The short version
- Price is a tie at the main tier: ChatGPT Plus is $20 a month and Claude Pro is $20 a month, or $17 a month if you pay for a year up front.
- Claude lists a context window of up to 1M on every plan. ChatGPT Plus lists 54K for Instant models and 256K for reasoning models.
- ChatGPT’s free plan includes limited deep research, image creation and Codex access. Claude’s free plan leaves out Research and Claude Code.
- ChatGPT has more steps on the ladder (Go, Plus, three Pro tiers). Claude goes from Free to Pro to Max.
- On the API the top models list the same price: gpt-6-astra and claude-fable-5-1 are both $10 input and $50 output per million tokens.
Plans and prices
US dollars unless a cell says otherwise. Vendors show different prices in different countries and add tax in some.
| What | ClaudeAnthropic | ChatGPTOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes. Chat on web, desktop and mobile; web search, file creation, code execution, memorySource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Yes. Unlimited text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna; limited uploads, images, voice and deep researchSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Low-cost tier | None listed between Free and ProSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Go. A$13/month on the Australian page; this plan may include adsUS dollar price not verified: OpenAI's help page for Go gives no figure and points to the pricing page, which showed A$ from our connection (re-checked 2 Oct 2026).Source: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Main paid plan | Pro, $20/month billed monthly, or $17/month on annual billing ($200 up front)Source: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Plus, $20/month, billed monthlySource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Heavy-use plans | Max, from $100/month. Choose 5x or 20x the Pro usagePrice of the 20x option was not shown as a number on the page we read.Source: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500: $100, $200 and $500/monthSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Team plan | Team: standard seat $20/month on annual billing or $25 monthly; premium seat $100 or $125. For 2 to 150 peopleSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Business: standard seat $20/month on annual billing or $25 monthly; premium seat $100 or $125. At least 2 seatsSource: OpenAI, checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| Bundled extras on the main paid plan | No cloud storage or other non-Claude service is listed for Pro on the pricing pageSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | No cloud storage or other non-ChatGPT service is listed for Plus on the pricing pageSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
Limits and models
| What | ClaudeAnthropic | ChatGPTOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Context window in the app | Up to 1M on every plan, varies by modelSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Instant models: 27K (Free), 54K (Go and Plus), 128K (Pro). Reasoning models: 256K (Go and Plus), 400K (Pro)Source: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| How usage limits are described | Pro has 'more usage' than Free; Max is 5x or 20x Pro; Team premium seats are 5x standard. No message counts on the pricing pageSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free: limited messages with uploads. Go: more messages with tools and more uploads. Plus: expanded messages and uploads. Pro: three usage tiers. Exact message counts are not published on the pricing pageSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Models you get | Free: Sonnet and Haiku. Pro and up: adds Opus. Fable: usage credits on Pro, up to 50% of weekly limits on MaxSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free: GPT-5.6 Luna. Plus: advanced reasoning models with GPT-6. Pro: Pro reasoning powered by GPT-6 AstraSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
Features by plan
| What | ClaudeAnthropic | ChatGPTOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Deep research | Research: not on Free; included from ProSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Limited on Free; expanded on Plus; maximum on ProSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Coding agent | Claude Code: not on Free; included from ProSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Codex: limited on Free, expanded on Plus, longer sessions on ProSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Voice | Voice mode on every planSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Limited voice chats on Free; more on GoSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Image generation | Not verified Not listed on Anthropic's pricing page. We did not check further, so we make no claim either way. | Limited on Free; more on Go; unlimited and faster on ProSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Memory | Memory across conversations on every planSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Limited memory and context on Free; longer on Go; expanded on PlusSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Projects and custom assistants | Projects: up to 5 on Free, included on paid plansSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs from PlusSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Works inside other apps | Claude in Chrome and Claude for Microsoft 365 from ProSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Google Sheets extensions are listed; which plan gets what was not readable on the pageSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Training on your chats | Opt-out on Free, Pro and Max; Team is not trained on by defaultSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Opt-out available on Free, Go, Plus and ProSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Ads | Not verified Nothing about ads is stated on the pricing page. | Ads may appear on the Free tier in certain countriesThe pricing page says the Go plan “may include ads”.Source: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
Voice, files and access
| What | ClaudeAnthropic | ChatGPTOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Voice: where it works and limits | Beta on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, on iOS, Android, desktop and web. Voice counts toward your plan's regular usage limits. Fable is not available in voiceSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free: limited access to GPT-Live-1 mini. Go: 3 hours of GPT-Live-1 mini. Plus: 3 hours of GPT-Live-1, measured over a rolling 24 hours. Live does not support video or screen sharingSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| File uploads | 500MB per file in a chat, 30MB per file in a project. PDFs up to 100 pages are read with images and charts; from 101 to 1,000 pages, text onlySource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | 512MB per file; text and document files capped at 2M tokens; images 20MB each. Free users: 3 file uploads a daySource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Video | Not verified Video is not listed on the Anthropic pages we read. | In voice, Live does not support video or screen sharing; video and screen sharing remain available to eligible subscribers in the iOS and Android apps when using AdvancedVideo upload and video generation were not read.Source: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Can you use it without an account? | Anthropic's help page describes logging in with a Google account or an emailed link; it does not describe a logged-out modeSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Yes at chatgpt.com in supported countries (not yet in Europe, except the UK). Logged out you get one conversation at a time and chats are not savedSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Where it runs | Web (claude.ai), iOS, Android and Claude DesktopSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | Web, iOS and Android for voice in chat; a desktop app on macOS and WindowsSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
For developers: API
API prices are separate from the app subscriptions above. Prices are per one million tokens.
