Side-by-side comparison · AI Browsers & Agents

ChatGPT Work vs Claude Cowork

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

ChatGPT Work

4.0

From $20/mo

Details Visit

Best overall

Claude Cowork

4.1

From $20/mo

Details Visit

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

ChatGPT Work4.0

Pick it if: ChatGPT users who want admin, inbox, research and reporting jobs done for them without building automations.

Claude Cowork4.1

Best overall

Pick it if: Business owners and office teams who want repetitive file, report and admin work done for them without building automations.

Overview

Attribute	ChatGPT Work	Claude Cowork
In one line	ChatGPT's agent mode: hand it a whole task across your email, apps, files and browser.	Claude's agent mode: hand it a whole task across your files, apps and browser.
Pricing model	Freemium	Paid
Starting price	$20/mo	$20/mo
Free plan	Yes	No
Works with Claude Code	No	Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

Attribute	ChatGPT Work	Claude Cowork
Overall rating	4.0	4.1Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.	4.0	4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.	4.5	4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.	4.0	4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.	4.0	4.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.	3.5	3.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

Attribute	ChatGPT Work	Claude Cowork
Access & platform
Free plan	Yes	No
Mobile app	Yes	Yes
Desktop app	Yes	Yes
Browser extension	No	No
API access	No	No
Teams & business
Team workspace	Yes	Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO	Yes	Yes
Connects to other apps	Yes	Yes
Open source or self-hosted	No	No
AI abilities
Works with your files	Yes	Yes
Understands images	Yes	Yes
Makes images	Yes	No
Makes video	No	No
Writes code	Yes	Yes
Runs agents or automations	Yes	Yes
Learns your brand or style	No	Yes
Works in many languages	Yes	Yes
Capabilities score	12/ 17	11/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

Attribute	ChatGPT Work	Claude Cowork
Plans	Free Free Trying a task or two on desktop.	Pro $20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly Trying it on a few tasks a week.
	PlusOur pick $20/mo Handing off a few jobs a week.	MaxOur pick From $100/mo Anyone handing off tasks every day.
	Pro From $100/mo Anyone running agent tasks every day.	Team $25/seat/mo, or $20/seat/mo billed yearly Small teams sharing connectors and admin controls.
	Business See website Teams that want shared admin and no training on their data.	Enterprise From $20/seat/mo yearly plus usage, 20-seat minimum Companies that need admin, spend and security controls.
Which plan to pick	Try it on Plus with a couple of real jobs. If you hand it work most days you'll run out of credits, and that's when Pro or extra credits make sense.	Start on Pro to see which jobs it handles well for you. If you hand it real work most days you will hit the limits, and Max is the plan that makes it a daily tool.

Key features

Attribute	ChatGPT Work	Claude Cowork
Standout features	Works across your apps Its own browser Scheduled and triggered tasks Finished outputs Runs in the cloud Desktop app access	Works in your files Apps and browser Scheduled tasks Parallel sub-agents Start from your phone Plugins for roles

Pros and cons

Attribute	ChatGPT Work	Claude Cowork
Pros	Handles multi-step work across email, calendar and files, not just chat Runs in the cloud, so scheduled tasks don't need your computer on No separate subscription if you already pay for ChatGPT Asks before consequential actions, and you can redirect it mid-task Hands back finished documents, decks and spreadsheets	Handles real multi-step business work, not just chat answers Output files (decks, spreadsheets, documents) are usually ready to use No separate subscription if you already pay for Claude Scheduled tasks and phone hand-off make it feel like an assistant Plans first and asks before big actions, so you stay in control
Cons	Long tasks burn through credits quickly, especially on Plus Long or complex jobs still go wrong and need checking Reads a lot of your email, calendar and chat, which some teams won't accept Only one Gmail account at a time for now	Agent tasks burn through usage limits quickly, especially on Pro Long or complex jobs sometimes stall or produce wrong results Scheduled tasks need your computer awake with Claude open Files with hidden instructions can manipulate it, and screen control has no sandbox Still rolling out: Team and Free don't have the merged version yet

Who each one is for

Attribute	ChatGPT Work	Claude Cowork
Best for	Sorting inbox and calendar admin across connected apps Weekly reports and reviews on a schedule Research that ends in a finished document or deck Repetitive web jobs like comparing suppliers or filling in forms Prep notes before meetings and calls	Weekly reports built from several sources Organising and cleaning up folders of files Turning receipts or exports into spreadsheets Reviewing a batch of documents against a checklist Recurring admin on a schedule
You'll find it used by	Business owners Operations teams Marketers Analysts Sales teams	Business owners Operations teams Marketers Analysts Lawyers and accountants

Questions people ask

Which is better, ChatGPT Work or Claude Cowork?

Claude Cowork scores highest overall in our ratings (ChatGPT Work 4.0/5 and Claude Cowork 4.1/5). ChatGPT Work is best for sorting inbox and calendar admin across connected apps and weekly reports and reviews on a schedule. Claude Cowork is best for weekly reports built from several sources and organising and cleaning up folders of files.

Which is cheaper, ChatGPT Work or Claude Cowork?

ChatGPT Work: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo. Claude Cowork: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $20/mo.

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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