Head-to-head · profiles checked Oct 1, 2026
Pick ChatGPT for a standalone assistant with a documented Free tier, Plus at $20/month and published privacy controls. Pick Microsoft Copilot if you already use Microsoft 365: its paid plans start at $9.99/month and add Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. We could not confirm Copilot's free-tier limits or data-training terms.
We based this comparison on our ChatGPT profile verified 2026-09-30 and our Microsoft Copilot profile verified 2026-10-01, both built from official vendor pages; it uses no third-party benchmarks and no vendor paid for placement.
ChatGPT is the better-documented standalone assistant: a Free tier, Plus at $20/month, web, desktop and mobile apps, and published training and retention rules. Microsoft Copilot is the sensible pick if you already pay for Microsoft 365, because it works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams and its paid tiers start at $9.99/month with Office included. Copilot's free-tier limits, data training use and retention were not stated on the pages we checked, and ChatGPT's Go price in US dollars is not confirmed, so a full price-for-price comparison is not possible. Pick on where you work: inside Office, choose Copilot; everywhere else, choose ChatGPT.
Based on our ChatGPT profile verified 2026-09-30 and Microsoft Copilot profile verified 2026-10-01; Copilot's usage limits, training use, retention and API terms were not stated on the pages we checked, and no benchmark was run.
If you only want the answer, this is the table. Everything below is the evidence from the two documented profiles.
| You want to | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Chat about everyday questions for free | Either | Both have a free tier; Copilot needs a Microsoft account, ChatGPT can be tried without one in supported regions |
| Draft a document in Word | Microsoft Copilot | Copilot works inside Word on a Microsoft 365 plan; ChatGPT lists a Word plugin that is limited on Free and Go |
| Summarize Outlook email | Microsoft Copilot | Copilot lists Outlook mail summaries on a Microsoft 365 plan; availability varies by market |
| Analyze an uploaded spreadsheet | ChatGPT | ChatGPT documents code-backed data analysis with tables and charts; Copilot lists file upload when signed in, with no analysis details |
| Generate images | Either | Both list image creation; ChatGPT caps it on Free and Go, Copilot does not state limits |
| Research with cited sources | ChatGPT | ChatGPT documents web search with citations and deep research reports; Copilot's Researcher is listed only as a Premium feature |
| Use a coding agent | ChatGPT | ChatGPT includes Codex; Copilot's profile lists no coding agent |
| Delegate a multi-step project | Either | ChatGPT has ChatGPT Work and scheduled tasks; Copilot offers Cowork |
| Run a team workspace with SSO | ChatGPT | ChatGPT Business and Enterprise list admin controls, SAML SSO and SCIM; Copilot's team controls are not stated |
| Check data-handling terms before sharing sensitive data | ChatGPT | ChatGPT documents training opt-outs and retention; Copilot's training and retention terms were not stated |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Free | ChatGPT | Free | Unlimited everyday text chat subject to safeguards; separate caps on uploads, images, voice |
| ChatGPT Go | ChatGPT | Not confirmed (US price) | Higher limits than Free; may include ads |
| ChatGPT Plus | ChatGPT | $20/mo | May include message caps during high demand |
| ChatGPT Pro | ChatGPT | $100, $200 or $500/mo | Allowances vary by tier |
| ChatGPT Business Standard | ChatGPT | $25/seat/mo ($20 annual) | Minimum 2 seats |
| ChatGPT Business Premium | ChatGPT | $125/seat/mo ($100 annual) | 5x more usage than Standard |
| ChatGPT Enterprise | ChatGPT | Custom (sales) | Depends on agreement |
| Copilot (free) | Microsoft Copilot | Free | Some capabilities subject to usage limits |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | Microsoft Copilot | $9.99/mo ($99.99/yr) | 1 person, 5 devices, 1 TB storage |
| Microsoft 365 Family | Microsoft Copilot | $12.99/mo ($129.99/yr) | 1 to 6 people, AI for the owner only, 6 TB total storage |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | Microsoft Copilot | $19.99/mo ($199.99/yr) | Extensive chat, image and audio usage; limited agentic AI usage |
| Microsoft 365 Pro | Microsoft Copilot | $99.99/mo | Monthly billing only; highest usage limits |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Oct 1, 2026. ChatGPT pricing in full · Microsoft Copilot pricing in full
| ChatGPT | Microsoft Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages / rate limits | Free: unlimited everyday text chat subject to safeguards; other tools capped by plan | Free-tier limits not quantified; higher usage needs a paid Microsoft 365 plan |
| Context / file size | Instant context window: Free 27K, Go and Plus 54K, Pro 128K tokens; Free Library storage 500 MB | Not stated |
| Seats / team | Business needs 2 seats minimum; Enterprise via sales | Family covers 1 to 6 people, but AI is for the subscription owner only |
| Feature | ChatGPT | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Image generation | Yes | Yes |
| Voice | Yes | Yes (signed in) |
| File upload | Yes | Yes (signed in) |
| Web search | Yes, with citations | Yes |
| Reasoning mode | Yes (reasoning models on paid plans) | Not stated |
| Agents / tools | Codex and ChatGPT Work | Cowork for multi-step projects |
| Office app integration | Plugins for Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Google Sheets, limited on Free and Go | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams on an eligible Microsoft 365 plan |
| API | Yes, separate product billed by usage | Not stated |
| Mobile apps | Yes | Yes (iOS and Android) |
| ChatGPT | Microsoft Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Consumer chats may be used unless you opt out or use temporary chat; Business, Enterprise and API not by default | Not stated |
| Retention | Temporary chats may be kept up to 30 days for safety; consumer default not verified | Not stated |
| Business controls | SAML SSO, SCIM, role-based access, DPA, SOC 2 | Not stated |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for writing, research, analysis, image generation and coding help.
Free stops at: Unlimited everyday text chats subject to abuse-prevention safeguards, Separate usage limits for file uploads,…
Free · paid from $20/mo US · checked Sep 30
Microsoft's AI assistant app on web, Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, connected to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.
Free stops at: Some capabilities subject to usage limits
Verified copilot.microsoft.com (opens Microsoft Copilot website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $9.99/mo US · checked Sep 29
No. ChatGPT is OpenAI's own assistant. Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's assistant, and its app lets you switch between OpenAI and Anthropic models. Copilot also connects to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, which ChatGPT does not do natively except through plugins listed for Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Google Sheets.
Both have a free tier. For paid use, ChatGPT Plus is $20/month, while Microsoft 365 Personal is $9.99/month and includes Office apps and 1 TB of storage. The two are not like for like: Copilot's price is a Microsoft 365 subscription, and ChatGPT's Go price in US dollars is not confirmed.
Yes, with a Microsoft account, though some capabilities have usage limits that Microsoft does not quantify on the pages we checked. File uploads, unlimited voice and memory require signing in. ChatGPT Free also works for everyday chat, and can be tried without an account in supported regions.
Not confirmed. The pages we checked did not state training use or retention. ChatGPT consumer plans may use conversations to improve models unless you turn that off or use a temporary chat; Business and Enterprise data is not used for training by default.
No. On Microsoft 365 Family, which is $12.99/month for 1 to 6 people, AI is for the subscription owner only.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
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