| What | ClaudeAnthropic | ChatGPTOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Top API model and price per 1M tokens | claude-fable-5-1: $10 input, $50 output. claude-opus-5-5: $4 input, $20 outputSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | gpt-6-astra: $10 input, $50 outputSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Mid-priced API model | claude-sonnet-5-5: $2 input, $10 outputSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | gpt-6.1-sol: $2 input, $10 outputSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Cheapest current API model | claude-haiku-4-5: $1 input, $5 outputSource: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | gpt-6-luna: $0.10 input, $0.50 outputSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| API context window | 1M tokens on Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5; 200K on Haiku 4.5Source: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | 1.05M tokens on gpt-6-astra, gpt-6.1-sol and gpt-6-lunaSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| API maximum output | 128K tokens (64K on Haiku 4.5)Source: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | 128K tokensSource: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Long-prompt surcharge | Not verified We did not read whether Anthropic charges a different rate for long prompts. | A separate, higher 'long context' rate is listed: gpt-6-astra $20 input, $75 outputThe token threshold where the long-context rate starts was not captured.Source: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Free API tier | Not verified Not read today. | Not verified Not read today. |
| Knowledge cutoff of top model | Jun 2026 (Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5)Source: Anthropic, checked 1 Oct 2026 | 30 Apr 2026 (gpt-6-astra)Source: OpenAI, checked 1 Oct 2026 |
Best for, and not ideal for
Each point follows from a row in the tables above. We have not run quality or speed tests, so nothing here says which one writes or codes better.
Claude
Best for
- Long documents and big codebases. The pricing page lists a context window of up to 1M on every plan, free included.
- Paying yearly. Pro drops to $17 a month on annual billing.
- Small teams that want published seat prices: $20 or $25 per standard seat.
Not ideal for
- Free users who want a research mode or a coding agent. Research and Claude Code start at Pro.
- Paying less than Pro. No paid plan is listed below Pro, which is $20 billed monthly or $17 a month on annual billing.
ChatGPT
Best for
- People who want tiers to grow into: there are Go, Plus and three Pro levels between free and $500 a month.
- Heavy image use. Image creation is listed from the Free plan and becomes unlimited on Pro.
- Developers who need a very cheap model: gpt-6-luna lists $0.10 per million input tokens, the lowest price among the models we read today.
Not ideal for
- Pasting very long documents on a $20 plan. Plus is capped at a 54K context window on Instant models and 256K on reasoning models.
- Anyone who wants an ad-free low-cost plan: OpenAI says Go may include ads.
Questions people ask
- Is Claude Pro cheaper than ChatGPT Plus?
- Billed monthly they cost the same, $20 a month. Claude Pro is $17 a month if you pay $200 for a year up front. OpenAI’s help page lists ChatGPT Plus at $20 a month, billed monthly.
- Which one handles longer documents?
- Anthropic’s pricing page lists a context window of up to 1M on every Claude plan, varying by model. OpenAI lists 54K (Instant models) and 256K (reasoning models) on ChatGPT Plus, and 128K and 400K on Pro.
- Can I use Claude Code or Codex for free?
- OpenAI lists limited Codex access on the ChatGPT Free plan. Anthropic lists Claude Code as not included on Free; it starts at Pro.
- ChatGPT vs Claude: which fits a writing and research workflow?
- The rows that matter for long drafting and research are context and the research mode. Anthropic lists up to 1M of context on every Claude plan and Research from Pro. OpenAI lists 54K and 256K on Plus, with deep research limited on Free and expanded on Plus. We have not tested writing quality, so we do not say which one writes better.
- Is “Claude AI” the same thing as Claude?
- Yes. Claude is the assistant made by Anthropic. The plans compared here are Claude Free, Pro and Max against ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus and Pro.
Sources
Every figure on this page was read from these vendor pages on 1 Oct 2026. A cell marked “Not verified” means we could not confirm it from a vendor page that day, so we left it blank.
- Anthropic: Claude pricing page, checked 1 Oct 2026. Prices shown with a $ sign; the page says they exclude applicable tax.
- OpenAI: ChatGPT pricing page, checked 1 Oct 2026. Read in a browser from an Australian connection; plan prices on this page were shown in A$.
- OpenAI: What is ChatGPT Plus? (Help Center), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- OpenAI: About ChatGPT Pro tiers (Help Center), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- OpenAI: ChatGPT Business overview (Help Center), checked 2 Oct 2026. The page gives these as USD prices for most countries and says pricing may vary by country and currency.
- OpenAI: ChatGPT Free Tier FAQ (Help Center), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- Anthropic: Models overview (Claude Platform docs), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- OpenAI: Models (API docs), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- OpenAI: Pricing (API docs), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- Anthropic: Use voice mode (Claude Help Center), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- OpenAI: ChatGPT Voice (Help Center), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- Anthropic: Upload files to Claude (Claude Help Center), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- OpenAI: File Uploads FAQ (Help Center), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- Anthropic: Log in to your Claude account (Claude Help Center), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- OpenAI: The ChatGPT home page (Help Center), checked 1 Oct 2026.
- Anthropic: What interfaces can I use to access Claude? (Claude Help Center), checked 1 Oct 2026.
Other comparisons
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