Head-to-head · profiles checked Sep 30, 2026
Pick Google Gemini for Gmail, Drive and Docs work or the cheapest paid step: Google AI Plus is $4.99/month and Google AI Pro is $19.99/month with a 1 million token context. Pick ChatGPT for projects, memory, voice, file analysis and the Codex coding agent; ChatGPT Plus is $20/month. Google Gemini and ChatGPT both have a free plan.
We based this comparison on our verified profiles of both tools, checked on September 30, 2026; we ran no benchmark, used no third-party benchmarks, and took no vendor payments.
Pick Google Gemini if your work already runs through Gmail, Drive, Docs and Chrome, or if you want the cheapest paid step ($4.99/month for Google AI Plus) and a free API tier for prototyping. Pick ChatGPT if you want one assistant with projects, memory, voice, file analysis and a Codex coding agent, or a team workspace with no training on workspace data. Neither paid consumer plan includes API usage in a way that removes separate billing, and both vendors say usage limits can change, so check current limits before committing.
Based on our profiles of both tools, verified on September 30 from official pricing, help and privacy pages; ChatGPT US prices were not fully confirmed, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Write or edit long documents | Either | Gemini has Canvas on every plan; ChatGPT drafts in Canvas or as a Page and has Projects on Plus. |
| Summarize a very long report or book | Google Gemini | Gemini lists a 1M-token context on AI Pro and Ultra, against 256K to 400K for ChatGPT reasoning models. |
| Work inside Gmail, Calendar and Drive | Google Gemini | Gemini Connected Apps cover Gmail, Calendar, Drive and YouTube, and Gemini in Gmail and Docs comes with paid plans. |
| Research a topic with cited sources | Either | Gemini and ChatGPT both offer Deep Research reports; ChatGPT also cites sources in regular web search. |
| Make images | Either | Gemini and ChatGPT both generate images on the free plan, with caps. |
| Make short videos | Google Gemini | Gemini lists video generation from Google AI Plus; ChatGPT's profile lists no video generation. |
| Analyze a spreadsheet | ChatGPT | ChatGPT runs code for analysis and charts on CSV and spreadsheet uploads. |
| Write or run code with an agent | ChatGPT | ChatGPT includes Codex and ChatGPT Work; Gemini lists a Jules coding agent on paid tiers. |
| Talk to an assistant by voice | Either | Gemini has Gemini Live on all plans; ChatGPT has voice mode, limited on Free. |
| Set up a shared team workspace | ChatGPT | ChatGPT Business has a 2-seat minimum and no training on workspace data; Gemini Enterprise Business starts at $21/seat. |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini Free | Google Gemini | $0 | Standard compute-based limits that refresh every 5 hours; 32k token context |
| Google AI Plus | Google Gemini | $4.99/mo | 2x higher usage limits than Free; 400 GB storage |
| Google AI Pro | Google Gemini | $19.99/mo | 4x Free usage limits; 1 million token context; 5 TB storage |
| Google AI Ultra (5x) | Google Gemini | $99.99/mo | 5x higher usage limits than AI Pro |
| Google AI Ultra (20x) | Google Gemini | $199.99/mo | 20x higher usage limits than AI Pro |
| Gemini Enterprise Business | Google Gemini | From $21/seat/mo | Up to 300 seats |
| Gemini Enterprise Standard / Plus | Google Gemini | From $30/seat/mo, contact sales | Unlimited seats |
| ChatGPT Free | ChatGPT | $0 | Unlimited everyday text chats; separate limits for uploads, images and voice |
| ChatGPT Go | ChatGPT | Not confirmed in USD | Higher limits than Free |
| ChatGPT Plus | ChatGPT | $20/mo | May include message caps, especially during high demand |
| ChatGPT Pro 100 / 200 / 500 | ChatGPT | $100, $200, $500/mo | Allowances vary by tier; a model may be unavailable until its allowance resets |
| ChatGPT Business Standard | ChatGPT | $25/seat/mo ($20 billed annually) | Minimum 2 seats |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Sep 30, 2026. Google Gemini pricing in full · ChatGPT pricing in full
| Google Gemini | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages / rate limits | Compute-based limits that refresh every 5 hours up to a weekly cap; Plus 2x, Pro 4x Free; may change without notice | Plan-dependent caps on tools and models that OpenAI says can change with demand; Free has unlimited everyday text chats |
