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Facts checked against both vendors on September 28, 2026.
ChatGPT is the better assistant to buy on its own: Plus at $20 a month brings GPT-6 reasoning, Codex, custom GPTs and scheduled tasks with no other subscription required. Microsoft Copilot is the better buy when the job is inside Microsoft 365: Copilot Chat is free for work accounts, Microsoft 365 Copilot at $30 per user a month grounds the assistant in your mail, files and Teams, and Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99 a month is the consumer route now that Copilot Pro has been retired. Pick ChatGPT for the model and tools; pick Copilot for the Office integration.
ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot share model lineage but are sold in opposite ways. OpenAI sells ChatGPT as a product with tiers for individuals, teams and enterprises. Microsoft sells Copilot as a layer over things you already pay for: Windows, Edge, Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams. That difference decides most purchases before any model comparison starts.
One change matters for consumers. Copilot Pro, the $20 standalone plan, is no longer available for purchase, and Microsoft's support page says existing subscribers keep it until they cancel or support ends on August 1, 2026. The consumer replacement is Microsoft 365 Premium. The details below are from OpenAI's and Microsoft's own pricing and support pages as of September 2026.
ChatGPT is OpenAI's assistant for web, desktop and mobile. Its pricing page lists text chat, image creation, voice chats, file uploads, deep research, memory, projects, scheduled tasks, custom GPTs, ChatGPT Work on desktop and Codex for coding across web, CLI and IDE. Models rise with the plan: GPT-5.6 Luna on Free, GPT-6 reasoning on Plus, and Pro reasoning powered by GPT-6 Astra on Pro. Business and Enterprise add workspace administration, SSO, SCIM and compliance tooling.
Microsoft Copilot is several products under one name. The consumer Copilot app offers file uploads, voice and memory, and is included with Microsoft 365 Premium at higher usage. For work accounts, Copilot Chat is available at no additional cost to Microsoft Entra users with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription and includes web-grounded chat, file uploads, Copilot Pages and IT controls. Microsoft 365 Copilot is the paid work license that puts Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, grounds it in your organization's data through Microsoft Graph and more than 100 connectors, and adds agents such as Researcher, Analyst and Facilitator, Copilot Notebooks and Copilot Analytics.
ChatGPT Free is $0 with unlimited text chats on GPT-5.6 Luna and limited uploads, image generation, voice, deep research, memory and Codex. Go is $8 a month with more messages with tools, uploads, image creation, voice chats and longer memory. Plus is $20 a month with GPT-6 reasoning models, expanded deep research, memory and context, projects, scheduled tasks, custom GPTs, expanded Codex usage and early access. Pro starts at $100 a month for 5x Plus usage; the $200 tier with 20x usage is paused for new sign-ups as of September 10, 2026 according to OpenAI's help center. Business is $20 per user a month billed annually for at least two users, or $25 monthly, with SAML SSO, MFA and no training on business data by default. Enterprise and Edu are priced through sales and add SCIM, EKM, role-based access, a Compliance API and data residency.
Microsoft's consumer route is Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year, which includes the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote desktop apps with Copilot, higher Copilot usage than free, AI agents for research reports and data analysis, up to 6 TB of storage across 1 to 6 people, and a note that the AI features are for the subscription owner only. Microsoft's plans page also lists Microsoft 365 Pro at $99.99 a month, monthly billing only, for the highest usage limits. Copilot Pro is no longer for sale. For work, Copilot Chat is included at no additional cost with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription. Microsoft 365 Copilot is $30 per user a month paid yearly or $31.50 paid monthly on an annual commitment, and requires a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan. Microsoft 365 Copilot Business is $18 per user a month paid yearly, discounted from $21, or $25.20 monthly, for businesses on a Microsoft 365 Business plan. Bundles are $23.50 per user a month for Business Standard with Copilot and $32 for Business Premium with Copilot, paid yearly.
It stands alone. You can buy Plus for $20 with no other subscription, and it includes GPT-6 reasoning, deep research, custom GPTs, scheduled tasks and Codex. Microsoft's consumer offer requires Microsoft 365 Premium, and its work offer requires a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan on top of the $30 Copilot license.
Coding. Codex is on every ChatGPT plan, expanded on Plus and at maximum on Pro, and works on web, CLI and in the IDE. Microsoft's coding assistant is GitHub Copilot, a separate product with its own pricing.
The low tiers are cheaper and the top tier is higher. Go is $8 a month, and Pro gives 5x Plus usage for $100. Microsoft 365 Premium starts at $19.99 and its AI features cannot be shared with other family members on the plan. For teams, ChatGPT Business at $20 per user is a single line item, where Microsoft 365 Copilot is $30 per user on top of Microsoft 365.
Grounding in your work. Microsoft 365 Copilot reads your mail, calendar, files, chats and meetings through Microsoft Graph, works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and connects to line-of-business systems through more than 100 connectors. ChatGPT Business connects to cloud tools and offers ChatGPT Work, but it is not embedded in the Office apps.
Free for work accounts. Copilot Chat costs nothing extra for Entra users with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription and includes web information, file uploads, Copilot Pages and IT controls. ChatGPT's free tier is a consumer product without workspace administration.
Agents and administration. The $30 license includes Researcher, Analyst and Facilitator agents, Copilot Notebooks, Copilot Analytics for adoption and ROI measurement and SharePoint Advanced Management. The Business tier at $18 per user adds LLM model choice. If your organization already runs identity, compliance and device management through Microsoft, Copilot inherits all of it.
Pick ChatGPT if you want the assistant itself, if you code and want Codex, if you rely on custom GPTs and scheduled tasks, or if you are not a Microsoft 365 shop and want a simple $20 per user Business plan with SSO.
Pick Microsoft Copilot if your organization runs on Microsoft 365 and you want the assistant inside Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel with your own data behind it, if you want a free work assistant through Copilot Chat before paying for anything, or if you are a consumer who already wants the Office desktop apps and can use Microsoft 365 Premium. Many companies do both: Copilot Chat or Microsoft 365 Copilot for the Office work, ChatGPT Business for people who need Codex or OpenAI's Pro models.
Built from each tool's listing. Vendors can update their own listing after claiming it.
Free is $0. Go is $8 a month, Plus $20 a month, Pro from $100 a month for 5x Plus usage; the $200 tier (20x) is paused for new sign-ups as of September 10, 2026. Business is $20 per user a month billed annually for at least two users, or $25 monthly. Enterprise and Edu are sold through sales.
Copilot Pro is retired and no longer for sale. Consumers get Copilot through Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year, or Microsoft 365 Pro at $99.99 a month for the highest limits. For work, Copilot Chat is included at no extra cost with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription; Microsoft 365 Copilot is $30 per user a month paid yearly ($31.50 monthly on an annual commitment) on top of a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan; Microsoft 365 Copilot Business is $18 per user a month paid yearly or $25.20 monthly.
