Should You Buy ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro?

In the world of AI chatbots, the paid versions of ChatGPT and Claude are leading the pack in terms of performance. We put both to the test to determine which one, ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro, offers the best performance and value for your money with its language model.

Meet ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro

The AI chatbot craze was undeniably sparked by the launch of the free version of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT gained over 100 million users in just a few months and contributed to OpenAI’s current valuation of more than $80 billion.

OpenAI is backed by a significant investment from Microsoft (which offers its own Copilot AI assistant), and the company has had a tumultuous relationship with its co-founder Elon Musk, who departed the company in 2018 due to disagreements over its direction.

The premium version of ChatGPT, called ChatGPT Plus, was released in February 2023, offering the latest models, priority access during peak periods, and several other perks.

Anthropic, a US-based AI startup, released its own AI chatbot, Claude, in March 2023. According to the company’s mission statement, Anthropic is dedicated to researching and developing safe, reliable AI technologies, based on a unique approach. Called “Constitutional AI,” it aims to make AI systems helpful, honest, and harmless.

While Anthropic may not be as well-known as OpenAI, the company has already made a significant impact in the AI community, with its most capable model, Opus. This model is included in Anthropic’s Claude Pro, a monthly subscription plan introduced in September 2023 in the U.S. and U.K., and now available also in the EU.

Features of ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro

ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month and includes the following:

• Access to the GPT-4 model and up to five times more message capacity for GPT-4o.
• Image generation with DALL-E based on text descriptions.
• Early access to new features. For example, only ChatGPT Plus subscribers can use the ChatGPT app for macOS at the time of writing this comparison.
• Minimal wait times, even during high-demand periods.
• The ability to analyze data sets and incorporate content directly into conversations.
• The creation of custom GPTs, which are tailored specifically to individual or organizational needs.

Claude Pro is also priced at $20 per month, but the list of features included in the subscription is shorter:

• Claude Pro includes the most powerful model, Opus.
• Users can expect consistent performance, even when demand spikes and ask Claude more questions (at least five times more).
• Subscribers get priority access to new features.

It’s clear that the ChatGPT Plus subscription offers a more comprehensive set of features compared to Claude Pro. While both AI chatbots can understand and analyze images, only ChatGPT Plus can generate images from text prompts using DALL-E. Furthermore, the ability to create custom GPTs tailored to specific needs is a significant advantage for ChatGPT Plus users, as it allows for greater flexibility and personalization.

It’s also worth mentioning that Claude Pro users don’t have access to any voice chat capabilities – something even free users of ChatGPT get to enjoy. If you would like to experience the movie Her in real life, then ChatGPT is the obvious choice.

However, the value of a subscription depends not only on the features offered but also on how well these features perform in practice. Let’s put them to the test.

ChatGPT Plus vs. Claude Pro Performance Comparison

Since the features of ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro differ, with Claude Pro lacking image generation and voice chat capabilities, we’ll focus on testing their text generation performance by assigning both chatbots (the GPT-4 and Opus models, to be exact) the following three tasks:

Writing Task

To assess their writing capabilities, I asked both AI chatbots to write a 500-word article on the topic “The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare.” I evaluated the generated articles based on their coherence, relevance to the topic, and overall quality.

Here is the exact prompt I used: Write a 500-word article on the topic “The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare.” Include several references to support your claims. Use an engaging writing style but make sure to avoid fluff.

In the writing task, both ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro performed impressively, generating around 500 words and including multiple references as instructed. However, Claude Pro went a step further by providing a formatted list of references at the end, complete with authors, source titles, publication years, and even specific pages.

Interestingly, ChatGPT Plus chose to structure the text using subheadings, which is a common practice for Web articles. It can make the content more skimmable and user-friendly. Yet, Claude Pro’s text had a more essay-like feel, without any distinct sections or subheadings.

When it comes to the content itself, both AI chatbots provided similar information, covering various examples and touching upon ethical concerns related to AI in healthcare. However, I personally found Claude Pro’s writing style to be more engaging and fluid.

Winner: Claude

Data Analytics Task

I provided both AI chatbots with New York City weather data that was collected in 2016 and in .csv format. I asked them to find the hottest day of the year.

Here is the exact prompt I used: I’m providing you with a dataset containing New York weather data for the year 2016. Please find the hottest day of the year.

Both ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro were able to process and analyze the New York City weather data from 2016.

ChatGPT Plus identified July 23rd as the hottest day, with a maximum temperature of 96°F and a minimum temperature of 80°F, averaging out to 88°F. While this day did indeed experience a high maximum temperature, it wasn’t the only one.

Claude Pro provided a better answer by recognizing that the highest maximum temperature of 96°F was recorded on two days: July 23 and August 13. It also provided detailed temperature breakdowns for both days, noting an average temperature of 88°F on July 23 and a slightly higher 88.5°F on August 13.

Winner: Claude

Coding Task

To test coding capabilities, I copied & pasted Python code with deliberate errors and asked the chatbot to find and correct them, explaining what the issues were.

Here is the exact prompt I used: Please review the following Python code snippet and identify any errors or issues. For each issue you find, provide an explanation of the problem and suggest a solution. After addressing all the issues, present the corrected version of the code.

Both ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro demonstrated impressive coding capabilities by quickly identifying all six issues in the provided Python code snippet and offering correct solutions. The results were consistent across other code snippets and popular programming languages, such as JavaScript, PHP, SQL, and Java.

This high level of coding proficiency is likely due to the extensive representation of these languages in the training data for both models. As a result, users can confidently rely on both ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro for coding-related tasks, such as debugging, explaining code, and generating simple programs.

Winner: Tie

Verdict: ChatGPT Plus vs. Claude Pro

While ChatGPT Plus is a more feature-packed premium chatbot, Claude Pro performed better in most of our real-life tests, coming out as a more natural writer and better data analyst.

This makes it rather difficult to pick a winner. If you go with ChatGPT Plus, you get more features, but you may end up submitting more prompts to get the answer you want. On the other hand, Claude and its best model, Opus, seem to be the most intelligent LLM at the moment, but it can’t generate images or engage in voice chat.

If you have the budget, I recommend getting both subscriptions. This way, you can compare their answers and leverage their strengths better. However, if you can afford only one subscription, then I recommend ChatGPT Plus for more general use and Claude Pro for writing and data analytics.

Of course, ChatGPT and Claude aren’t the only two AI chatbots available. Recently, I have compared the premium versions of three different AI chatbots with their free counterparts to see if the upgrades are worth the cost. I recommend reading the comparison if you still haven’t found the ideal assistant for your needs.

Image credit: DALL-E. Screenshots by David Morelo.

David Morelo - Staff Writer

David Morelo is a professional content writer in the technology niche, covering everything from consumer products to emerging technologies and their cross-industry application. His interest in technology started at an early age and has only grown stronger over the years.