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Prices and features checked against each vendor on September 28, 2026.
ChatGPT is OpenAI's general-purpose assistant for chat, reasoning, image creation, voice, deep research and coding. As of September 2026 the individual plans are Free at $0, Go at $8 per month, Plus at $20 per month and Pro from $100 per month. Business seats cost $25 per user per month on monthly billing or $20 on annual billing for a standard seat, with premium seats at $125 monthly or $100 annually and a minimum of 2 users, and Enterprise is priced through sales.
The most common complaint is that the plan ladder tells you what you get in relative terms rather than absolute ones. OpenAI's pricing page describes Go as more messages, uploads and image creation than Free, Plus as expanded messages and uploads, and Pro as 5x more usage, without publishing a message count for any tier. If you hit a ceiling on Plus, the next step up is Pro at $100 or more per month, which is a five-fold jump for a single user. Businesses face a similar cliff: the premium Business seat that unlocks the highest usage is $125 per month on monthly billing, and every Business workspace needs at least 2 seats.
The second reason is that ChatGPT locks you into OpenAI's models. If a task suits Anthropic's or Google's models better, or you want the deep citation trail that a search-first product gives you, you need a second subscription. Some buyers also want features bundled elsewhere: Google's plans include cloud storage and video generation credits, Microsoft's include the Office desktop apps, and Mistral's Pro plan includes monthly API credits. Finally, teams that need admin controls, SSO or no-training guarantees have to move to Business, where the $20 to $25 standard seat is the entry point rather than the $20 consumer Plus plan.
Built from each tool's listing. Vendors can update their own listing after claiming it.
Best for: Long documents, careful writing and coding work, with Claude Code bundled into the $20 plan
Claude is Anthropic's assistant and the closest like-for-like swap. The Free plan includes web search, file creation, code execution, memory, artifacts and up to 5 projects on the Sonnet and Haiku models. Pro is $20 per month or $17 per month on annual billing, adds the Opus model, Claude Code, Claude Design, Slides and Docs, connectors and Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365, and gives at least 5x more usage per 5-hour session than Free. Max is $100 per month for 5x Pro usage or $200 per month for 20x, and Team seats are $25 monthly or $20 annually for standard and $125 monthly or $100 annually for premium, which mirrors ChatGPT Business almost exactly. Usage resets on a 5-hour session window plus a weekly cap, so heavy users should read the limits before switching.
Best for: Anyone already in Gmail, Drive and Docs who wants storage and video generation in the same subscription
Google Gemini is the assistant inside Google's AI subscriptions. The Free tier includes image generation and editing, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas and Gems with 15 GB of storage. Google AI Plus is $4.99 per month for 2x the Free usage limits, 200 Google Flow credits for video generation and 400 GB of storage. Google AI Pro is $19.99 per month for 4x the Free limits, 1,000 Flow credits, higher access to Gemini 3 Pro and Deep Search, 5 TB of storage and YouTube Premium Lite. Google AI Ultra starts at $99.99 per month, with a $199.99 tier for up to 20x the Pro limits, 10,000 or 25,000 Flow credits and 20 TB of storage. The storage and video credits are the differentiator: none of ChatGPT's consumer plans bundle either.
Best for: Research and fact-finding where every answer needs visible citations
Perplexity is a search-first assistant that answers with citations rather than a plain chat reply. The Free plan gives search with citations and basic models with limited daily usage. Pro is $20 per month and adds expanded computer access, 4,000 bonus credits, deep research, a choice of top AI models, and document and app creation. A Business tier at $200 per month adds maximum computer usage, 10,000 monthly credits plus 35,000 bonus credits and priority access to new features. Perplexity also lets you pick models from several labs rather than one, which is the main structural difference from ChatGPT.
Best for: Budget-conscious users and developers who want chat and API credits in one plan
Mistral's Le Chat is the consumer front end for the French lab's models. The Free plan includes limited messages and web searches, image generation, $10 per month in API credits and over 100 connectors. Pro is $14.99 per month excluding taxes and adds more messages and web searches, all-day coding access, $15 per month in API credits and chat and email support. Verified students get the same price with $30 per month in API credits for up to 12 months. Team is $24.99 per user per month with a $50 monthly minimum and adds 30 GB of storage per user, domain verification and data export. The bundled API credits are unusual: ChatGPT subscriptions do not include any API allowance.
Best for: Office users who want the assistant inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Microsoft Copilot is the assistant that ships with Windows and Microsoft 365. For individuals, Microsoft 365 Premium is $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year and includes Copilot in the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote desktop apps, extensive usage of AI features, AI image creation in Copilot Chat, and agents such as Researcher and Analyst for source-cited reports and data analysis. For businesses, the Microsoft 365 Copilot Business add-on is $18 per user per month on annual billing or $25.20 monthly on top of a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan, and Business Standard with Copilot is $23.50 per user per month annually. The trade-off is that the value only shows up if you live in Microsoft's apps.
Best for: Real-time answers grounded in what is happening now, with a free tier to start
Grok is xAI's assistant for chat, search, reasoning and image and video creation. xAI describes it as free to try on the web and in the apps, with SuperGrok as the paid upgrade for higher limits, priority access and multi-agent reasoning, and the same models are available through xAI's API. Grok's pitch is answers that reflect what is happening now and threads with public share links. xAI does not list the SuperGrok price on the Grok product page, so check the vendor's pricing page before comparing it with ChatGPT Plus.
If you want the same shape of product with a cleaner usage ladder and a coding agent in the box, Claude Pro at $20 is the direct replacement, and Claude Team matches ChatGPT Business seat for seat. Pick Google AI Pro at $19.99 if you would rather have 5 TB of storage and video credits than a second chatbot, and Perplexity Pro if your work is research with citations. Mistral Pro at $14.99 is the cheapest paid option with API credits included, and Microsoft 365 Premium wins only if you spend your day in Office.