ChatGPT vs Claude vs CopilotThree good assistants. Pick the one your team will use.

The business plans, side by side

Each company sells a personal plan and a business plan, and the difference matters more than the logo. Here are the plans a team of 5 to 50 would buy, as of October 2026. Prices are list prices per person per month in US dollars, before tax, and they change often: follow the links and check before you buy.

ChatGPT Business and Claude Team also offer premium seats with more usage, at $100 a person billed yearly or $125 monthly. Microsoft is partway through renaming Microsoft 365 Copilot to Microsoft Copilot, so you'll see both names. Google also sells Gemini Enterprise Business edition, from $21 a seat, for teams that want Gemini to reach apps outside Google.

Is your business data used for training?

This is the question most owners ask first. On the business plans, all four companies say no, by default. On personal plans, the answer is different.

A business plan also means the company, not the employee, owns the account. When someone leaves, their chats and connections don't leave with them. For a full checklist, see is ChatGPT safe for business?, which applies to all four.

Admin controls

For a small team, "admin controls" comes down to three things: who's in, which apps they can connect and what the assistant is allowed to change.

• ChatGPT Business has an admin console, admin roles, single sign-on, bulk member management and usage analytics. Admins choose which apps are switched on for the workspace and which actions each app may take. Finer role-based access controls are on Enterprise, not Business.
• Claude Team has single sign-on, and owners decide which apps are available. Each person still signs in to each app as themselves, and owners can set every connected app's actions to always allowed, needs approval or blocked for the whole team.
• Microsoft Copilot is managed in the Microsoft 365 admin center you already use. It follows your existing Microsoft 365 permissions, so it only shows people what they could already open. Admins choose which outside apps are available and to whom.
• Gemini is managed in your Google Workspace admin console and only retrieves what each person can already open. In Gemini Enterprise Business edition, admins also control which outside apps people may connect.

One thing all four share: the assistant inherits your existing permissions. If your shared drive is open to everyone, so is everyone's assistant. Tidy that up before you switch anything on.

Which of your everyday apps each one reaches

Each assistant reaches other apps through connectors: links that let it sign in to an app as you, look things up and, where you allow it, make changes. Here's what each company lists, as of October 2026.

Two catches. A listed app isn't always available on every plan or in every country: the QuickBooks connection for Claude, for example, is US only. And reaching an app isn't the same as knowing how your business uses it. More on that below.

What each one does best

How clever each assistant is changes every few months, so don't choose on that. Choose on where each one fits.

ChatGPT

A broad set of features in one app: writing, images, voice, research reports and scheduled tasks. Many people already use it at home, which makes the first week easier.

Claude

Ready-made help for owners. Claude for Small Business adds jobs like a Monday brief, month-end close and chasing invoices, and by default waits for your OK before anything sends, posts or pays. Read Claude for Small Business, explained for the details.

Microsoft Copilot

It lives inside Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel, so there's no new app to open, and it's billed and managed through the Microsoft account you already have. The free Copilot Chat works mostly from the web, files you add and, inside Outlook, your inbox. The paid add-on is what lets it work across all your email, calendar, chats and files.

Gemini

If you're on Google Workspace, it's already in your plan, inside Gmail and, on Business Standard and up, Docs, Sheets and Drive. Nothing new to buy to get started.

Which should you pick?

• You run on Microsoft 365, with Outlook and Teams. Copilot is worth a look first. Start with Copilot Chat, then add Copilot Business for the people who spend their day in email and spreadsheets.
• You run on Gmail and Google Docs. Start with Gemini, since you already pay for it. Add Gemini Enterprise Business edition only if you need it to reach apps outside Google.
• Your team already uses ChatGPT on personal accounts. Move them to ChatGPT Business. The company owns the accounts, training on your data is off by default and you can see who's using it.
• You're an owner-led business with your books in QuickBooks. Claude Team with Claude for Small Business gives you ready-made jobs for cash, invoices and leads, set to wait for your OK.
• You're not sure. Give two or three people one real weekly job for two weeks. Pick the assistant they keep opening without being asked.

Paying for two is fine for a trial, but settle on one main assistant. Two means two bills, two sets of permissions and two sets of rules to keep in step.

Common questions

ChatGPT Business vs Plus: what's the difference?

Plus is a personal plan for one person. Business is a shared workspace your company owns, with an admin console, single sign-on and your data kept out of training by default. Once two or more people use ChatGPT for work, Business is the right plan.

ChatGPT Business or Claude Team?

They cost the same at list price and both keep your data out of training by default. ChatGPT has a wide feature set, including image creation and voice chat. Claude has the small-business jobs and asks before anything sends, posts or pays. Try both on the same job and see which answers your team trusts.

Is Microsoft 365 Copilot worth it for a small business?

If your team works in Outlook, Teams and Excel all day, often yes, and you can start with the free Copilot Chat to find out. If most of your work happens in other apps, like a CRM or an online store, the paid add-on matters less than which of those apps it can reach.

What matters more than the assistant

The assistant you choose matters less than two things around it: whether it's connected to the apps your team works in, and whether it's been taught your rules. A brilliant assistant that can't see your CRM is a smart stranger. One that can see everything, with nobody deciding who gets what or what needs a manager's OK, is a risk.

That's the part we set up. We work with ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot and Gemini, and we help you choose if you don't have one yet. Everyone gets their own login and sees only what their role allows, there's a record of every request, and nothing changes in your apps unless a person says yes. It starts with a free 30-minute call.