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ChatGPT vs Claude: which is worth paying for?

The current plans and our verdict on each tool, side by side. Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page and are checked every day.

The short answer

Choose ChatGPT if…

  • you want advanced reasoning with GPT-6 in the Plus plan for $20/month
  • you need a lower entry point with the Go plan at $8/month for more tools
  • you prefer unlimited text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna on the free plan

Choose Claude if…

Our pick for most people

  • you need Claude Code and Opus models in the Pro plan for $20/month
  • you want higher usage limits with Max 5x for $100/month
  • you need team features with Standard seats at $25/month

Bottom line: Claude Pro is worth it for daily users who need Opus, Claude Code, and higher usage limits.

Key differences

  • ChatGPT offers a Go plan for $8/month and a Plus plan for $20/month. plan list checked by handSource · owner-checked plan listPlan list checked by hand (chatgpt.com), checked Sep 28, 2026.Go to sources ↓
  • Claude offers a Pro plan for $20/month or $200/year and a Max 5x plan for $100/month. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (claude.com), checked Sep 29, 2026.Go to sources ↓
  • ChatGPT Free includes unlimited text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna. plan list checked by handSource · owner-checked plan listPlan list checked by hand (chatgpt.com), checked Sep 28, 2026.Go to sources ↓
  • Claude Free includes access to Sonnet and Haiku models. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (claude.com), checked Sep 29, 2026.Go to sources ↓
  • ChatGPT Plus provides advanced reasoning models with GPT-6. plan list checked by handSource · owner-checked plan listPlan list checked by hand (chatgpt.com), checked Sep 28, 2026.Go to sources ↓
  • Claude Pro includes Claude Code, Claude Science, and Opus models. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (claude.com), checked Sep 29, 2026.Go to sources ↓

Plans and limits side by side

PlansChatGPTClaude
Free planFree $0Model Unlimited text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna, Uploads Limited messages with uploadsFree $0
Paid plansGo $8/moUsage More messages with tools, more uploadsPlus $20/moModels Advanced reasoning models with GPT-6Pro $100/moPrice From $100/month, Usage 5x more usage than PlusPro $20/mo or $200/yrMax 5x $100/moMax 20x $200/mo
Business plans—Standard seat $25/user/mo or $240/user/yrPremium seat $125/user/mo or $1,200/user/yrEnterprise Custom

From each vendor's own pricing page · ChatGPT checked Sep 28, 2026 · Claude checked Oct 2, 2026.

Our tests

Scores out of 10 on the same tasks of our public test suite ("Chat assistants", version 2), run hands-on in each app, scored by the same blind judges.

TaskChatGPT · free tierClaude · paid tier
Decline a meeting politely9.9/109.3/10
Summarize a text in 3 bullets9.9/109.8/10
Work out an arrival time9.9/109.9/10
Solve a small logic puzzle10.0/108.0/10
Extract data as JSON10.0/1010.0/10
Write a small Python function10.0/109.7/10
Explain a concept to a 12-year-old9.8/109.8/10
Rewrite a blunt message9.3/108.7/10
Translate into Spanish9.1/109.3/10
Make a 5-day beginner plan9.6/109.5/10
Write a 3-sentence product text9.4/109.7/10
Admit what it cannot know9.4/109.4/10
Average9.7/109.4/10

