ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are general-purpose AI assistants with the same basic offer. Each has a free tier, a main paid plan at about $20 a month and pricier plans for heavy users. So the real differences lie elsewhere: plan structure, bundled tools, links to other apps and data handling. None of them is best at everything, and the answer to which one is better depends on the task.
For that reason, this comparison uses only the vendors’ own pricing and help pages, checked in October 2026. Prices and model names change often, so treat every figure as a snapshot. For more explainers on technology, also see our science and technology guides.
Who makes each assistant
ChatGPT is made by OpenAI. Claude is made by Anthropic. Gemini is made by Google. Each assistant runs on a family of large language models. The companies update them several times a year, so today’s model names will likely change by next spring.
Even so, all three follow a similar pattern. Free users get faster, lighter models with lower limits. Paid users get the larger models, higher usage caps and extra tools. If the terms are unfamiliar, our explainer on artificial intelligence vs. machine learning covers how these models are built and trained.
Chat assistants themselves are not new. Businesses were already measuring chatbot use years before these products launched, as an older item on chatbot analytics from our archive shows. What changed since then is that the models behind them became far more capable.
Plans and prices as of October 2026
The table lists US monthly prices for individual plans as published by each company. However, taxes, regional prices and promotions can change what you actually pay.
| Plan level | ChatGPT (OpenAI) | Claude (Anthropic) | Gemini (Google) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Entry paid plan | Go, $8 | None | Google AI Plus, price varies by country |
| Main paid plan | Plus, $20 | Pro, $20 monthly or $17 a month billed yearly | Google AI Pro, $19.99 |
| Heavy-use plans | Pro, from $100 | Max, from $100 | Google AI Ultra, $99.99 or $199.99 |
| Small teams | Business, $25 per user monthly or $20 billed yearly | Team, $25 per seat monthly or $20 billed yearly | Separate Google Workspace and Gemini Enterprise plans |
OpenAI’s prices come from its ChatGPT plan documentation, which lists Pro tiers at $100, $200 and $500. Anthropic’s prices come from the Claude pricing page. Google added its $99.99 Ultra tier in May 2026. At the same time, it cut the top Ultra price from $250 to $199.99, according to the Google blog.
One difference stands out. Google’s plans include cloud storage. It ranges from 400 GB on AI Plus to 5 TB on AI Pro and 20 TB or more on Ultra. So if you already pay for Google storage, the math changes. By contrast, the other two include no storage.
What each one bundles, in the vendors’ own words
All three handle the common jobs: drafting and editing text, summarizing documents, answering questions, searching the web and writing code. The extras differ.
ChatGPT. OpenAI’s plans include memory across chats and an agent mode for multi-step tasks in a browser. They also include Codex, a coding agent, from the Plus plan up. The Pro tiers mainly raise usage limits, and the $500 tier adds a faster mode.
Claude. Anthropic’s pricing page lists Projects, memory and web search on every plan. Even the free tier can create and edit files using code execution. Research and Claude Code, its coding tool, start at the Pro plan. Max plans raise usage limits. They also add a model called Fable to the Opus, Sonnet and Haiku models on Pro.
Gemini. Google’s subscription page lists Deep Research and Gemini Notebook, a research and study tool, from the free tier up. Paid plans add Gemini inside Gmail, Docs and other Google apps. They also include video generation, and AI Pro advertises a context window of 1 million tokens, which lets it read very long documents at once.
In practice, this means the best fit often follows the tools you already use. Someone who lives in Gmail and Google Docs gets the most direct connection from Gemini. Someone who wants a coding agent tied to a chat plan can compare Codex and Claude Code. Still, all three add features every few weeks, so check the current plan page before you pay.
How each handles your data
Privacy settings, however, differ more than most people realize. Each company lets consumer users control whether chats help train future models, but the defaults and names are not the same.
| Question | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting name | Improve the model for everyone | Model Improvement | Keep Activity |
| Default on personal plans | On for Free, Plus and Pro | Your choice in privacy settings | On when Keep Activity is on |
| Chats excluded from training | Temporary chats, kept up to 30 days for safety | Incognito chats | Chats with Keep Activity off, kept 72 hours |
| Feedback buttons | Rated chats may be used even if you opt out | Rated chats kept up to 5 years, unlinked from your ID | Feedback can be used even with Keep Activity off |
The details come from OpenAI’s data controls page, Anthropic’s privacy center and Gemini Apps Privacy Help. Google also says a subset of chats is read by human reviewers, disconnected from your account, and that reviewed chats can be kept for up to three years. By default, Gemini activity is deleted after 18 months, which you can change to 3 or 36 months.
Business plans work differently. OpenAI says it does not train on Business, Enterprise or API data by default. The other two companies also set separate terms for business products.
Accuracy and limits that apply to all three
All three assistants can state wrong facts with confidence, mix up sources or invent citations. That is why each vendor warns users to check important answers. So treat output on health, money and law as a first draft, and confirm it with a primary source.
Benchmark rankings also change quickly. A model that tops a leaderboard in one month can be passed the next. Leaderboards also test narrow tasks. Because of that, your own tests on your own work are more useful than any headline ranking. For a wider view, our overview of AI pros and cons covers the broader risks, from errors to privacy and jobs.
How to choose for your own use
Instead of asking which assistant is best, ask which one fits the work you do. These criteria help:
- Your apps. If you work mostly in Google apps, Gemini connects directly. If not, compare the integrations each one offers.
- Your main task. Writing, coding, research and video each favor different bundled tools.
- Your budget. The main plans all cost about $20 a month. But only ChatGPT has an $8 tier, and only Google bundles storage.
- Your privacy needs. Check the training setting on day one, and never paste passwords, medical records or client data into a personal account.
- Usage limits. All three cap how much you can use the top models, and the caps reset on different schedules.
A simple test works well. First, take three real tasks from your week. Run them on the free tier of each assistant and compare the answers side by side. Then pay for one month of the plan that did best and cancel if it does not hold up.
Frequently asked questions
Is ChatGPT better than Gemini?
Neither one is better at everything, because each bundles different tools. ChatGPT offers a cheaper $8 tier and its own coding agent, while Gemini connects to Gmail and Docs and bundles Google storage. Test both on your own tasks before paying.
Which is better, ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini?
It depends on the job. All three handle writing, summaries and code, and their main paid plans cost about $20 a month. Instead, the differences lie in bundled tools, app connections and data settings.
Are ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini free?
Yes, all three have free tiers with lighter models and lower limits. Paid plans add larger models, higher caps and extra tools.
Do these assistants train on my chats?
They can on personal plans unless you change the setting. ChatGPT uses Improve the model for everyone, Claude uses Model Improvement and Gemini uses Keep Activity.
Have a question about this topic? Ask in the comments below. Our editors read every comment and answer questions here, and we add useful answers to the guide.
Sources
- learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing
- claude.com/pricing
- gemini.google/subscriptions
- one.google.com/intl/en_us/about/google-ai-plans
- blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/google-one/google-ai-sub…
- openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-go
- help.openai.com/en/articles/7730893-data-controls-faq
- help.openai.com/en/articles/5722486-how-your-data-is-used-to-improve-mod…
- privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023580-is-my-data-used-for-model-training
- support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961