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Claude vs ChatGPT: Which AI chat app should you pay for?

Facts checked Oct 22, 2026. Every number links to its source.

Summary

Derived from sourced facts, not from builder opinions
  • Both main paid plans cost $20 a month: Claude Pro and ChatGPT Plus. ChatGPT also has an $8 Go plan.
  • No published test compares the two apps. As models run through the API, Opus 5.5 (Claude Pro and up) scored 65.15% on Vals AI's Terminal-Bench 4.0 and GPT-6 Astra (ChatGPT Plus and up) scored 59.60%.
  • Since October 7, 2026, regular chat in ChatGPT runs GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna on free and paid plans.
  • Every ChatGPT plan includes the Codex coding agent, on Free and Go with GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app. Claude Code is not in Claude Free: it comes with paid plans from $20.

Choose Claude if

  • You want Opus 5.5, Anthropic's top model, which Claude Pro includes.
  • You plan to use Claude Code for coding, which every paid Claude plan includes.
  • You want chat and Claude Code to draw on one usage pool.
  • You want the models that scored higher in Vals AI's runs: Opus 5.5 on Terminal-Bench 4.0 and Sonnet 5.5 on the Vals Index.

Choose ChatGPT if

  • You want a cheaper paid plan ($8 Go) or a coding agent on the free plan.
  • You want published usage estimates for agent work in ChatGPT Work and Codex.
  • You want GPT-6 Astra, which ChatGPT Plus and higher plans include, or the ChatGPT Work agent.
Claude
ChatGPT

Follow both to get an email when either one changes its price, limits or behavior.

Best by task

Cheapest paid plan

ChatGPT

ChatGPT Go costs $8 a month. Claude's cheapest paid plan is Pro at $20.

Coding agent on the free plan

ChatGPT

ChatGPT Free includes Codex with GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app, still rolling out. Claude Code is not in Claude Free.

Published usage numbers for agent work

ChatGPT

OpenAI publishes per-model message ranges for ChatGPT Work and Codex, not for regular chat. Anthropic publishes only multiples (Pro at least 5x Free).

Plans

Claude plans

Free
Free

Sonnet and Haiku · web search, memory, connectors, Artifacts

Pro
$20/month

Claude Code and Opus included · $17/month billed annually

Max
$100/month

From $100: 5x or 20x Pro usage

Team Standard seat
$25/month

Per seat, monthly · $20 billed annually

Enterprise
$20/month

Per seat billed annually, 20-seat minimum, plus usage at API rates

ChatGPT plans

Free
Free

ChatGPT Work and Codex with GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app, rolling out

Go
$8/month

Codex with GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app, rolling out

Plus
$20/month

Codex on web, CLI, IDE and iOS · GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna in Codex

Pro
$100/month

Plans at $100, $200 or $500 · Work and Codex have no five-hour limit, weekly limits may apply

Business
$25/month

Per user monthly · $20 billed annually, 2+ users

Subscription agents are priced per seat with usage limits, so this compares plans rather than dividing a subscription by a guessed number of tasks.

Side by side

ClaudeChatGPT
MakerAnthropic
OpenAI
PlansFree $0 · Pro $20/month ($17 billed annually) · Max from $100 (5x or 20x Pro usage) · Team Standard $25/seat monthly ($20 annual), Premium $125 ($100 annual) · Enterprise $20/seat plus usage at API rates
Free $0 · Go $8 · Plus $20 · Pro $100, $200 or $500 · Business $25/user monthly ($20 annual, 2+ users) · Enterprise and Edu by sales
Usage limitsRolling 5-hour windows on every plan, plus weekly limits on paid plans · Pro gives at least 5x Free usage per 5 hours, Max 5x or 20x Pro · no fixed message counts · paid plans can buy usage credits at API rates
Not published
Models in the appCurrent models are Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 and Fable 5.1 · Free gets Sonnet and Haiku · Opus from Pro · Fable with usage credits on Pro and up to 50% of weekly limits on Max
GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna replaced GPT-5.6 in ChatGPT on 2026-10-07 for free and paid plans · Codex and ChatGPT Work still run the September versions of GPT-6 Sol and Luna
Context windowUp to 1M tokens on every plan, depending on the model
Not published
Key featuresFree: web search, file creation and code execution, memory, connectors, Artifacts, Claude Design, Slides and Docs · Pro adds Claude Code, Research, unlimited Projects, Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365
Not published
Coding agentClaude Code is included in every paid plan and shares the plan's usage limits
Not published
Model trainingOpt-out on Free, Pro and Max · off by default on Team and Enterprise
Not published
GPT-6 Astra accessNot publishedPlus, Pro, Business and Enterprise plans
Agent and codingNot publishedChatGPT Work and Codex are included in every plan, on Free and Go with GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app, subject to rollout
Work and Codex usage limitsNot publishedPublished only for ChatGPT Work and Codex, which share one allowance, not for regular chat: on Plus about 15-160 local messages per 5 hours with GPT-6.1 Sol and 5-45 with GPT-6 Astra · Pro has no five-hour limit · weekly limits may apply

