Is OpenAI Prism really free?

Partly. Compilation, projects and collaborators are unlimited. But AI prompts (GPT-5.2) depend on your ChatGPT account quota: ~10 messages / 5h on free, more on Plus / Pro. Serious work therefore de facto requires a paid ChatGPT subscription.

Can I use Claude or Gemini instead of GPT with Sarmate?

Yes, that's a major difference. Sarmate × MCP works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, Continue, Gemini CLI and ChatGPT Developer Mode. You keep your preferred AI client and your own quota. Prism is locked to GPT-5.2.

Where is my data stored?

Sarmate hosts in France (o2switch) and Germany (IONOS Frankfurt) — GDPR compliant. Prism hosts with OpenAI (US cloud), implying data transfer to the US. For sensitive data (university research, health, law), this is a key criterion.

2026 Comparison

Alternative to OpenAI Prism: AI choice, EU-hosted

Prism is a good tool, but it leaves out two things: your AI prompts are capped by your ChatGPT account quota, and your data is hosted in the US. Sarmate × MCP lets you keep your preferred AI client (Claude, Gemini, Cursor) with your own quota — and everything stays in the EU.

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Sarmate vs OpenAI Prism: detailed comparison

Feature by feature, no omissions: compile, AI prompts, hosting, visual tools.

Feature	Prism+ ChatGPT free	Prism+ ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo)	SarmateFree	SarmatePerso ($3.99/mo)	SarmatePro ($9.99/mo)
Compile timeout	Unlimited	Unlimited	1 min / 2h	5 min / 2h	Unlimited
Storage	?not documented	?not documented	5 MB	500 MB	5 GB
AI prompts	~10 / 5hGPT-5.2 → mini	~80 / 3hGPT-5.2	—MCP not available	External accountYour AI quota	External accountYour AI quota
AI choice (MCP)	GPT only	GPT only	requires Perso+	Claude / Gemini / Cursor / GPT	Claude / Gemini / Cursor / GPT
Hosting	🇺🇸 OpenAI cloud	🇺🇸 OpenAI cloud	🇪🇺 FR + DE (RGPD)	🇪🇺 FR + DE (RGPD)	🇪🇺 FR + DE (RGPD)
Account required	ChatGPT	ChatGPT Plus	Sarmate	Sarmate	Sarmate
Visual editors (TikZ, tabular, tcolorbox)
TikZ gallery (320+ examples)
HTML / Office in the same tool
Real-time collaboration				2 users	Unlimited
Markdown → LaTeX/PDF in 1 click
AI reads its own PDFs (read_pdf MCP)				limited
AI self-correction (compile → log → fix, no copy/paste)				manual

What Prism doesn't tell you upfront

Prism markets "free and unlimited", but that only applies to compilation. The essential part — the AI — is capped.

AI prompts capped

AI requests inherit the ChatGPT account quota: ~10 messages / 5h on free, falling back to the mini model after that. For a thesis or paper, it's not enough in practice without subscribing to a Plus / Pro plan.

US hosting (GDPR complex)

Your manuscripts are stored at OpenAI in the US. For sensitive data (university research, law, healthcare, industry under NDA), GDPR requires a data transfer audit. Sarmate hosts in the EU (France + Germany), no extra step needed.

AI provider lock-in

Prism only works with GPT-5.2. If you prefer Claude for its strength in formal reasoning, or Gemini for its 1M-token context, or Cursor for its VS Code integration: tough luck. Sarmate × MCP works with all of those — and with whatever comes next.

Pricing likely coming

OpenAI announces upcoming Business / Enterprise / Education plans for Prism. Industry history: what's free today becomes "premium" in 12-18 months. For a project lasting several years (thesis, book), it's wise to check the providers' roadmap.

3 reasons to choose Sarmate

Multi-AI via MCP

Connect Claude, Cursor, Gemini, ChatGPT, Cline or Continue via the open Model Context Protocol. You keep your AI client and your quota. We don't charge you twice for AI.

EU hosting (GDPR)

Web hosting in France (o2switch), compile servers in Frankfurt (IONOS). No data transfer to the US. Essential argument for universities, hospitals, law firms, and any industry under confidentiality.

All-in-one suite

LaTeX + visual editors (TikZ gallery 320+, tabular, tcolorbox, exam grids) + HTML/CSS/JS + office suite. Prism = LaTeX only, text only. Sarmate is a full workspace for teachers and researchers.

Frequently asked questions

Is Prism really free and unlimited?

Partly. Compilation, projects and collaborators are unlimited — no trick there. But AI prompts (GPT-5.2) are deducted from your ChatGPT account quota. ChatGPT free = ~10 messages / 5h, then fallback to the mini model. It quickly becomes insufficient. For intensive use (thesis, book), you need to subscribe to ChatGPT Plus ($20/month).

How does Sarmate × MCP work in practice?

You generate an MCP token in your Sarmate file manager (Perso plan or higher), copy the setup snippet into your AI client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gemini CLI…), and your AI accesses your LaTeX files directly. It can read, modify and compile them — without copy-paste. Full documentation: mcp-docs.php.

What does Sarmate cost me in total compared to Prism?

If you already subscribe to Claude Pro / Gemini Advanced / Cursor (typical for a power user), Sarmate Perso at $3.99/month is cheaper than Prism + ChatGPT Plus at $20/month — and you keep your preferred AI. Sarmate Pro at $9.99/month adds unlimited compile and unlimited collaborators. Note: MCP is not included in the Sarmate Free plan — you need at least Perso to connect your AI via MCP.

Does Sarmate have specialised templates like Prism?

Sarmate provides templates for CVs, academic articles (ACM, AMS, IEEE, RevTeX), Beamer presentations, theses, and especially templates for French teachers (ds-college, ds-lycee, exam, course-notes) not found elsewhere. Prism focuses more on English-language scientific research articles.

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