Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs
ChatGPT vs Claude vs Google AI Studio
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Anyone who wants one general-purpose assistant that handles most everyday jobs.
Pick it if: Anyone who writes, researches or makes decisions for a living, plus anyone curious about Claude Code.
Pick it if: Founders, marketers and developers who want to test Google's models or build a quick app without paying.
Overview
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | Google AI Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | OpenAI's all-rounder: chat, images, voice, web search and agents in one app. | Anthropic's chat assistant, at its best on careful writing and long documents. | Google's free workspace for testing Gemini models and building apps from a description. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $8/mo | $20/mo | $19.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | Google AI Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.3 | 4.6Winner | 3.9 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together. | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | Google AI Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Browser extension | Yes | Yes | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | No |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | No | Yes |
| Makes video | No | No | Yes |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 15/ 17 | 14/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | Google AI Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Trying it out and everyday questions. | Free Free Trying it out and light daily use. | FreeOur pick Free Testing models and building small prototypes. |
Go $8/mo Casual users who hit the free limits. | ProOur pick $20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly Anyone who uses it most days. | Google AI Pro $19.99/mo Regular users who also want the Gemini app upgrade. | |
PlusOur pick $20/mo Anyone using it most days for work. | Max From $100/mo Heavy users and people living in Claude Code. | Google AI Ultra From $99.99/mo Heavy builders who want the highest limits. | |
Pro From $100/mo Heavy users and people living in Codex. | Team From $20/seat/mo billed yearly Businesses with 2 to 150 people. | Paid API Pay as you go, $10 prepay to start Apps in production and anyone with sensitive data. | |
Business See website Teams from 2 people up. | |||
| Which plan to pick | The free plan is now good enough to use properly, so stay on it until the image, voice or research limits annoy you. Plus is the sensible upgrade. Only look at Pro if you run Codex or deep research all day, and read the current tier details first: Pro 200 now comes with a smaller allowance than it did before 29 September. | Start on Free to see if the writing suits you. Most people who stick with it move to Pro within a month; only go to Max if you hit the Pro limits every day or you're running Claude Code for hours at a time. | Start free. If you're putting anything sensitive in or building something people will use, switch to a paid API key so your prompts aren't used for training. Google AI Pro only makes sense if you'd use the Gemini app upgrade too. |
Key features
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | Google AI Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | Google AI Studio |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | Google AI Studio |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, ChatGPT, Claude or Google AI Studio?
Claude scores highest overall in our ratings (ChatGPT 4.3/5, Claude 4.6/5 and Google AI Studio 3.9/5). ChatGPT is best for everyday questions and brainstorming and making and editing images in the chat. Claude is best for long-form writing and editing and reading and summarising long documents. Google AI Studio is best for prototyping an app or internal tool by describing it and testing new Gemini models before they reach the app.
Which is cheaper, ChatGPT, Claude or Google AI Studio?
ChatGPT: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $8/mo. Claude: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo. Google AI Studio: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $19.99/mo.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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