Sider vs SurfMind

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Free plan: Both have one
Higher Trust score: Sider — 88 vs 64 for SurfMind
Best fit: Sider: Reading and summarizing long articles or PDFs without leaving the page · SurfMind: Users who want an AI chat panel aware of whatever page they are on, across most major browsers
Platforms: Sider: Web, Chrome extension, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android · SurfMind: Chrome extension
Status: Both up at our last check — Sider Oct 14, 2026, SurfMind Oct 15, 2026

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

SiderBrowser sidebar that puts GPT, Claude, Gemini, and other models next to any page you're reading.

SurfMindBrowser extension that adds a context-aware AI chat, backed by 100+ models, to any web page

Side by side

Fact	Sider	SurfMind
Category	Browser Extensions & Copilots	Browser Extensions & Copilots
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Starts at	—	$39 once
Trust score	88 / 100	64 / 100
Platforms	Web, Chrome extension, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android	Chrome extension
Company	Sider	—
Last verified	Oct 14, 2026	Oct 15, 2026

What our research says

Sider

Sider puts a chat panel on top of whatever page you're on, so you can ask about an article or PDF without copying it into a separate tab. The catch is that heavier use beyond the free daily cap needs a paid tier, and pricing quoted across review sites is inconsistent, so the entry price is worth confirming before committing.

Pros

Works as a sidebar on any web page rather than a separate chat tab
Routes one prompt to several models (GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok)
Ships native apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac plus browser extensions
Can chat with PDFs and YouTube videos, not just plain text

Cons

Free tier is capped at a small number of daily uses
Independent pricing write-ups disagree on exact plan costs depending on where you check
No public API for developers

SurfMind

SurfMind's model list and one-time-payment Pro tier stand out in a category that is usually subscription-only, and support for bringing your own API key or local model means it is not locked to SurfMind's own usage limits. No company name is disclosed, and browser extensions with page-reading permissions carry more trust exposure than a typical web app, so that gap matters more here than for most tools in this batch.

Pros

Works across Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Brave and Arc
One-time Pro purchase instead of a recurring subscription
Supports bringing your own API key or a local model, not just SurfMind's own quota
Free tier remains usable indefinitely, not just a trial

Cons

No company or founder name disclosed anywhere checked
A browser extension with page-reading and automation permissions is a meaningful trust decision about an anonymous vendor
No web or mobile app - functionality is entirely tied to having the extension installed

Which one fits

Choose Sider if you need

Reading and summarizing long articles or PDFs without leaving the page
Comparing answers from several models in one panel
People who want one subscription instead of several separate chatbot logins

Choose SurfMind if you need

Users who want an AI chat panel aware of whatever page they are on, across most major browsers
Anyone who would rather pay once for Pro than commit to a recurring AI subscription