On price, ChatGPT and Claude line up closely: both have a free plan, a $20-a-month main plan (ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro) and team seats at $20 per user per month on annual billing or $25 on monthly billing, with a two-seat minimum. The differences are in the details. ChatGPT has a cheaper Go plan with no Claude equivalent. Claude Pro can be paid yearly, while ChatGPT Plus cannot. Claude’s refund and cancellation rules are published; ChatGPT’s were not confirmed.
This is a documentary comparison of plans and prices based on OpenAI’s and Anthropic’s official pages. We have not tested or benchmarked either assistant, so nothing here says which one is better at any task. Feature descriptions and usage multiples are the providers’ own claims. We have no affiliate deal with OpenAI or Anthropic.
Plans at a glance
Prices were checked on the official pages on 5 November 2026. Figures are in USD as shown to a US visitor and exclude sales tax. Prices vary by country, currency, taxes and promotions, so confirm the final amount at checkout.
| Level | ChatGPT | Claude |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free: $0 | Free: $0 |
| Low-cost entry | Go: $8/month in the US; price varies by country | No equivalent |
| Main paid plan | Plus: $20/month, monthly only | Pro: $20/month, or $17/month billed annually ($200 up front) |
| High tiers | Pro: $100, $200 or $500/month; annual billing not shown | Max: $100/month; Ultra: $200/month |
| Team, standard seat | Business: $20/user/month annual, $25 monthly; minimum 2 users | Team: $20/seat/month annual, $25 monthly; 2 to 150 seats |
| Team, premium seat | Not confirmed | $100/seat/month annual, $125 monthly |
| Large organizations | Enterprise: contact sales, annual | Enterprise: $20/seat/month plus usage at API rates; minimum 20 seats |
| Refunds | Not confirmed | Non-refundable except as required by the Consumer Terms or law |
For the wider market, including Google, Microsoft and Perplexity, see our AI assistant subscriptions comparison.
Free plans
Neither provider publishes exact caps for its free plan. OpenAI describes ChatGPT Free as limited messages with uploads, image creation, voice, deep research and memory, with text chats subject to abuse guardrails. Anthropic describes Claude Free as basic access with limited usage every 5 hours and every week, without Opus access. Both cost nothing to try, which makes them the right place to start. Our guide to choosing a general AI assistant for real tasks suggests how to test them on your own work.
ChatGPT Go: no Claude equivalent
ChatGPT Go sits between Free and Plus. OpenAI’s US documentation lists it at $8 a month, but Go is priced by country: the pricing page showed $5 when read from France. OpenAI says Go offers more messages, uploads, images, voice and longer memory than Free, with the same model access as Free, and that it may include ads. It is billed monthly only. Claude has no plan between Free and Pro, so a Claude user who wants to pay less than $20 a month has no option.
ChatGPT Plus vs Claude Pro
Both cost $20 a month on monthly billing. The difference is billing choice. According to OpenAI’s pricing FAQ, Plus has no annual billing. Claude Pro can be paid annually at $17 a month, billed as $200 up front.
Over 12 months, ChatGPT Plus costs $240 and Claude Pro $240 on monthly billing or $200 on annual billing (our arithmetic). The annual Claude plan saves $40, but you commit for a year under refund terms that, as described below, are narrow.
On features, OpenAI lists expanded messages and uploads, deep research, memory, projects, scheduled tasks, custom GPTs and expanded Codex. Anthropic lists more usage than Free, Claude Code, Projects and Research. Neither quantifies its limits on the pricing page.
ChatGPT Pro vs Claude Max and Ultra
Both providers sell high tiers to individuals who use the assistant heavily. All are billed monthly.
- ChatGPT Pro comes in three tiers at $100, $200 and $500 a month. OpenAI says Pro includes up to $500 a month in API credits, subject to eligibility conditions, that unused credits expire, and that the $500 tier adds an Ultrafast mode.
- Claude Max costs $100 a month. Anthropic describes it as 5x Pro usage per 5 hours and per week, with $100 a month in Claude Platform API credits.
- Claude Ultra costs $200 a month. Anthropic describes it as 10x Pro usage per week, no 5-hour limit for verified accounts, and $200 a month in API credits.
Over a year, the $100 tiers cost $1,200 and the $200 tiers $2,400 on both sides; ChatGPT’s $500 tier costs $6,000 (our arithmetic). Claude has no tier above $200. Anthropic says its monthly API credits are not refundable and expire each billing cycle. If you are deciding whether a high tier or direct API use is better value, our guide to comparing model quality, latency and cost helps frame it.
ChatGPT Business vs Claude Team
The standard seats are priced the same: $20 per user per month on annual billing ($240 a year) or $25 on monthly billing. Both require at least two seats. Claude Team allows up to 150 seats; OpenAI did not state a maximum on the pages we read.
For a team of five, both cost $1,200 a year on annual billing or $1,500 on monthly billing (our arithmetic).
- ChatGPT Business, per OpenAI: desktop and mobile apps, SAML SSO, MFA, admin controls and optional ChatGPT credits. Nonprofits can get up to 75% off Business or Enterprise.
- Claude Team, per Anthropic: more usage than Pro, and up to $500 a month in pooled API credits shared by the team. A premium seat costs $100 a month on annual billing or $125 on monthly billing and gives 5x the usage of a standard seat.
OpenAI’s premium seat for Business was not confirmed on the pages we could read, so we do not compare it. For larger organizations, Claude Enterprise has a $20 per seat monthly fee plus usage billed at API rates, with a 20-seat minimum. ChatGPT Enterprise is sold through sales, with annual billing. Our guide to deploying a team AI assistant with human review covers the rollout itself.
Refunds and cancellation
Anthropic publishes its rules. Claude payments are non-refundable except as required by the Consumer Terms or by law. You ask for a refund through in-app support (“Get help”, then “Claude Refund Request”), and a refund does not cancel your subscription. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and you need to cancel at least 24 hours before the next billing date. If you bought through the Apple App Store, refunds go through Apple. On Team, removing members gives no credit or refund, while upgrading from an individual plan to Team gives an automatic prorated refund.
ChatGPT’s refund and cancellation terms were not confirmed: the relevant OpenAI pages could not be read on 5 November 2026. Check OpenAI’s help center before paying.
Data use and training
OpenAI’s pricing page says content on ChatGPT’s consumer plans is used to train models and that opting out is possible. Our data from Anthropic’s official pages on 5 November 2026 does not record Claude’s training setting, so check Claude’s privacy settings before you start. Claude Enterprise lists custom data retention controls, and ChatGPT Enterprise lists data retention and residency controls.
On either service, do not paste confidential client information, personal data or trade secrets until you have checked the settings and your organization’s rules. Our guide to classifying data before using AI tools explains how to decide what is safe to share.
Which plan line suits you
- Under $20 a month: ChatGPT Go is the only paid option, at $8 in the US and less in some countries. Otherwise, use either free plan.
- $20 a month, monthly: ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro cost the same; test both free plans first.
- Paying for a full year: only Claude Pro offers annual billing, at $200.
- Heavy individual use: both offer $100 and $200 tiers; only ChatGPT has a $500 tier.
- Teams of 2 to 150: standard seats cost the same; Claude also publishes a premium seat price.
- Organizations of 20 or more: compare Claude Enterprise’s seat-plus-usage model with a quote for ChatGPT Enterprise.
Before you buy:
- Check the price in your own country, especially for ChatGPT Go.
- Start on monthly billing until you are sure.
- Read the refund and cancellation rules; set a reminder 24 hours before renewal on Claude.
- Review the training and privacy settings before entering work data.
- Confirm the final price, taxes and currency at checkout.
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