Side-by-side comparison · AI Browsers & Agents
Claude Cowork vs Google Chrome vs Microsoft Edge
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: Business owners and office teams who want repetitive file, report and admin work done for them without building automations.
Pick it if: Anyone already using Chrome and Google's apps who wants AI help reading, comparing and researching without switching browsers.
Pick it if: Windows and Microsoft 365 users who want AI help with reading, comparing and researching in the browser they already have.
Overview
| Attribute | Claude Cowork | Google Chrome | Microsoft Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Claude's agent mode: hand it a whole task across your files, apps and browser. | The world's most used browser, now with Gemini built in to read pages and do tasks. | Microsoft's free browser with Copilot built in to read pages, compare tabs and do tasks. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $20/mo | $19.99/mo | $19.99/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Claude Cowork | Google Chrome | Microsoft Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.9 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| 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. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Claude Cowork | Google Chrome | Microsoft Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | Yes |
| API access | No | No | No |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 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 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | No | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 11/ 17 | 12/ 17 | 12/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Claude Cowork | Google Chrome | Microsoft Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Pro $20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly Trying it on a few tasks a week. | FreeOur pick Free Most people: summaries, tab comparisons and AI search. | FreeOur pick Free Most people: summaries, tab comparisons and Journeys. |
MaxOur pick From $100/mo Anyone handing off tasks every day. | Google AI Pro $19.99/mo US users who want Gemini to do tasks on websites for them. | Microsoft 365 Premium $19.99/mo, or $199.99/yr US households and sole traders who want the agent and Office apps in one bill. | |
Team $25/seat/mo, or $20/seat/mo billed yearly Small teams sharing connectors and admin controls. | Google AI Ultra From $99.99/mo Heavy users who hit Pro's limits. | Microsoft 365 Copilot (business) See website Companies on Microsoft 365 business plans. | |
Enterprise From $20/seat/mo yearly plus usage, 20-seat minimum Companies that need admin, spend and security controls. | |||
| Which plan to pick | 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. | Use it free. The side panel is what most business owners will actually use, and it's free in Australia. Only pay for AI Pro if you're in the US or India and want auto browse, or you want Gemini's better models anyway. Nobody needs Ultra for the browser. | Stay on free. The side panel, tab comparisons and Journeys cover what most business owners need, and they cost nothing. Microsoft 365 Premium is only worth it if you're in the US and already want Office for the household; don't buy it just for the browser agent, which Microsoft still calls experimental. |
Key features
| Attribute | Claude Cowork | Google Chrome | Microsoft Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Claude Cowork | Google Chrome | Microsoft Edge |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Claude Cowork | Google Chrome | Microsoft Edge |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Claude Cowork, Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge?
They tie on our overall rating (Claude Cowork 4.1/5, Google Chrome 4.1/5 and Microsoft Edge 3.9/5). Claude Cowork is best for weekly reports built from several sources and organising and cleaning up folders of files. Google Chrome is best for summarising pages and YouTube videos and comparing products or suppliers across tabs. Microsoft Edge is best for summarising long pages and PDFs and comparing products or quotes across open tabs.
Which is cheaper, Claude Cowork, Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge?
Claude Cowork: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $20/mo. Google Chrome: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $19.99/mo. Microsoft Edge: 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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