ChatGPT Free scored 9.9/10 on declining a meeting politely 9.9Our test · free tierChatGPT · Decline a meeting politely: 9.9/10, 4 of 4 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. ChatGPT Free scored 9.9/10 on summarizing a text in 3 bullets 9.9Our test · free tierChatGPT · Summarize a text in 3 bullets: 9.9/10, 2 of 2 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. ChatGPT Free scored 9.9/10 on working out an arrival time 9.9Our test · free tierChatGPT · Work out an arrival time: 9.9/10, 2 of 2 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. ChatGPT Free scored 10.0/10 on solving a small logic puzzle 10.0Our test · free tierChatGPT · Solve a small logic puzzle: 10.0/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. ChatGPT Free scored 10.0/10 on extracting data as JSON 10.0Our test · free tierChatGPT · Extract data as JSON: 10.0/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. ChatGPT Free scored 10.0/10 on writing a small Python function 10.0Our test · free tierChatGPT · Write a small Python function: 10.0/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. ChatGPT Free scored 9.8/10 on explaining a concept to a 12-year-old 9.8Our test · free tierChatGPT · Explain a concept to a 12-year-old: 9.8/10, 2 of 2 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. ChatGPT Free scored 9.3/10 on rewriting a blunt message 9.3Our test · free tierChatGPT · Rewrite a blunt message: 9.3/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. ChatGPT Free scored 9.1/10 on translating into Spanish 9.1Our test · free tierChatGPT · Translate into Spanish: 9.1/10, 5 of 5 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. ChatGPT Free scored 9.6/10 on making a 5-day beginner plan 9.6Our test · free tierChatGPT · Make a 5-day beginner plan: 9.6/10, 1 of 1 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. ChatGPT Free scored 9.4/10 on admitting what it cannot know 9.4Our test · free tierChatGPT · Admit what it cannot know: 9.4/10, 1 of 1 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 9.3/10 on declining a meeting politely 9.3Our test · paid tierClaude · Decline a meeting politely: 9.3/10, 4 of 4 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 9.8/10 on summarizing a text in 3 bullets 9.8Our test · paid tierClaude · Summarize a text in 3 bullets: 9.8/10, 2 of 2 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 9.9/10 on working out an arrival time 9.9Our test · paid tierClaude · Work out an arrival time: 9.9/10, 2 of 2 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 8.0/10 on solving a small logic puzzle 8.0Our test · paid tierClaude · Solve a small logic puzzle: 8.0/10, 1 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 10.0/10 on extracting data as JSON 10.0Our test · paid tierClaude · Extract data as JSON: 10.0/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 9.7/10 on writing a small Python function 9.7Our test · paid tierClaude · Write a small Python function: 9.7/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 9.8/10 on explaining a concept to a 12-year-old 9.8Our test · paid tierClaude · Explain a concept to a 12-year-old: 9.8/10, 2 of 2 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 8.7/10 on rewriting a blunt message 8.7Our test · paid tierClaude · Rewrite a blunt message: 8.7/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 9.3/10 on translating into Spanish 9.3Our test · paid tierClaude · Translate into Spanish: 9.3/10, 4 of 5 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 9.5/10 on making a 5-day beginner plan 9.5Our test · paid tierClaude · Make a 5-day beginner plan: 9.5/10, 1 of 1 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Claude Max scored 9.4/10 on admitting what it cannot know 9.4Our test · paid tierClaude · Admit what it cannot know: 9.4/10, 1 of 1 checks passed.Read the answer ↓.

Full answers: ChatGPT · Claude

What users say

ChatGPT

One Reddit user mentions asking ChatGPT to generate a family RedditUser report · positive · Redditr/ChatGPT, posted Jan 10, 2026See the report ↓. Another Reddit user shares a recent experience with ChatGPT 5.5 Pro HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted May 9, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user canceled their ChatGPT Pro subscription due to political donations RedditUser report · negative · Redditr/ChatGPT, posted Jan 26, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user notes that ChatGPT was launched as a low key research preview HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted Sep 26, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user mentions their manager watching how they work after hitting a Claude usage limit RedditUser report · mixed · Redditr/ChatGPT, posted Apr 12, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user discusses the value of ChatGPT's cost compared to other services HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted Sep 18, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user boycotts ChatGPT due to OpenAI's political contributions RedditUser report · negative · Redditr/ChatGPT, posted Jan 30, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user suggests Shopify needs productivity gains to justify ChatGPT's price HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted Sep 11, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user canceled their ChatGPT Pro subscription RedditUser report · negative · Redditr/ChatGPT, posted Feb 28, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user notes that both ChatGPT and Claude have per-conversation modes HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted Sep 10, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user complains about ChatGPT's tone in prompts RedditUser report · negative · Redditr/ChatGPT, posted Feb 18, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user states that ChatGPT's budget is better than Anthropic's HNUser report · positive · Hacker NewsPosted Aug 18, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user cancels their subscription due to the COO's political donations RedditUser report · negative · Redditr/ChatGPT, posted Jan 26, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user suggests Claude Fable & Opus 5 should be cheaper HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted Jul 24, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user asks ChatGPT to make a cartoon representing the political situation RedditUser report · mixed · Redditr/ChatGPT, posted Jun 16, 2026See the report ↓.

