Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs
ChatGPT vs DeepSeek vs Microsoft Copilot
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 wants a strong reasoning assistant for free, and developers watching their API costs.
Pick it if: Businesses and people who spend their day in Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams.
ChatGPT scores highest overall, but DeepSeek gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | ChatGPT | DeepSeek | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | OpenAI's all-rounder: chat, images, voice, web search and agents in one app. | A free Chinese assistant that's strong at maths, logic and code. | Microsoft's assistant, free on Windows and built into Word, Excel and Outlook. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Free | Freemium |
| Starting price | $8/mo | Pay per use | $9.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | No | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | ChatGPT | DeepSeek | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.3Winner | 3.8 | 3.6 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together. | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 5.0 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | ChatGPT | DeepSeek | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | No | Yes |
| Browser extension | Yes | No | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | No | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | No | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | No | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | Yes | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | No | Yes |
| Makes video | Yes | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | No | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | No | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 16/ 17 | 8/ 17 | 14/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | ChatGPT | DeepSeek | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Trying it out and everyday questions. | Chat appOur pick Free Anyone who wants a capable reasoning assistant at no cost. | Free Free Trying Copilot chat on Windows or your phone. |
Go $8/mo Casual users who hit the free limits. | API (deepseek-flash) Pay per use, from $0.15 per million input tokens Developers building cheap features into their own apps. | Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99/mo, or $99.99/yr One person who wants Office plus some Copilot. | |
PlusOur pick $20/mo Anyone using it most days for work. | API (deepseek-v4-pro) Pay per use, from $0.66 per million input tokens Developers who want the stronger model. | Microsoft 365 PremiumOur pick $19.99/mo, or $199.99/yr Sole traders and households who want the full Copilot in Office. | |
Pro From $100/mo Heavy users and people living in Codex. | Microsoft 365 Copilot (business add-on) $30/user/mo billed yearly Businesses already on a Microsoft 365 business plan. | ||
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 because they keep changing. | The app is free, so the only decision is whether the privacy trade-off is acceptable for what you're asking. If you need the model inside your own software, have a developer use the API or run the open model through a provider that keeps your data in Australia. | If you're a sole trader or a household already paying for Microsoft 365, Premium is the easy upgrade. For a business, the $30 add-on only makes sense for the people who live in Excel, Outlook and Teams meetings; give everyone else the free Copilot Chat and a Claude or ChatGPT seat. |
Key features
| Attribute | ChatGPT | DeepSeek | Microsoft Copilot |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | ChatGPT | DeepSeek | Microsoft Copilot |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | ChatGPT | DeepSeek | Microsoft Copilot |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, ChatGPT, DeepSeek or Microsoft Copilot?
ChatGPT scores highest overall in our ratings (ChatGPT 4.3/5, DeepSeek 3.8/5 and Microsoft Copilot 3.6/5). ChatGPT is best for everyday questions and brainstorming and making and editing images in the chat. DeepSeek is best for Maths, logic and step-by-step problems and coding help. Microsoft Copilot is best for summarising long Outlook threads and first drafts in Word.
Which is cheaper, ChatGPT, DeepSeek or Microsoft Copilot?
ChatGPT: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $8/mo. DeepSeek: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at Pay per use. Microsoft Copilot: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $9.99/mo.
Which is easier to use, ChatGPT, DeepSeek or Microsoft Copilot?
ChatGPT rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who wants one general-purpose assistant that handles most everyday jobs.
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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