Yes | If you only ever used HARPA to scrape pages, use this instead |
| 4 | MaxAI | Freemium | ✓ Yes | One-click AI actions with the widest browser support |
| 5 | Merlin AI | Freemium | ✓ Yes | The strongest option for Gmail, YouTube, and LinkedIn workflows |
Detailed Look at Each HARPA AI Alternative
1. Sider AI
FreemiumFree tierSider is the closest like-for-like swap for HARPA's side panel. It puts GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gemini 1.5 Pro, and DeepSeek R1 into a browser sidebar, summarises any article in one click, and adds highlight actions for explain, translate, improve, and tone change. It also ships an in-browser PDF reader you can chat with. What it does not have is HARPA's automation engine — if all you wanted was the chat panel, Sider gets you there for a fraction of the price.
Why choose Sider AI over HARPA AI?
- →You only ever used HARPA's chat panel, never the automation engine
- →You want flat unlimited pricing instead of tracking a megatoken balance
- →You read a lot of PDFs and want AI chat over them in the same sidebar
Key Features
- ✓Multi-model chat across GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gemini 1.5 Pro, and DeepSeek R1
- ✓One-click page and article summarisation
- ✓Highlight actions: explain, translate, improve, change tone
- ✓In-browser PDF reader with AI chat over the document
- ✓Works across Chrome and Edge without a separate desktop app
- ✓Flat unlimited pricing rather than a token balance
Pricing
Free tier. Pro $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr
Best For
Researchers, students, and anyone who wants a cheap always-on AI sidebar.
2. Monica AI
FreemiumFree tierMonica is the mass-market version of what HARPA does: a Chrome extension that follows you across the web with GPT-4o, Claude 3.5, and Gemini behind it. It summarises webpages, rewrites text inline in any input field, and translates across 200+ languages in real time. It trades HARPA's scraping and scheduling depth for a much gentler learning curve and a UI most people can use on day one.
Why choose Monica AI over HARPA AI?
- →HARPA's automation panel felt like more machinery than you needed
- →You want translation and inline rewriting as first-class features
- →You want to trial the tool properly before paying anything
Key Features
- ✓GPT-4o, Claude 3.5, and Gemini access from one browser panel
- ✓One-click webpage and YouTube summarisation
- ✓Inline AI writing in any text field on any site
- ✓Real-time translation across 200+ languages
- ✓Prompt library and reusable custom commands
- ✓Free daily allowance before you commit to a plan
Pricing
Free with daily limits. Pro $9.90/mo
Best For
Writers, marketers, and non-technical users who want AI on every page.
3. Thunderbit
FreemiumFree tierHARPA's most distinctive feature is its hybrid browser-automation engine — scraping structured data off a page without writing selectors. Thunderbit does only that, and does it better: two clicks turn any site into a spreadsheet, with pre-built templates for Amazon, eBay, and Google Maps, plus the ability to summarise, categorise, and translate fields during the scrape itself.
Why choose Thunderbit over HARPA AI?
- →Data extraction was the only HARPA feature you actually used
- →You want purpose-built scraping templates rather than general automation
- →You need clean spreadsheet output rather than chat responses
Key Features
- ✓Two-click AI scraping with no CSS selectors or field mapping
- ✓Pre-built one-click templates for Amazon, eBay, Google Maps and more
- ✓Summarise, categorise, and translate fields mid-scrape
- ✓Handles long-form articles and transcripts, not just tables
- ✓Direct export to spreadsheets and downstream tools
- ✓Free tier to validate a scrape before buying credits
Pricing
Free tier. Credit-based paid plans (20% off yearly)
Best For
E-commerce researchers, lead-gen teams, and analysts pulling web data.
4. MaxAI
FreemiumFree tierMaxAI is built around a single idea: one click, one AI action, anywhere on the web. Where HARPA gives you a configurable automation surface, MaxAI gives you a short menu of high-frequency actions — read this, rewrite this, reply to this — and makes them instant. It is also the only tool in this list that supports Safari alongside Chrome and Edge.
Why choose MaxAI over HARPA AI?
- →You are on Safari, which HARPA does not support
- →You want speed and fewer options rather than a configurable panel
- →Your usage is bursty and a token balance never made sense
Key Features
- ✓One-click AI actions on any webpage
- ✓Chrome, Edge, and Safari support
- ✓AI reading assistant for long articles
- ✓AI writing enhancement in any input field
- ✓Quick reply drafting for email and social
- ✓Free tier with a paid Pro step at $9.99/mo
Pricing
Free tier. Pro $9.99/mo, Elite $19.99/mo
Best For
Safari users and anyone who wants AI actions without configuration.
5. Merlin AI
FreemiumFree tierMerlin is the app-aware pick. Rather than treating every page the same, it ships dedicated flows for Gmail compose and reply, YouTube video summarisation, and LinkedIn post and message drafting. If your HARPA usage clustered around those three surfaces, Merlin covers them more deeply — and its free tier of 51 queries a day is unusually generous.
Why choose Merlin AI over HARPA AI?
- →Your work lives in Gmail, LinkedIn, and YouTube specifically
- →You want a large free daily allowance rather than a trial
- →You prefer purpose-built flows over generic page automation
Key Features
- ✓GPT-4, Claude 3.5, and Gemini Pro from one extension
- ✓Gmail AI compose and reply built in
- ✓YouTube video summarisation with timestamps
- ✓LinkedIn post and DM drafting
- ✓51 free queries per day before any payment
- ✓Chat over uploaded documents and PDFs
Pricing
Free 51 queries/day. Starter $14.25/mo
Best For
Recruiters, sales reps, and creators working inside Gmail and LinkedIn.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best overall alternative to HARPA AI?
It depends which half of HARPA you used. For the chat sidebar, Sider AI is the closest swap and is far cheaper at $4.99/mo. For polish and translation, Monica AI is the better all-rounder. If you mainly used HARPA's browser-automation engine to pull data off pages, Thunderbit replaces that piece specifically.
Is there a free alternative to HARPA AI?
Yes. Sider AI, Monica AI, MaxAI, and Thunderbit all ship free tiers, and Merlin AI gives you 51 free queries per day — the most generous free allowance in this list. HARPA itself is freemium but its paid plans run on an annual megatoken balance rather than a flat monthly cap.
Which HARPA alternative supports Safari?
MaxAI is the only tool in this comparison with Chrome, Edge, and Safari support. Sider, Monica, Merlin, and Thunderbit are Chromium-first, so Safari users have effectively one choice here.
Do any alternatives replace HARPA's page monitoring and scheduled commands?
Not directly — scheduled commands and price/page monitors are HARPA's most differentiated feature and no extension in this list matches them one-for-one. The common workaround is pairing Thunderbit for extraction with a general automation platform like Make.com, Zapier, or n8n for the scheduling half.
Can I use my own API keys with these alternatives?
HARPA supports bring-your-own-key and web session connections. Among the alternatives here, coverage is thinner — most bundle model access into the subscription. If BYOK is a hard requirement, look at desktop clients like TypingMind or BoltAI instead of browser extensions.
Learn More
📋 HARPA AI Review
Full review with features, pricing, pros & cons
🧭 Sider AI
The cheapest multi-model browser sidebar
📊 Thunderbit
Two-click AI scraping straight into a spreadsheet
⌨️ TypingMind Alternatives
Bring-your-own-key chat clients compared
⚡ AI Productivity Tools
Browse every productivity tool in the directory
📬 Get the best new AI tools delivered weekly
One concise email with fresh launches, trending picks, and featured standouts.