ChatGPT vs Microsoft Copilot
ChatGPT is a standalone assistant with its own Free, Go, Plus, Pro and Business ladder. Microsoft Copilot has a free tier with a Microsoft account, is bundled into Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, and for companies is an add-on to an existing Microsoft 365 plan. ChatGPT is simpler to buy alone; Copilot is cheaper to reach if you already pay Microsoft.
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Choose ChatGPT ifyou want one assistant without an office licence underneath it, and a team plan you can start with two seats and no other Microsoft product.
Choose Microsoft Copilot ifyour company already runs on Microsoft 365, wants answers grounded in files users can already open, and cares about the EU Data Boundary and permissions model.
ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot side by side
| ChatGPT | Microsoft Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Our AI chatbots and assistants rank | #4 of 12 | #10 of 12 |
| Established in | Not stated by the vendor | United States |
| Pricing | Free, Go, Plus, Pro and Business plans published; Enterprise by sales | Bundled in Microsoft 365 subscriptions, published; business add-on per user |
| List price, 20 October 2026 | Free $0, Go $8, Plus $20, Pro from $100 a month; Business $20 per user annual, $25 monthly | Free tier with a Microsoft account; Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99, Premium $19.99 a month; Copilot Business add-on $18 annual promo, $25.20 monthly |
| Free tier | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Organisations that want one vendor with plans from solo use to enterprise | Microsoft 365 households wanting AI inside Word, Excel and Outlook |
| Not for | Buyers who need data residency without an Enterprise contract | Teams that want a standalone chat tool without Office |
Both are reviewed in full in our AI chatbots and assistants ranking: ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.
Where they differ
ChatGPT 2 · Microsoft Copilot 2 · open 1- 01
Getting started for one person
ChatGPT lists Free at $0, Go at $8 a month and Plus at $20. Microsoft says a free tier is available with a Microsoft account, and paid use comes through Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month, which also carries 1 TB of storage. Copilot is the cheaper way in, but the paid step is a suite subscription, not an assistant plan.
Edge: Microsoft Copilot
- 02
Heavy individual use
ChatGPT Pro starts at $100 a month, with $200 and $500 tiers, and its page says Pro has no five-hour limit. Microsoft 365 Premium is $19.99 a month, and Microsoft 365 Pro is $99.99 a month, monthly billing only, with AI for the owner only even when six people share storage. The Microsoft page gives no numeric caps, only 'higher' and 'highest'.
Depends on the buyer
- 03
Buying for a company
ChatGPT Business is $20 per user a month on annual billing for two or more users, or $25 monthly. Microsoft Copilot Business is an add-on at a promotional $18 on annual billing for the first year (offered until 31 December 2026) or $25.20 monthly, and is available only to existing Microsoft 365 customers on an eligible plan. ChatGPT asks for no prerequisite.
Edge: ChatGPT
- 04
Company data and compliance
Microsoft's documentation says prompts, responses and Graph data are not used to train foundation models, results respect each user's existing permissions, and EU traffic stays within the EU Data Boundary, except Anthropic models, which are excluded. We could not read OpenAI's equivalent data pages, so we do not score ChatGPT here. Copilot's documented position is the clearer one.
Edge: Microsoft Copilot
- 05
Dependence on other products
Copilot in Teams needs a Teams licence, the business add-on needs a Microsoft 365 plan, and the consumer features arrive through Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Leaving Copilot therefore means touching the suite. ChatGPT's plans are sold on their own, so a team can start or stop without moving mail, files or identity. That is a real advantage for buyers who are not on Microsoft.
Edge: ChatGPT
When neither fits
If your priority is a European vendor or a different model family, look at other tools in the category. Mistral Le Chat publishes Free, Pro and Team plans, and Claude has Free, Pro and Max plans plus per-seat Team and Enterprise. Both can sit next to an existing Microsoft 365 subscription.
ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot: questions
4 answersIs Microsoft Copilot free?
A free tier is available with a Microsoft account, with usage limits on some capabilities, according to Microsoft's Copilot site.
Paid capacity comes through Microsoft 365 plans such as Personal at $9.99 a month. Business use of the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on is a separate, paid licence.
Does Copilot Business need Microsoft 365?
Yes. The pricing page says the Copilot Business add-on is available only to existing Microsoft 365 customers with an eligible Business plan, and Copilot in Teams also requires a Teams licence.
The Standard and Premium bundles with Copilot are listed at $23.50 and $32 per user a month on annual billing.
What does ChatGPT Business cost?
The pricing page we read lists $20 per user a month on annual billing for two or more users, or $25 per user billed monthly. Enterprise and Edu are quoted through sales, with no list price.
Is Copilot data used to train models?
For organisations, Microsoft's documentation states that prompts, responses and data accessed through Microsoft Graph are not used to train foundation models. That statement covers Microsoft's business Copilot, not the consumer app, which we did not test.
Sources
Checked 20 October 2026- ChatGPT pricing (OpenAI docs): Free, Go, Plus, Pro and Business prices, five-hour limits, seat minimum, Enterprise quoted.
- ChatGPT pricing, plan limits: Pro has no five-hour limit; weekly limits may apply.
- Microsoft Copilot for individuals: Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, Premium and Pro prices, storage, relative usage wording, trial.
- Microsoft Copilot site: free tier with a Microsoft account, renamed features.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot business pricing: add-on and bundle prices, promotion dates, eligible-plan prerequisite, Teams licence.
- Data, privacy and security for Microsoft Copilot: no training on prompts and Graph data, permissions, EU Data Boundary, Anthropic exclusion.