Claude vs ChatGPT for business: what's the difference?
Claude (made by Anthropic) and ChatGPT (made by OpenAI) both cost US$20 a month for an individual plan as at October 2026 (about A$33 including GST at checkout; check current pricing), and both exclude business-plan data from model training by default. The differences are in the extras: ChatGPT has a cheaper US$8 Go tier and built-in image generation, while Claude Pro includes the Claude Code agent. On Autopilot, a Melbourne-based AI consultancy, builds its clients' agents on Claude.
What is the difference between Claude and ChatGPT?
Claude is made by Anthropic and ChatGPT by OpenAI. As at October 2026 both cost US$20 a month for an individual plan (about A$33 including GST at checkout; check current pricing), both offer team seats at US$20–25, and both exclude business-plan data from training by default. The practical differences are in the extras: ChatGPT has a cheaper Go tier and built-in image generation; Claude Pro includes the Claude Code agent.
| Claude (Anthropic) | ChatGPT (OpenAI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest paid plan | Pro, US$20 a month (about A$33 including GST at checkout) or US$17 a month billed annually | Go, US$8 a month (about A$12); Plus is US$20 |
| Heavy individual use | Max, US$100 or US$200 | Pro, US$100 or US$200 |
| Team seats (minimum 2) | Team, US$25 monthly or US$20 annually; Premium seats US$125 or US$100 | Business, US$25 monthly or US$20 annually; Premium seats US$125 or US$100 |
| Coding agent | Claude Code, included from Pro | Codex, included with ChatGPT plans |
| Business data used for training by default? | No (Team, Enterprise, API) | No (Business, Enterprise, API) |
Both have free plans. Current Claude models are Haiku 4.5, Sonnet 5.5, Opus 5.5 and the top-tier Fable 5.1; ChatGPT runs OpenAI’s GPT models. Full AUD breakdowns: what Claude costs per month and what ChatGPT costs in Australia. For the full side-by-side with Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, including which plans keep client data out of training, read our Claude vs ChatGPT guide for Australian small business.
Which is better for a small business, Claude or ChatGPT?
Neither wins outright. For writing, research and summarising, both are strong, and the right choice is whichever your staff get better results from after a week of real work. ChatGPT suits teams that need images or the cheapest paid tier. Claude suits teams that want an agent working in their files and connected tools. If you live in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, price that suite’s built-in AI first.
- Sole trader on a tight budget: either free tier, or ChatGPT Go at about A$12 a month.
- Social posts that need images: ChatGPT, which generates images natively. Claude has no built-in image generator, though it can produce charts, diagrams and SVG graphics.
- Work in spreadsheets, files and code, or building automations: Claude Pro, which includes Claude Code. ChatGPT’s Codex covers similar ground if you already pay OpenAI.
- Team of 2–10: Claude Team or ChatGPT Business, US$20–25 per seat either way. Trial both with two or three staff before buying seats.
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace shop: compare Microsoft Copilot pricing and Gemini in Workspace.
What does On Autopilot charge, and why do we build on Claude?
On Autopilot is a Melbourne-based AI consultancy that builds and runs AI agents on Claude for Australian small businesses, at fixed AUD prices ex GST. A Claude Code Setup Day is $1,500 fixed, a Quick Start automation is $497 one-off, and Managed AI starts from $1,500 a month, with Claude API usage (typically $3–15 a month per agent) absorbed in the fee. Start with the free 30-minute AI audit.
Why Claude, specifically:
- It is the stack we run our own businesses on. Hey Bud Skincare’s daily Shopify inventory system, DotVA’s website lead pipeline and its HQ operations platform, and Lead Gen Empire’s 20-site network were all built with Claude Code (our case studies). One stack, known deeply, is easier to maintain well.
- Predictable running costs. Prompt caching and the cheaper Haiku and Sonnet models keep a typical productised agent’s API bill small enough to include in a fixed fee.
