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Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT: Which AI assistant should you pay for?

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

Summary

Derived from sourced facts, not from builder opinions
  • Copilot chat is free, subject to capacity and limits. Paid Copilot comes with Microsoft 365: Personal $9.99, Family $12.99 and Premium $19.99 a month.
  • Microsoft 365 Premium, at $19.99, adds advanced Copilot chat with extensive usage, plus Office apps and cloud storage. ChatGPT Plus costs $20.
  • Microsoft promises subscribers leading models without naming the model behind Copilot chat, so no benchmark applies to it.
  • Microsoft retired Deep Research and Podcasts in the consumer Copilot app on August 18, 2026.

Choose Microsoft Copilot if

  • You already pay for Microsoft 365, or want Office apps and cloud storage in the same plan.
  • You want AI inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
  • You want the assistant built into Windows and Edge.
  • You want Copilot in the Office apps for $9.99 a month with Microsoft 365 Personal, about half of ChatGPT Plus.

Choose ChatGPT if

  • You want to know which model you are using.
  • You want a coding agent (Codex) on every plan.
  • You want the cheapest paid plan ($8 Go).
Microsoft Copilot
ChatGPT

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

Best by task

Working inside Office apps

Microsoft Copilot

The Copilot app opens Word, Excel, Outlook and other Microsoft 365 apps and files, and Microsoft 365 plans add Copilot inside those apps.

Cheapest paid plan

ChatGPT

ChatGPT Go costs $8 a month. Microsoft 365 Personal costs $9.99 and also includes the Office apps.

Coding agent on the free plan

ChatGPT

ChatGPT Free includes Codex with GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app, still rolling out. Microsoft's Copilot app pages describe chat, image creation and the Cowork agent, not a coding agent.

Plans

Microsoft Copilot plans

Free
Free

Chat, image creation and file uploads, subject to capacity and limits

Microsoft 365 Personal
$9.99/month

Office apps · 1 TB storage · Copilot in apps with limits · $99.99/year

Microsoft 365 Family
$12.99/month

Up to 6 people, AI for the owner only · 2 TB shared storage · $129.99/year

Microsoft 365 Premium
$19.99/month

Advanced Copilot chat with extensive usage · agentic features · $199.99/year

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

Microsoft CopilotChatGPT
Free useChat, image creation and file uploads are free, subject to capacity and limits
Not published
PlansPaid Copilot comes with Microsoft 365: Personal $9.99/month · Family $12.99 · Premium $19.99 with extensive Copilot chat usage · a Microsoft 365 Pro plan also exists
Free $0 · Go $8 · Plus $20 · Pro $100, $200 or $500 · Business $25/user monthly ($20 annual, 2+ users) · Enterprise and Edu by sales
ModelsMicrosoft promises subscribers leading models and higher limits without naming the model behind Copilot chat
Not published
Office appsWord, Excel, Outlook and other Microsoft 365 apps open from the Copilot app
Not published
Retired featuresDeep Research, Podcasts and Group Chat retired for consumers on 2026-08-18 · Copilot Pro support ended 2026-08-01
Not published
AgentCopilot Cowork, in preview, needs Microsoft 365 Premium or Pro
Not published
MakerNot publishedOpenAI
Models in the appNot publishedGPT-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
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

Microsoft Copilot

Retiring

Microsoft Copilot retires from Samsung and LG TVs on December 1, 2026

Copilot will no longer be available on Samsung and LG TVs after December 1, 2026. Copilot stays available on web, desktop and mobile.

Before

Copilot available on Samsung and LG TVs

After

Copilot not available on TVs

Takes effect Dec 1, 2026 · in 30 days

Who is affected:
People who use Copilot on a Samsung or LG TV lose access there.
Action needed:
Switch to Copilot on web, desktop or mobile before December 1, 2026.

Plan change

Copilot Tasks users move to Cowork, which needs Premium or Pro

Personal-account Copilot Tasks users will be migrated to Copilot Cowork over the next few weeks. Cowork is a Premium or Pro feature in Preview, so Personal and Family subscribers lose access to it and must upgrade to run or start tasks.

Before

Copilot Tasks available with a personal Copilot account

After

Cowork requires Microsoft 365 Premium or Pro

Who is affected:
Copilot Tasks users on Microsoft 365 Personal or Family plans lose the ability to run tasks, and scheduled tasks, shared links and text or email channels change.
Action needed:
Upgrade to Microsoft 365 Premium or Pro to keep running tasks, and turn scheduled tasks back on in Cowork.

Retired

Copilot app retires Podcasts, Deep Research and Group Chat for consumers

Microsoft retired Deep Research, Podcasts and Group Chat in the consumer Copilot app on August 18, 2026, as part of an updated Copilot app for personal, work and school accounts. Group Chat threads, messages and images were not carried forward. Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers can use Researcher for in-depth reports instead.

Who is affected:
Consumer Copilot users who relied on Deep Research or Podcasts.
Action needed:
Save any research reports you need as Word documents, or use Researcher with Microsoft 365 Premium.

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.

FAQ

Is Copilot free?

Yes. You can chat, create images and upload files for free, subject to capacity and limits. Microsoft 365 plans raise the limits.

What happened to Copilot Pro?

Copilot Pro is no longer sold, and support for existing subscribers ended on August 1, 2026. Microsoft points subscribers to Microsoft 365 Premium.

How much does Microsoft 365 Premium cost?

$19.99 a month or $199.99 a year in the US. It covers up to six people and adds advanced Copilot chat with extensive usage for the subscription owner.

Which models does ChatGPT use?

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.

Which model does Microsoft Copilot use?

Microsoft does not name it. It promises subscribers leading models and higher limits.

Does Microsoft 365 Personal include Copilot?

Yes, in the Office apps with limits, for $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.

Which Copilot features were retired?

Deep Research, Podcasts and Group Chat for consumers on August 18, 2026.

Related comparisons

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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.