Reports cited (15)
  1. Positive · Reddit · r/ChatGPT · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Asking ChatGPT to generate a family for us 🥹
  2. Positive · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    … chatgpt wasn't even worth looking at early this year. Anthropic has the smarter models for sure, and seems to be default in corporate. However, the amount of budget you get with GPT as a user is much better, the harness feels more polished, and the models are faster. …
  3. Negative · Reddit · r/ChatGPT · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    I just cancelled my ChatGPT Pro subscription. Discovering Greg Brockman gave $25 million to Trump's Inauguration fund was just the last straw of many. I have had Gemini and ChatGPT for a while now. …
  4. Negative · Reddit · r/ChatGPT · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Boycott ChatGPT OpenAI president Greg Brockman gave $25 million to MAGA Inc in 2025. They gave Trump 26x more than any other major AI company. ICE's resume screening tool is powered by OpenAI's GPT-4. They're spending 50 million dollars to prevent states from regulating AI. …
  5. Negative · Reddit · r/ChatGPT · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    I just canceled my $200 ChatGPT Pro subscription It’s getting unbearable…
  6. Negative · Reddit · r/ChatGPT · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    I actually hate ChatGPT now Why does ChatGPT needs to tell me to calm down or to take a pause in every prompt? Why all the gaslighting? I started with ChatGPT and absolutely loved it, and every month since I've used it, it's gone worse. I don't really understand why. …
  7. Negative · Reddit · r/ChatGPT · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Why I canceled my ChatGPT subscription and you should, too: their COO gave $25M to MAGA, Inc. in September 2025
  8. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    A recent experience with ChatGPT 5.5 Pro
  9. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    … It's worth reminding that ChatGPT was launched as a "low key research preview". I'd say the narrative that AI agents are a looming danger to the world is probably undersold rather than overhyped. …
  10. Mixed · Reddit · r/ChatGPT · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    My manager watching how I work after I hit the Claude usage limit.
  11. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Maybe you value the few cents (the .50c above seems more like a phrase than an actual value, that much actual cost would be the same as nearly a full days worth of a ChatGPT Plus subscription to combine some lists) over the 10 minutes but I'm not sure I follow why you'd give it access or control …
  12. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    … Unless Shopify can show significant productivity gains by using ChatGPT or Anthropic's API pricing models there is no way they'll be able to justify using those services at those prices in the long term while maintaining their employee pool. …
  13. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Worth noting both ChatGPT and Claude have per-conversation modes (temporary/incognito chat) that are excluded from training.
  14. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    this claude fable & opus 5 should be cheaper and can compete in pricing with chatgpt latest models
  15. Mixed · Reddit · r/ChatGPT · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    I asked chatgpt to make a cartoon that will represent nowadays political situation

Claude

A Reddit user mentions responding to coworkers like Claude RedditUser report · mixed · Redditr/ClaudeAI, posted Jun 7, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user notes that Claude Code is steganographically marking requests HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted Jun 30, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user shares a mixed experience with sharing a Claude subscription RedditUser report · mixed · Redditr/ClaudeAI, posted Jun 24, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user reports that Claude Code's source code was leaked via an NPM registry file HNUser report · negative · Hacker NewsPosted Mar 31, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user reports that Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates HNUser report · negative · Hacker NewsPosted Apr 6, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user shares a hack for hitting Claude session limits RedditUser report · mixed · Redditr/ClaudeAI, posted Jun 21, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user reports that Claude Code refuses requests or charges extra if commits mention "OpenClaw" HNUser report · negative · Hacker NewsPosted Apr 30, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user uses Claude to fix frustrations with PDF documents RedditUser report · positive · Redditr/ClaudeAI, posted Jun 26, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user asks Claude to change a button color HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted Sep 9, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user uses Claude Fable to mash game genres RedditUser report · positive · Redditr/ClaudeAI, posted Jun 12, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user questions why a project coded by Claude is worthy of a Show HN post HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted Sep 27, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user describes using Plan mode with Claude for Pull Requests RedditUser report · positive · Redditr/ClaudeAI, posted Jan 2, 2026See the report ↓. A Reddit user struggles to get Claude to say "uwu" RedditUser report · mixed · Redditr/ClaudeAI, posted Jun 6, 2026See the report ↓. A Hacker News user notes that Anthropic has backed off on strict pricing models HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted Sep 22, 2026See the report ↓.

