ChatGPT vs Claude: which should you use?
Both are excellent chat assistants with free plans and $20 paid plans. ChatGPT is the broader all-rounder, with images, voice and an agent mode; Claude is built for long documents, careful writing and coding, and can act in your own Chrome browser.
Side by side
| ChatGPT | Claude | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | OpenAI's chat assistant, which can now also browse the web and work on longer jobs for you on paid plans. | Anthropic's assistant for writing, thinking and work, which on paid plans can also use a browser and a computer to finish jobs. |
| Price | Free: $0; Go: $8/month; Plus: $20/month | Free: $0; Pro: $17/month billed yearly ($200 up front) or $20 month to month; Max: $100/month |
| Free to try | Free plan with limits | Free plan with limits |
| Does the task itself | yes agent mode and Work tasks click through websites on paid plans; Free mostly answers and drafts | yes on paid plans it acts in Chrome and its own browser and runs handed-off tasks; Free mostly answers and drafts |
| Its own email address | no it can read and act on your connected Gmail, but has no address of its own | no it can work in your connected email, but has no address of its own |
| You can text it | no the WhatsApp number stopped working in January 2026 | no no official SMS, iMessage or WhatsApp number |
| Its own computer and browser | partly agent mode uses a virtual browser; Dots get their own cloud computers on Pro and up | partly handed-off tasks keep running in the cloud; Claude in Chrome uses your own browser |
| Remembers you | Remembers facts and past chats across conversations; limited on Free, more on paid plans | Remembers things across chats, including on the Free plan |
| Where it lives | web, iOS, Android, Mac and Windows desktop apps | web, iOS, Android, Mac and Windows desktop apps, Chrome extension |
Getting real tasks done
ChatGPT's agent mode, on paid plans, uses a virtual browser to click through websites and hands control back for sign-ins. Plus gets 40 agent messages a month. Tasks can be scheduled or set to start on events like a new Gmail message.
Claude on paid plans can act in your own Chrome browser (Claude in Chrome), and since September 2026 you can hand it a job or schedule a task that keeps running in the cloud with your laptop closed; Anthropic is still rolling that out. Anthropic tells Chrome users to avoid banking and sites with sensitive logins.
Writing, documents and coding
Both write well. Claude is built for reading long documents and files and for programming: Claude Code comes with every paid plan.
ChatGPT also talks by voice and makes images, so it covers more everyday ground in one app.
What it costs
ChatGPT: Free, Go $8 a month (may include ads), Plus $20, Pro from $100.
Claude: Free, Pro $20 month to month ($17 a month billed yearly), Max $100, Ultra $200. Claude's usage runs on a 5-hour window plus a weekly limit, and handed-off tasks use it up faster than plain chat.
Memory and privacy
Both remember things across chats. Claude's memory is on the Free plan too; ChatGPT's is limited on Free and fuller on paid plans.
Both companies warn that agents working on websites can be tricked by hidden instructions on a page. Watch what you let either one do in accounts that hold money.
If you want the job done for you
Both are apps you open and talk to. If you'd rather text a job to an assistant with its own email address and have it chase replies for days, see ChatGPT vs Your Own AI Assistant.
Pick ChatGPT if
- You want one all-round app for questions, images and voice
- You want the cheapest paid step ($8 Go)
- You want agent mode in a virtual browser
- You want tasks that start when a Gmail message arrives
Pick Claude if
- You write or read long documents
- You program (Claude Code is on every paid plan)
- You want handed-off tasks to keep running with your laptop closed
- You want it to act in your own Chrome browser
Questions people ask
- Is Claude better than ChatGPT?
- For long documents, careful writing and coding, many people prefer Claude. For an all-rounder with images, voice and agent mode, ChatGPT covers more ground.
- Are ChatGPT and Claude free?
- Both have free plans with limits. Their main paid plans are $20 a month; ChatGPT also has Go at $8.
- Can either one send texts or have its own email?
- No. Neither has an email address of its own or a number you can text. Both can work with a connected email account.
Updated 2026-11-08. Product facts from each maker's own pages: see ChatGPT and Claude for sources.
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