Scores appear side by side only when both were published for the same test. Settings differ between sources, so small gaps can reverse under another harness.

Updates

Claude

27 recorded incidents in the last 90 days.

Limits change

Accounts that keep trying to extract Claude's reasoning face stricter usage limits

Anthropic said users who repeatedly try to extract Claude's reasoning now get stricter usage limits, and accounts with persistent distillation attempts are banned. The same post restates that blocked pre-output requests have been billed again since September 24.

Who is affected:
Accounts whose prompts repeatedly try to get Claude to reveal its full reasoning.
What to do:
No action needed for normal use. Do not build workflows that try to extract hidden reasoning.

ChatGPT

19 recorded incidents in the last 90 days.

Plan change

ChatGPT Pro and Business add up to $500 a month in free API credits

Eligible ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers can claim up to $500 per month in free API credits as a subscription benefit. The benefit is activated from ChatGPT or the API Platform by linking an API organization you own.

After

Up to $500 per month in free API credits

Who is affected:
ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers who also use the API.
What to do:
Link an API organization you own in ChatGPT or the API Platform to claim the credits.

Switching checklist

  1. Export your ChatGPT data under Settings, Data controls, Export data. The link arrives by email within 7 days and expires 24 hours after it arrives.
  2. Keep the export as your archive: Claude cannot import conversation history from another AI provider.
  3. Bring your ChatGPT memory: paste Claude's suggested prompt into ChatGPT, then paste the answer under Settings, Memory, Start import in Claude.
  4. Copy your custom instructions from ChatGPT's Settings, Personalization.
  5. Paste them into Instructions for Claude under Settings.
  6. Recreate each ChatGPT project as a Claude project with its instructions and files. Free accounts can have up to five projects.
  7. Check which model your plan gives you: Opus and Claude Code start with Claude Pro.
  8. Run three of your own real tasks in both free plans before you cancel anything.

FAQ

Is Claude better than ChatGPT?

No published test compares the two apps. As models run through the API by Vals AI, Claude Opus 5.5 scored 65.15% on Terminal-Bench 4.0 and GPT-6 Astra 59.60%. On the Vals Index, Claude Sonnet 5.5 scored 70.85% (69.03% counting fallback answers as failures) and GPT-6 Astra 65.02%.

How much do Claude and ChatGPT cost?

Claude: Free, Pro $20 ($17 a month billed annually) and Max from $100. ChatGPT: Free, Go $8, Plus $20 and Pro at $100, $200 or $500.

Which models does ChatGPT use now?

GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna replaced GPT-5.6 in ChatGPT on October 7, 2026, on free and paid plans. Codex and ChatGPT Work still use the earlier September versions of GPT-6 Sol and Luna.

Can I use Claude Opus for free?

No. Claude Free includes Sonnet and Haiku. Opus starts with the $20 Pro plan.

Does ChatGPT publish its usage limits?

Only for agent work. OpenAI's estimates cover ChatGPT Work and Codex, which share one allowance: on Plus, about 15-160 local messages per 5 hours with GPT-6.1 Sol and 5-45 with GPT-6 Astra. These estimates do not cover regular chat.

Can I move my ChatGPT history to Claude?

Not your chats. Claude cannot import conversation history from another AI provider, but it can import your ChatGPT memory through Settings, Memory, Start import.

How do I export my ChatGPT chats?

Go to Settings, Data controls, Export data. A download link arrives by email within 7 days and expires after 24 hours.

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Sources and method

Prices, specs and limits come from each maker's own pages. Benchmark scores come from independent benchmark publishers and the makers' announcements, with the setting each was measured in. Changes come from changelogs, deprecation pages and status pages. The summary is written from these facts only.