ChatGPT vs Poe
We give ChatGPT and Poe the same GPA: 3.8 out of 4.0. ChatGPT grades higher on the free plan. Poe grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ChatGPT
OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voice
Poe
One app for chatting with AI models from many different labs
How we grade them
| 3.8GPAChatGPTExcellent | 3.8GPAPoeExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPlus is $20 a month, which is the going rate, and Go is $8 if you need less. No bargain, though. Gemini's paid plan starts at $4.99, and Pro here runs $100 to $500. | AThe entry plan is $4.99 a month, or $49.99 a year, on the US App Store. That's well under what paid assistants usually start at, and it opens models from many labs with 10 thousand points a day. The next step up, 660 thousand points a month, is $19.99. |
| Free plan and trial | AUnlimited text chats for free, which is most of what people do with it. Uploads, images, voice, deep research and memory are there too, each with a limit. | BYou can chat on a free account, with a smaller points allowance than subscribers get. But Poe's plans page doesn't say how many points that is, so we can't tell you how far free goes. No A without the number. |
| Features | AChat, image generation, real-time voice, web search and Deep Research reports in one app. Plus adds projects, scheduled tasks, custom GPTs and Codex, a coding agent. | AModels from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and other labs on one sign-in, and several bots can answer in the same thread so you can compare. It makes images and video with generators like FLUX and Veo, searches the web, and lets you build and share your own bots with a knowledge base. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 11 million App Store ratings. You open it and type a question the way you'd text a friend. There's nothing to set up first. | A4.7 from about 53,800 App Store ratings. Pick a bot and start typing. The one thing to get your head round is points, since every chat draws on the same pool. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with your chats synced across all of them. There's an API for developers too, and Codex hooks into Slack. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. There's an OpenAI-compatible API that reaches hundreds of models with one key, and subscribers spend their existing points on it. It plugs into coding tools like Cursor, Cline and Continue. |
| Best for | everyday questions, writing and images | comparing many AI models on one account |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: ChatGPT and Poe. How we grade
Where they differ
- ChatGPT starts at $8 per month (Go). Poe starts at $4.99 per month, or $49.99 per year (US App Store).
- Only ChatGPT lists a Linux app.
At a glance
| ChatGPT | Poe | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8 per month (Go) | $4.99 per month, or $49.99 per year (US App Store) |
| Free plan | Unlimited text chats, with limits on uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory. | Free accounts can chat with a smaller allowance of compute points than subscribers. Poe's plans page does not state the size of the free allowance. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | OpenAI | Quora, Inc. |
| Price read from | learn.chatgpt.com | poe.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Poe
- Comparing many AI models without a subscription to each one
- Text, image and video models under a single points balance
- Developers who want one API key for models from many labs
Worth knowing
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's pricing page says the Go plan may include ads, and Wikipedia reports ad tests in the free version for logged-in adult US users since January 2026.
- The Linux desktop app is a preview, limited to recent Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and Arch Linux releases on x64 and ARM64.
Poe
- Usage is metered in compute points, from 10 thousand a day on the lowest plan to 8.25 million a month on the highest; add-on points are sold separately.
- Prices vary by region: the plans page says the final price depends on regional taxes and currency conversion.
- The plans page does not say how many points a free account receives.
- US dollar prices here cover the two lowest plans, as listed on the US App Store; the three larger plans were shown only in rupees.
Key features
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.
Poe
- Many models, one account
- Reaches models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and other labs, plus image and video generators, with one sign-in and one points balance.
- Multi-bot chat
- Compare answers from several models and combine bots for a task inside a single chat thread. Chats can be private or shared as a group chat.
- Image and video generation
- Creates images and video with generators such as FLUX, Ideogram, Veo and Runway from inside the same app.
- Custom bots
- Build and share your own bots, with custom knowledge bases if needed. Poe's App Store listing cites more than 1 million custom bots.
- Web search
- A search mode returns answers drawn from the web, and bots can search for current news.
- Poe API
- An OpenAI-compatible endpoint reaches hundreds of models and bots with one key. Subscribers spend their existing points on it at no additional cost.
Plans
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.
Poe
Free$0
A smaller points allowance than subscribers get, across free and subscription bots.
10 thousand points/day$4.99
per month, or $49.99 per year (US App Store prices)
The entry plan, listed as Basic on the App Store: more messages, more models and each bot's maximum input size and chat history.
660 thousand points/month$19.99
per month, or $199.99 per year (US App Store prices)
A monthly pool of 660 thousand points to spend across any model or bot.
1.65 million points/month₹4,999
per month, or ₹49,900 per year (as shown in India)
A larger monthly pool. The US dollar price was not shown when the plans page was read from India.
3.3 million points/month₹9,999
per month, or ₹99,900 per year (as shown in India)
A larger monthly pool. The US dollar price was not shown when the plans page was read from India.
8.25 million points/month₹24,999
per month, or ₹249,900 per year (as shown in India)
The largest pool. The US dollar price was not shown when the plans page was read from India.
Ways to pay less
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.
Poe
- Annual discount
Save 17% with yearly billing
Poe's plans page marks yearly billing as saving 17% against monthly billing. On the US App Store the lowest plan is $49.99 a year or $4.99 a month.