- Connections to the tools clients use, including Xero’s official connector in Claude’s directory and MCP servers for tools like Shopify, Slack and HubSpot.
This is a choice about depth, not a verdict on OpenAI. Its business plans and API also exclude your data from training by default, and good systems run on both. Our comparison of doing it yourself with ChatGPT versus a managed setup covers when your own ChatGPT seats are enough.
Is Claude better than ChatGPT for writing?
There is no permanent winner. Both write good first drafts, and the gap between them shifts with every model release. What matters is how well each follows your brief and style guide on your own content. Test them properly: give both the same brief, the same two examples of your writing and the same three real tasks (an email, a 600-word post, a policy rewrite), then count the edits each draft needs.
We draft our own sites’ long-form content with Claude because, in our experience, it holds a written style guide well across long pieces. Treat that as a practitioner’s preference, not a benchmark. ChatGPT is the simpler choice when a piece also needs images.
Claude Code vs ChatGPT: which is better for hands-on business work?
Claude Code is Anthropic’s agent that reads and edits files, runs tasks and works with connected tools from your computer. It is included with Claude Pro, Max and every Team seat. OpenAI’s counterpart is Codex, included with ChatGPT plans. Both can do real work in your files, so the choice usually follows which vendor’s plan you already pay for and which agent your team finds easier.
For finance work, Claude can read Xero data through Xero’s official connector (read-only: profit and loss, cash position, invoices, bills and contacts), and Xero’s open-source MCP server adds write access under scopes you control. See whether Claude works with Xero.
Do Claude and ChatGPT train on your business data?
Not on business plans by default. Anthropic’s Team, Enterprise and API, and OpenAI’s Business, Enterprise and API, are excluded from model training by default. On personal plans (Claude Free, Pro and Max; ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus and Pro), you control it with a privacy setting, so check it. The bigger risk for a small business is staff pasting client details into personal accounts.
Australia’s privacy regulator, the OAIC, recommends as best practice that organisations do not enter personal information, particularly sensitive information, into publicly available AI tools. More in using ChatGPT for confidential client information.
Sources
- Anthropic, Claude plans and pricing (checked 03/10/2026)
- OpenAI, ChatGPT pricing: published USD prices (checked 03/10/2026)
- OpenAI Help Center, using Codex with your ChatGPT plan (checked 03/10/2026)
- Anthropic, updates to consumer terms and privacy policy (checked 03/10/2026)
- OpenAI Help Center, how your data is used to improve model performance (checked 03/10/2026)
- Xero, Xero connector for Claude and Xero MCP server (checked 03/10/2026)
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products (checked 03/10/2026)
Other questions people ask
Can I use Claude and ChatGPT together?
Yes, and plenty of people do. The cheapest way is one paid plan plus the other vendor's free tier for second opinions or images. Only pay for both once you use each most days for different jobs, because the core chat features overlap heavily.
Which one writes better Australian English?
Both can, if you tell them. Put it in ChatGPT's custom instructions or in Claude's profile preferences or project instructions, with examples such as organise, colour and licence as a noun. Check long outputs for US spellings either way, and keep a short style guide you can paste into any tool.
Are Claude and ChatGPT priced in Australian dollars?
Both vendors publish USD prices. Australian consumers pay 10% GST on top, and many cards add a 2–3% foreign transaction fee, so a US$20 plan lands at about A$33 at checkout. A GST-registered business that gives its ABN should generally not be charged GST. Confirm the final amount at checkout.
Does On Autopilot work with businesses that use ChatGPT?
Yes. We build the agents we run for you on Claude, but they sit alongside whatever your team already uses, including ChatGPT seats. If a ChatGPT workflow is already doing the job, we leave it alone and spend your budget where it pays back.
Want this built for your business?
Book a free 30-minute AI audit call with Jenn Yang. We map where your time goes, name the first systems worth building and give you fixed AUD prices. No obligation.
Book a free AI auditOr have us run it for you, end to end: On Autopilot is Australia's outsourced AI department.