Head-to-head · profiles checked Oct 1, 2026
Choose Manus to hand off a whole task, such as a website, slide deck or wide research job, to an agent with its own sandboxed computer. Choose ChatGPT for a chat app with a Free plan and agent features on paid tiers. Both paid entry points cost $20 a month: Manus Standard gives 4,000 credits, ChatGPT Plus adds GPT-6 reasoning, projects and scheduled tasks. A Manus free tier is not stated.
We based this comparison on our Manus profile verified 2026-10-01 and our ChatGPT profile verified 2026-09-30, both built from official vendor pages; it uses no third-party benchmarks and no vendor paid for placement.
Manus is built to take a task and deliver finished work, such as a website, a slide deck or a wide research report, inside its own sandboxed computer, billed by monthly credits. ChatGPT is a chat assistant first, with agent features (ChatGPT Work, Codex, scheduled tasks) added on paid plans and a documented Free tier. Both start at $20 a month for the first paid step. Pick Manus if you want to hand off whole projects; pick ChatGPT if you want a free entry point, a wide everyday tool set and published privacy terms.
Based on our Manus profile verified 2026-10-01 and ChatGPT profile verified 2026-09-30, both from official vendor pages; no benchmark was run.
Our own captures of each vendor's public pages. Click a frame for the full-size image.
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 | ChatGPT | ChatGPT Free gives unlimited everyday text chat; a Manus free tier is not stated |
| Build a simple website or web app without coding | Manus | Manus lists a full-stack website and app builder on all tiers |
| Make a slide deck from a topic | Manus | Manus delivers slide decks end to end from topic and guidelines |
| Research many sources at once | Either | Manus runs Wide Research in parallel; ChatGPT writes cited deep research reports |
| Draft and edit a document | ChatGPT | ChatGPT lists drafting and editing text, refined in Canvas or as a Page |
| Analyze a spreadsheet | ChatGPT | ChatGPT runs code on uploaded spreadsheets for tables and charts |
| Make music or video | Manus | Manus lists music and video tools; ChatGPT's profile lists images only |
| Talk by voice | ChatGPT | ChatGPT has voice mode; voice is not stated for Manus |
| Run recurring tasks on a schedule | Either | Manus lists 20 scheduled tasks per tier; ChatGPT has scheduled tasks on Plus and above |
| Give a team a shared workspace with SSO | Either | Manus Team includes SSO at a custom price; ChatGPT Enterprise has SAML SSO and SCIM |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manus Standard | Manus | $20/mo | 4,000 credits a month, 300 refresh credits a day, 20 concurrent and 20 scheduled tasks |
| Manus Customizable | Manus | Not confirmed | 8,000 credits a month, 20 concurrent and 20 scheduled tasks |
| Manus Extended | Manus | $200/mo | 40,000 credits a month, 20 concurrent and 20 scheduled tasks |
| Manus Team | Manus | Custom | Not stated |
| ChatGPT Free | ChatGPT | $0 | Unlimited everyday text chat subject to safeguards; separate limits on uploads, images, voice; 500 MB Library |
| ChatGPT Go | ChatGPT | Not confirmed (US price) | Higher limits than Free; may include ads |
| ChatGPT Plus | ChatGPT | $20/mo | May include message caps, especially during high demand |
| ChatGPT Pro | ChatGPT | $100, $200 or $500/mo | Model 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; no 5-hour limit |
| ChatGPT Enterprise | ChatGPT | Custom (sales) | Depends on agreement |
| OpenAI API | ChatGPT | Per 1M tokens (gpt-6-luna $0.10 / $0.50) | Separate product, not in any ChatGPT plan |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Oct 1, 2026. Manus pricing in full · ChatGPT pricing in full
| Manus | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages / task limits | Credit-based: 4,000 / 8,000 / 40,000 a month plus 300 refresh credits a day | Free: unlimited everyday text chat; other tools capped by plan and can change with demand |
| Parallel and scheduled work | 20 concurrent and 20 scheduled tasks per tier | Scheduled tasks on Plus and above; counts not stated |
| Context / file size | Not stated | Instant context: Free 27K, Go/Plus 54K, Pro 128K tokens; Free Library 500 MB |
| Seats / team | Team plan, custom pricing; seat rules not stated | Business needs 2 seats minimum; Enterprise via sales |
| Feature | Manus | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous task agent | Yes (sandboxed virtual computer) | Yes (ChatGPT Work, Codex) |
| Website and app builder | Yes | Not stated |
| Image generation | Yes | Yes |
| Music and video | Yes | Not stated |
| Voice | Not stated | Yes |
| File upload | Yes | Yes |
| Web search / research | Wide Research, browser operator | Web search with citations, deep research |
| API | Listed; pricing not stated | Yes, separate product billed per 1M tokens |
| Mobile apps | Yes (iOS, Android) | Yes |
| Manus | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Not stated | Consumer chats may be used unless you opt out or use temporary chat; Business, Enterprise and API not by default |
| Retention | Not stated | Temporary chats may be kept up to 30 days for safety; Enterprise controls retention |
| Business controls | SSO on Team; Trust center lists security certifications | SAML SSO, SCIM, role-based access, DPA, SOC 2 |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
Autonomous general AI agent that plans and executes tasks in its own sandboxed computer to deliver finished work.
Free stops at: A Get started button is on every tier; whether a free tier exists was not stated.
Pricing US price unconfirmed
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
The first paid step costs the same: Manus Standard is $20 per month for 4,000 credits and ChatGPT Plus is $20 per month. At the top, Manus Extended is $200 per month for 40,000 credits, while ChatGPT Pro comes in $100, $200 and $500 tiers. ChatGPT also has a Free plan; a Manus free tier is not stated.
Not confirmed. The Manus pricing page shows a Get started button on every tier but does not say whether a free tier exists. ChatGPT Free is documented, with unlimited everyday text chat subject to safeguards.
Partly. ChatGPT has agent features such as ChatGPT Work, Codex and scheduled tasks, with fuller use on Plus and above. Manus is built around an agent that runs in its own sandboxed computer and builds websites, apps, slides and media from one instruction.
ChatGPT consumer chats may be used for training unless you turn it off or use a temporary chat; Business, Enterprise and API data is not used by default. Manus training and retention terms are not stated in our profile.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
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