Reports cited (14)
  1. Positive · Reddit · r/ClaudeAI · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    I used Claude to fix my biggest frustration with PDFs My bank asked for 17 PDF documents regarding my mortgage application. I got tired of opening and closing files and keeping track of things. …
  2. Positive · Reddit · r/ClaudeAI · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    My favorite thing right now is to use Claude Fable to mash game genres. Here's Tetris as a Racing game!
  3. Positive · Reddit · r/ClaudeAI · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    … If my goal is to write a Pull Request, I will use Plan mode, and go back and forth with Claude until I like its plan. From there, I switch into auto-accept edits mode and Claude can usually 1-shot it. A good plan is really important. …
  4. Negative · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Claude Code's source code has been leaked via a map file in their NPM registry. Related ongoing thread: The Claude Code Source Leak: fake tools, frustration regexes, undercover mode -
  5. Negative · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Issue: Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates
  6. Negative · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Claude Code refuses requests or charges extra if your commits mention "OpenClaw"
  7. Mixed · Reddit · r/ClaudeAI · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    I started responding to messages from coworkers like Claude I will update the group as it goes
  8. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Claude Code is steganographically marking requests
  9. Mixed · Reddit · r/ClaudeAI · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Nothing can go wrong when you share a Claude subscription with friends... right?
  10. Mixed · Reddit · r/ClaudeAI · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Hit your Claude session limit? 🚨 One of the smartest AI hacks I’ve seen: ​ Hit your Claude session limit? ​ Before you start a new chat, use this prompt: ​ "Based on our conversation so far, create a summary so that ChatGPT can understand it clearly".
  11. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Claude, change the “Add to Cart” button to blue
  12. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Why would you consider a project which appears to be fully coded by Claude worthy of a Show HN post?
  13. Mixed · Reddit · r/ClaudeAI · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Help my claude wont say uwu i have been trying to get him to say uwu the whole day and i only managed to do it once using a fake captcha. He keeps saying he has standards. Hes too self aware!!!
  14. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    … I think that is less of a factor now, and I think Anthropic have backed off some on being as strict (eg, AFAIK they never implemented the two-tier "claude -p" pricing model they were planning)

Questions people ask

Which tool is better for coding?

Claude Pro includes Claude Code, which is highly regarded for coding tasks. ChatGPT Plus offers advanced reasoning models with GPT-6, which can also handle coding well.

Is the free plan sufficient for daily use?

Both ChatGPT and Claude offer free plans. ChatGPT Free includes unlimited text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna. Claude Free includes access to Sonnet and Haiku models.

What is the price difference between the paid plans?

ChatGPT Plus costs $20/month. Claude Pro costs $20/month or $200/year. ChatGPT Pro costs $100/month. Claude Max 5x costs $100/month.

Do both tools offer team plans?

Claude offers Standard seats at $25/month and Premium seats at $125/month. ChatGPT's team plans are not explicitly detailed in the provided sources.

Which tool has better user reviews?

The sources do not state which tool is rated better overall.

Sources

Drafted with AI from these pages, our tests and the linked user reports, and checked automatically against them before publishing: every price, score and report above is tied to the tool it is about.

ChatGPT

Claude

Each tool's verdict and plans

ChatGPT

DEPENDS DEPENDS — worth it for some people

Free is strong for basics; pay for speed, tools, or GPT-6 reasoning.

Tested by us on Sep 28, 2026 · with user reports

Cheapest paid
$8/mo
What's free
$0
Our test score
9.7/10

Our test (hands-on): free tier 9.7/10, as of Sep 28, 2026

Free

$0

Go

$8/mo

Plus

$20/mo

Pro

$100/mo
Visit ChatGPT(opens in a new tab) Full ChatGPT verdict →

Claude

YES YES — worth paying for

Claude Pro is worth it for daily users who need Opus, Claude Code, and higher usage limits.

Tested by us on Sep 28, 2026 · with user reports

Cheapest paid
$20/mo
What's free
$0
Our test score
9.4/10

Our test (hands-on): paid tier 9.4/10, as of Sep 28, 2026

Free

$0

Pro

$20/mo

or $200/yr

Max 5x

$100/mo

Max 20x

$200/mo

Standard seat

$25/user/mo

or $240/user/yr

Premium seat

$125/user/mo

or $1,200/user/yr

Enterprise

Custom
Visit Claude(opens in a new tab) Full Claude verdict →

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