ChatGPT vs Claude
Editor Sebastiaan Smits ·
Published October 19, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026
Claude is the easier plan table to buy from: a Pro plan at $17 a month on annual billing, a Team seat at $20 and an Enterprise tier you can start yourself, all on one page. ChatGPT is the assistant most staff have already tried and has the longer ladder, from Go at $8 up to Pro at $500. Small teams choosing one approved tool should lean Claude; companies that value familiarity and a cheap entry tier should lean ChatGPT.
Side by side
 ChatGPT |  Claude | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | OpenAI's assistant, from a free tier to Enterprise | Anthropic's assistant with self-serve team and enterprise plans |
| Best for | Companies whose staff already use it | Small teams wanting one approved assistant |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Pricing model | Tiered subscription + per user | Tiered subscription + per seat |
| Pricing | Free $0; Go $8 per month; Plus $20; Pro $100, $200 or $500 per month; Business $20 per user per month annual ($25 monthly, 2+ users); Enterprise and Edu by quote. | Free plan; Pro $17 per month on annual billing ($20 monthly); Max from $100 per month; Team standard seat $20 per seat per month annual ($25 monthly); Enterprise self-serve at $20 per seat per month plus usage at API rates, 20 seat minimum. |
| Free option | Free plan | Free plan |
| List price as listed on October 19, 2026 | Free $0; Go $8 per month; Plus $20 per month; Pro $100, $200 or $500 per month; Business $20 per user per month billed annually ($25 monthly, 2+ users) (OpenAI pricing doc) | Free $0; Pro $17 per month on annual billing ($20 monthly); Max from $100 per month; Team standard seat $20 per seat per month annual ($25 monthly); Enterprise $20 per seat per month plus usage at API rates, 20 seat minimum (claude.com/pricing) |
| Place in our AI chat assistants ranking | #4 of 12 | #1 of 12 |
| Website | chatgpt.com | claude.ai |
Both are reviewed in full in Best AI Chat Assistants in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.
Which one to choose
Choose ChatGPT if
your staff already use ChatGPT, you want a low-priced entry tier such as Go at $8 a month, and you are happy to manage a longer ladder of plans.
ChatGPT, #4 in the ranking · Visit ChatGPT →
Choose Claude if
you want a plan table you can read in one sitting, self-serve Team and Enterprise seats, a user-run data export and a context window of up to 1M tokens, depending on the model.
Claude, #1 in the ranking · Visit Claude →
Where they differ
How many rungs on the plan ladder
ChatGPT lists Free, Go at $8, Plus at $20, Pro at $100, $200 or $500, Business, and Enterprise and Edu by quote, so the price you pay depends on which of six tiers fits. Claude shows Free, Pro, Max from $100, Team and Enterprise on one page, and Enterprise can be created without a sales call. Fewer choices means a quicker decision for a small buyer. ChatGPT's Go tier is the cheapest paid step of the two.
Edge: Claude
Price of a team seat
The two are close. ChatGPT Business is $20 per user per month on annual billing, or $25 monthly, for two or more users. Claude Team has a standard seat at $20 per seat per month annual, or $25 monthly, and a Premium seat at $100 annual with five times the usage of a standard seat. Claude's page states for teams of 2 to 150. On the standard seat the list prices match, so this round is a draw.
Edge: even
Usage limits and shared budgets
OpenAI's pricing doc says ChatGPT Work usage uses the same pricing, credits and limits as Codex, and gives local message estimates per five-hour period for Plus and Standard Business, such as 15 to 160 for GPT-6.1 Sol. Claude says usage limits apply on every plan, with 5x and 20x tiers on Max. Neither publishes a fixed cap, but ChatGPT's explicit per-model ranges tell a buyer more before paying.
Edge: ChatGPT
Context window
Claude's plan table gives the context window as up to 1M tokens, varying by model, on Free, Pro and Max. The ChatGPT pricing doc we read states usage ranges and model names but gives no context window figure for the plans, so a buyer comparing long documents has less to go on. This does not prove ChatGPT's window is smaller; it means the vendor page we read does not state it. On published numbers, Claude leads.
Edge: Claude
Data export and workspace controls
Claude's help center says Free, Pro and Max users export their data from Settings, then Privacy, and Team members can too once an owner switches it on; the link expires after 24 hours and iOS and Android cannot start it. ChatGPT Business lists SAML SSO, MFA and no training on business data by default, and Enterprise adds SCIM, EKM, RBAC, audit logs and retention controls. For administrators, ChatGPT's Enterprise list is longer.
Edge: ChatGPT
Privacy defaults for individuals
Both say business content is not used for training by default: ChatGPT Business states it, and Claude Team says no model training on your content by default. For individual accounts, Claude's plan table lists model training as an opt-out on Free, Pro and Max. The ChatGPT pricing doc we read covers business plans only, so for a personal account we cannot say how the two compare. Check each vendor's settings page.
Edge: even
Tally: ChatGPT 2, Claude 2, even 2.
When neither fits
A buyer who needs a contracting entity inside the EU should look at Mistral Vibe, which is French. A buyer who wants an assistant bundled with office apps and cloud storage should look at Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini rather than either of these.
See Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Mistral Vibe (formerly Le Chat) among the 12 products in Best AI Chat Assistants in 2026.
Questions and answers
Is Claude cheaper than ChatGPT?
Not at the bottom, but about equal in the middle. ChatGPT has Go at $8 a month and Plus at $20, while Claude Pro is $17 a month on annual billing ($20 monthly). Team seats are $20 each on annual billing at both, or $25 monthly.
Does ChatGPT or Claude have a free plan?
Yes, both. ChatGPT lists Free at $0 and Claude lists Free at $0. Claude's Free plan includes chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search and memory, with projects capped at five; ChatGPT's doc we read says image generation is not available on Free.
Which one trains on my business data?
Neither by default on a team plan. ChatGPT Business says no training on your business data by default, and Claude Team says no model training on your content by default. Read the vendor's data terms before sending regulated material.
Can I export my chats from Claude and ChatGPT?
Claude offers a self-serve export on Settings, then Privacy, with a download link that expires after 24 hours. The ChatGPT pages we fetched did not describe an export, so we cannot say how it works there.
Are ChatGPT and Claude made by US companies?
Yes. ChatGPT is published by OpenAI OpCo, LLC, and Claude by Anthropic PBC, whose privacy policy gives a San Francisco registered address. For users in the European Region its policy names Anthropic Ireland, Limited as the data controller.
Sources
Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on October 19, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.
- OpenAI pricing doc: ChatGPT plan prices, Business terms, shared Work and Codex usage, usage estimates, SSO, MFA and training defaults
- ChatGPT Work overview: retention and residency depend on data type and workspace configuration
- Claude pricing page: Claude plan prices, seat types, context window, model training line, feature table
- Claude help: export your data: self-serve export, 24-hour link, no export from iOS or Android, Team opt-in
- Anthropic privacy policy: Anthropic PBC registered address in San Francisco and Anthropic Ireland, Limited as data controller for the European Region
- OpenAI models doc: which models Free, Go, Plus, Pro and Business plans use in Codex and the GPT-5.5 retirement date