Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs
ChatGPT vs Claude vs LMArena
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: Anyone choosing between AI tools, and people who want to know which model is leading right now.
Claude scores highest overall, but LMArena gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | LMArena |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | Free site where you compare AI models side by side and see which ones people rate best. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Free |
| Starting price | $8/mo | $20/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | LMArena |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.3 | 4.6Winner | 3.8 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 5.0 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | LMArena |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | No |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | No |
| 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 | No |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 15/ 17 | 14/ 17 | 7/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | LMArena |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Trying it out and everyday questions. | Free Free Trying it out and light daily use. | FreeOur pick Free Everyone. |
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. | ||
PlusOur pick $20/mo Anyone using it most days for work. | Max From $100/mo Heavy users and people living in Claude Code. | ||
Pro From $100/mo Heavy users and people living in Codex. | Team From $20/seat/mo billed yearly Businesses with 2 to 150 people. | ||
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. | There's nothing to buy. Use it free, and pay for whichever assistant comes out best for your work. |
Key features
Pros and cons
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | LMArena |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | ChatGPT | Claude | LMArena |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, ChatGPT, Claude or LMArena?
Claude scores highest overall in our ratings (ChatGPT 4.3/5, Claude 4.6/5 and LMArena 3.8/5). 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. LMArena is best for choosing between AI models with your own prompts and checking which model leads after a launch.
Which is cheaper, ChatGPT, Claude or LMArena?
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. LMArena: It's free to use.
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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