| Context / file size | Up to 10 files per prompt, 100 MB each, video up to 2 GB; context 32k Free, 1M on Pro and Ultra | Instant models 27K Free, 54K Go/Plus, 128K Pro; reasoning 256K Plus, 400K Pro |
| Seats / team | Gemini Enterprise Business up to 300 seats; Standard / Plus unlimited | Business has a 2-seat minimum; Enterprise is sold through sales |
| Feature | Google Gemini | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| Image generation | Yes | Yes |
| Voice | Yes (Gemini Live) | Yes (voice mode) |
| File upload | Yes | Yes |
| Web search | Yes (Deep Research) | Yes (with citations) |
| Agents / tools | Gems, Connected Apps, Gemini Spark on Ultra | ChatGPT Work, Codex, scheduled tasks |
| API | Yes, separate Gemini Developer API | Yes, separate OpenAI API |
| Mobile apps | Yes | Yes (iOS and Android) |
| Video generation | Yes, from Google AI Plus | Not stated |
| Google Gemini | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Personal accounts with Keep Activity on are used for training; off or temporary chats are not; Gemini Enterprise and the paid API are not | Consumer plans may be used unless you turn off model improvement or use temporary chat; Business, Enterprise, Edu and API are not by default |
| Retention | Auto-delete after 18 months by default; temporary chats kept 72 hours; human-reviewed chats up to 3 years | Temporary chats may be kept up to 30 days; consumer default retention not verified |
| Business controls | Gemini Enterprise: no training or ads; Standard / Plus add VPC-SC and customer-managed keys | SSO, SCIM, role-based access, DPA, SOC 2; customer-controlled retention on Enterprise |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
Support assistant: 2,500 input + 500 output tokens
| Model | Tool | Cost per answer |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | Google Gemini | $0.0037 |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | Google Gemini | $0.0110 |
| gpt-6-luna | ChatGPT | $0.0005 |
| gpt-6.1-sol | ChatGPT | $0.0100 |
| gpt-6-astra | ChatGPT | $0.0500 |
USD at list API prices from research/pricing/models.json; chat subscriptions are flat-rate and not included Run your own numbers in the calculator.
Google's multimodal AI assistant, available free with higher limits through Google AI subscriptions.
Free stops at: Varying access to 3.1 Pro, Standard compute-based usage limits; refresh every 5 hours until weekly limit
Verified gemini.google.com (opens Google Gemini website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $4.99/mo US · checked Sep 30
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
Yes, Google Gemini is cheaper at the entry level: Google AI Plus is $4.99/month, while the ChatGPT plan we could price in USD, Plus, is $20/month. Google AI Pro is $19.99/month. ChatGPT Go exists, but we could not confirm its USD price.
Yes, Google Gemini and ChatGPT both have a free plan. Gemini's free plan includes image generation, Deep Research and Canvas. ChatGPT's free plan offers unlimited everyday text chats, with limits on uploads, image generation, voice and deep research.
Gemini and ChatGPT both can on personal accounts. Gemini uses activity for training when Keep Activity is on, and ChatGPT consumer plans may use conversations unless you turn off model improvement or use temporary chat. Gemini Enterprise, ChatGPT Business and Enterprise, and the paid APIs are not used for training.
No. No ChatGPT plan includes API usage, which is billed separately. Gemini's consumer plans are also listed as separate from the Gemini Developer API, which has its own free and paid tiers.
Gemini is the better fit for Gmail and Docs work, video generation and long files on AI Pro (1M tokens). ChatGPT is ahead on custom GPTs, voice with video, projects and the Codex agent.
No, Gemini does not do everything ChatGPT does. Custom GPTs and voice with video are ChatGPT features; in return, paid Gemini plans bundle Google storage (5 TB on AI Pro) and video generation.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
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