ChatGPT vs Claude

ChatGPT and Claude sit in the same category and share 42 tasks. The verdict below is calculated for each role from the tasks, the role fit and the price.

Short answer

ChatGPT wins for 19 of 20 roles in our data. ChatGPT starts at $20/mo and Claude at $20/mo on the cheapest paid plan.

Verdict by role

Side by side

ChatGPT: All-purpose chat assistant with web search, file and spreadsheet analysis, voice and custom GPTs.

Claude: Assistant for long documents, contracts and careful writing, with a Project for each matter.

Tasks both handle

• Categorize a bank statement by cash flow line
• Write a business letter
• Write a job ad and a job description
• Write a customer FAQ
• Write a sales proposal
• Prepare a reply to a tax authority request
• Compare two versions of a contract
• Run a risk review of a contract for your side
• Screen resumes fairly and without bias
• Build a 12-week cash flow forecast
• Explain the numbers to the business owner
• Translate a contract and keep the terminology consistent
• Prepare a structured interview
• Write a formal claim letter to a counterparty
• Write a sales call script
• Analyze customer reviews by topic
• Check a source document for required fields
• Draft a personal data processing policy
• Write AI usage guidelines for your team
• Frame feedback for an employee
• Design an engagement survey and analyze the answers
• Draft an internal company order
• Write a structured legal memo
• Write a series of company social media posts
• Summarize changes in legislation for colleagues
• Answer a client's tax question
• Draft a request for a private tax ruling
• Write a management letter after an audit
• Write the financial section of a business plan
• Draft a statement of claim
• Build a Boolean search string for candidates
• Write a personal outreach message to a candidate
• Write a rejection email to a candidate
• Prepare a candidate profile for the hiring client
• Draft an HR order
• Write a formal role description
• Prepare for a labor inspection
• Prepare a cover letter for a document pack
• Write a first email to a B2B prospect
• Build a monthly content plan
• Repurpose an article into posts for different networks
• Reply to comments and reviews on social media

Only ChatGPT covers

• Get a spreadsheet formula from a plain-language request
• Analyze budget variances, actual versus plan
• Reconcile the trial balance with the bank and source documents
• Write meeting minutes from an audio recording
• Build a 30/60/90-day onboarding plan
• Build a quarterly results presentation
• Find discrepancies in a counterparty reconciliation statement
• Write an overdue payment reminder

Only Claude covers

• Summarize a long PDF
• Write up an audit working paper
• Update the accounting policy document
• Prepare a business case for a project
• Redline a contract with tracked changes
• Review an NDA in ten minutes
• Find case law to support a position
• Review a batch of contracts for the same risks

Pitfalls to watch at work

ChatGPT

• On the free and personal paid plans, chats may be used for training by default: in Settings, Data controls, turn off Improve the model for everyone before your first work task
• Employee names and tax IDs, account details, amounts and contract terms go into the chat only anonymized: replace them with [Employee 1], [Counterparty], [X]
• The model invents statute numbers, court decisions and links in a confident tone: check every such fact in the primary source

Claude

• On the free and personal paid plans, check Settings, Privacy: training on chats should be off before a work document goes in
• Contracts and correspondence go in only with parties, amounts and details anonymized: [Buyer], [Supplier], [amount]
• The limit is measured by conversation size rather than message count: a long chat with a large file uses up the quota in a few questions, so open a separate chat for each document

FAQ

Is ChatGPT or Claude better for work?

In our data ChatGPT is the better choice for 19 of 20 roles. The table above shows the reason for each role.

Which is cheaper, ChatGPT or Claude?

ChatGPT starts at $20/mo and Claude at $20/mo on the cheapest paid plan.

Do ChatGPT and Claude have free plans?

ChatGPT: Yes. The default model with a limited number of messages every few hours, after which it switches to a lighter model; file uploads and image generation with small limits; no Projects with large files and no full Deep Research. Claude: Yes. Several dozen messages a day depending on load, analysis of uploaded files and images, no Projects with large knowledge bases and no extended reasoning mode.

Compare ChatGPT with

• ChatGPT vs Copilot in Word
• ChatGPT vs Gemini in Google Sheets
• ChatGPT vs NotebookLM
• ChatGPT vs Gemini
• ChatGPT vs Copilot in Excel

Compare Claude with

• Claude vs NotebookLM
• Claude vs Copilot in Word
• Claude vs Gemini
• Claude vs Gemini in Google Docs
• Claude vs Gemini in Google Sheets

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