ChatGPT vs Microsoft Copilot

ChatGPT

• General-purpose help with writing, questions and brainstorming
• People who want chat, voice, images and web search in one assistant
• Trying an AI assistant at no cost before paying

Microsoft Copilot

• People who already work in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
• Windows 11 users: the Copilot app comes installed on new PCs
• Households that want Office apps and cloud storage in the same plan

ChatGPT

• Pro is sold at three price points, $100, $200 or $500 per month, well above the $20 Plus plan.
• Business requires at least 2 users. SCIM, EKM and role-based access control are reserved for Enterprise and Edu.
• OpenAI began testing ads in the free version for logged-in adult US users in January 2026, according to Wikipedia.
• OpenAI's pricing page says the Go plan may include ads.

Microsoft Copilot

• The free version is subject to available capacity and limits, and the pricing page does not give the numbers.
• Researcher and Analyst are not available on Microsoft 365 Personal or Family; they need Premium at $19.99 a month or Pro.
• On Microsoft 365 Family, AI features are available only to the subscription owner and cannot be shared with other members.
• According to Wikipedia, Microsoft said in August 2026 it would merge the consumer and Microsoft 365 Copilot apps and remove Mico, Deep Research and group chats.

ChatGPT

Conversational help

Answers questions, drafts and reworks text, explains topics and reads uploaded photos in a chat, with history synced across your devices.

Image generation

Creates original images from a description, or transforms existing images from a short instruction.

Advanced Voice Mode

Hold a real-time spoken conversation in the mobile app by tapping the soundwave icon.

Search and Deep Research

ChatGPT Search draws on the web for more up-to-date answers, and Deep Research generates a report from extensive web searches.

Codex

A coding agent that runs on the web, in a CLI, in an IDE extension and on iOS from the Plus plan, with integrations such as automatic code review and Slack.

GPTs and agents

GPTs customize ChatGPT's behavior for a specific use case, and ChatGPT agent carries out multi-step tasks.

Microsoft Copilot

Chat with web-grounded answers

Helps with writing, brainstorming and summarizing in a chat, and gives real-time answers based on web search.

Voice and Vision

Spoken conversations, plus visual help from your screen or camera. Usage is standard on Personal and Family, higher on Premium and highest on Pro.

Image generation

Creates images inside Copilot. The allowance rises from standard usage on Personal and Family to extensive use on Premium and Pro.

Researcher and Analyst

Researcher finds and synthesizes information, and Analyst works through raw data. Both are unavailable on Personal and Family and included with Premium and Pro.

Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps

Paid plans add Copilot to the Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook desktop apps to draft, edit and summarize documents and email.

Cowork and model choice

Cowork takes on a multi-step project and returns finished files, and you can switch between OpenAI and Anthropic models. Microsoft notes some capabilities need specific licenses.

ChatGPT

• Free$0

  Unlimited text chats, with limits on uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory.

• Go$8

  per month

  More messages with tools, more uploads, image creation and voice chats than Free, and longer memory. OpenAI notes this plan may include ads.

• Plus$20

  per month

  Advanced reasoning models, expanded deep research and memory, plus projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs.

• Business$20

  per user / month, billed annually

  For 2 or more users: a dedicated workspace with admin controls, SAML SSO and MFA. $25 per user / month when billed monthly.

• ProFrom $100

  per month

  A choice of three usage tiers at $100, $200 or $500 per month, with the highest limits, pro reasoning and an always-on agent.

• Enterprise & EduCustom

  Sold through sales, with priority request processing, SCIM, EKM, user analytics, domain verification and role-based access control.

Microsoft Copilot

• Free$0

  Chat, web-grounded answers, image creation and voice, subject to available capacity and usage limits.

• Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99

  per month, or $99.99 per year

  For 1 person: higher Copilot usage than free, Copilot in the Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook desktop apps, and 1 TB of cloud storage.

• Microsoft 365 Family$12.99

  per month, or $129.99 per year

  Everything in Personal for 1 to 6 people, with 1 TB of storage each. Copilot AI features are for the subscription owner only.

• Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99

  per month, or $199.99 per year

  Extensive Copilot usage, the Researcher and Analyst agents, and limited usage of agentic AI.

• Microsoft 365 Pro$99.99

  per month, monthly billing only

  Everything in Premium with the highest usage limits for chat, agentic AI, voice and vision.

ChatGPT

• Annual discount

  Business is cheaper when billed annually

  OpenAI's pricing page lists Business at $20 per user / month when billed annually, against $25 per user / month when billed monthly.

Microsoft Copilot

• Annual discount

  Save up to 17% with yearly billing

  Microsoft's pricing page lists Personal at $99.99, Family at $129.99 and Premium at $199.99 per year, a saving of up to 17% against paying monthly. Pro is monthly only.

• Education

  Student offers on Microsoft 365

  Microsoft says eligible college students may qualify for discounted Microsoft 365 subscriptions, and some get free access through their school. Offers vary by institution and region.

• Other savings

  Microsoft Workplace Discount Program

  Microsoft offers savings on select Microsoft 365 subscriptions through eligible employers, using a valid work email address.