Anthropic Claude vs OpenAI ChatGPT

Claude plans as listed on Oct 22, 2026: Free ($0: chat, web search, file creation and code execution, memory, connectors, Artifacts); Pro ($20/month, $17/month billed annually: more usage, Claude Code, Research, Projects, Opus models, Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365); Max (from $100/month: 5x or 20x Pro usage, plus $100-$200 in monthly API credits). Model training is opt-out on all individual plans. Usage limits reset in five-hour windows plus weekly caps on paid plans.

Help article (read Oct 22, 2026): connectors let Claude access apps such as Slack, Linear and Google Drive, retrieve data and take actions, for all users on web, desktop and mobile. Claude inherits each person's permissions in the connected service. Connecting grants permission to access and potentially modify data, so only connect services you trust. Team and Enterprise owners can restrict actions, such as read-only.

Help article (read Oct 22, 2026): plugins, on all paid plans, bundle skills, connectors and sub-agents for a role such as sales, finance or legal, and sync to Claude Code. Plugin Create helps build custom plugins. Plugins may include local MCP servers that run on your computer with the same permissions as any program, so install only from trusted sources.

Official introduction (read Oct 22, 2026): MCP is an open-source standard for connecting AI applications like Claude or ChatGPT to data sources, tools and workflows, described as "a USB-C port for AI applications". Supported by assistants including Claude and ChatGPT and by developer tools like VS Code and Cursor.

Help article on chat search and memory (updated Oct 22, 2026, read that day): memory is on by default for Free, Pro and Max on web, desktop and mobile; Claude saves memory as individual topics while you chat, and you can ask it to remember something. Searching past chats is for paid plans only. Projects keep separate memory; incognito chats aren't saved or searched. Toggles live under Settings > Memory.

Help article (read Oct 22, 2026): ChatGPT Plus is $20/month, billed monthly, no annual plan. Adds priority access, higher limits, reasoning models, voice, image generation, file analysis and deep research where available. API usage is billed separately. OpenAI may use conversations to improve models; you can opt out in Data Controls.

Help article (read Oct 22, 2026): three ChatGPT Pro plans, Pro 100 ($100), Pro 200 ($200) and Pro 500 ($500, the only one with Ultrafast models). Pro includes Pro models, Codex, deep research, image creation, memory and file uploads. New Pro 200 subscriptions get a lower usage allowance than before.

Help article (read Oct 22, 2026): ChatGPT Go is a low-cost plan in all ChatGPT countries. Free and Go both include unlimited everyday text chats; Go adds higher limits for image generation, file uploads and data analysis, plus projects and custom GPTs. OpenAI may test ads in Go. Price shown on the pricing page.

Help article (read Oct 22, 2026): ChatGPT plugins bundle skills and connected apps (such as Slack) for a task; the plugin directory is available across plans, with availability depending on plan, workspace and region. Installing may start an authorization flow and can't bypass permissions. Some plugins are OpenAI Verified, which doesn't replace your own security review. Plugin Creator builds custom plugins.

"Memory in ChatGPT" help article (read Oct 22, 2026): with Memory on, ChatGPT can use past chats, saved memories, custom instructions, Library files and connected apps such as Gmail, depending on plan and region. Controls are under Settings > Personalization > Memory. Turning off Reference chat history schedules what it learned from past chats for deletion within 30 days; deleting a chat doesn't delete a saved memory made from it.