ChatGPT vs Copilot
ChatGPT Plus costs $20 a month, and Microsoft 365 Premium, the Copilot plan nearest it, costs $19.99. The cheaper way into Copilot is Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99, which puts it inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. We can score ChatGPT’s models and not Copilot’s, because Microsoft doesn’t name the model Copilot runs. As of November 10, 2026, GPT-6 Astra is ChatGPT’s highest-ranked model, at 84.98 and #4 on our leaderboard.
This page covers Microsoft Copilot, the chat app on the web, desktop, and phone, and inside Microsoft 365. GitHub Copilot, the coding assistant, is a different product: see Cursor vs GitHub Copilot or GitHub Copilot pricing.
We don't pick a winner on answer quality here. That takes a named model on both sides, and only ChatGPT has one. What we can compare is what each maker publishes: plan prices, what each plan includes, and what happens to your chats.
Pick by where you work and what you paste in
Copilot is the pick if your day is in Word, Excel, and Outlook. Microsoft 365 Personal costs $9.99 a month and includes those desktop apps with Copilot built in, plus 1 TB of cloud storage. ChatGPT lists extensions for Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, with limits on its lower plans.
ChatGPT is the pick if you want to know which model is answering. OpenAI names the models on each plan, so their public results apply: GPT-6 Astra scores 84.98 at #4, with a Supported evidence label. Its plan page also lists a coding agent, projects, and scheduled tasks, which Microsoft’s doesn’t.
On privacy the defaults point the other way. Microsoft says Copilot chats aren’t used to train foundation models. ChatGPT uses chats on personal plans for training unless you turn the setting off.
What each plan includes: ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot
Scores compare the models. The plan decides what you can do with them, so this table lists what each maker's own plan page includes and the lowest plan it starts on.
| Plans and features | ChatGPT | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes. | Yes. |
| Cheapest paid plan | Go, $8 a month. | Microsoft 365 Personal, $9.99 a month. |
| Plan nearest $20 | Plus, $20 a month. | Microsoft 365 Premium, $19.99 a month. |
| Models the plan names | GPT-6, with “advanced reasoning models” on Plus. | None named. Microsoft says Copilot uses “models from Microsoft, OpenAI, and other model developers”. |
| Deep research | Free, with limits. Expanded on Plus. | From Microsoft 365 Premium, as limited “advanced research and analytics”. |
| Voice chat | Free, with limits. | Not named. Paid plans list AI-generated audio (English only) and help from your screen or camera. |
| Image creation | Free, with limits. | Free. Paid plans raise the limit. |
| Memory across chats | Free, with limits. | Not on the plan page. Microsoft’s privacy page describes Copilot Memory, which you can turn off. |
| Projects | Listed on Plus, with scheduled tasks and custom GPTs. | Not listed on the plan page. |
| Scheduled tasks | Listed on Plus. | Not listed on the plan page. |
| Coding agent | Codex: limited on Free, expanded on Plus. | Not listed. GitHub Copilot is a separate product. |
| Inside office apps | Extensions for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Google Sheets, limited on the lower plans. | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote, from Microsoft 365 Personal. |
| Cloud storage included | None listed. | 1 TB on Microsoft 365 Personal, 2 TB on Premium. |
Each cell is what the maker’s own plan page lists and the lowest plan it lists it on. “Not listed” means the page doesn’t mention the feature, which isn’t proof the app lacks it. Plan prices were read October 16, 2026 for ChatGPT, and November 10, 2026 for Copilot.
Sources, read November 10, 2026: ChatGPT pricing; Microsoft Copilot plans for individuals, Microsoft Copilot transparency note, Microsoft Copilot: your privacy controls.
What each app does with your chats
Read the training row before you paste in anything private. The defaults differ, and so does the place where you change them.
| Your chats | ChatGPT | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Do your chats train the models? | Yes by default on personal plans. | No. Microsoft says prompts, responses, and file contents “aren’t used to train foundation models”. |
| How to stop it | Turn off “Improve the model for everyone” under Data controls. Voice mode and Codex have their own settings. | Nothing to turn off for training. Personalization and memory have their own switches. |
| Chats kept out of training | Temporary chats. They may be kept up to 30 days for safety. | All chats, on Microsoft’s statement above. |
| Ads | The Go plan “may include ads”. | Possible without a Microsoft 365 subscription. Ad personalization can be turned off. |
These terms cover personal accounts. Work, school, and API accounts run under different terms, and each maker can change a default at any time, so open the source before you paste in anything sensitive.
Sources, read November 10, 2026: OpenAI: data controls in ChatGPT, ChatGPT pricing; Microsoft Copilot: your activity history, Microsoft Copilot: your privacy controls.
ChatGPT's models have public scores, and Copilot's model isn't named
Microsoft’s transparency note says Copilot uses “models from Microsoft, OpenAI, and other model developers”. It doesn’t say which model answers a given chat, so a score for any one of them wouldn’t describe Copilot.
We’d rather leave the column out than guess. If Microsoft names the model, this page gets a second set of scores.
| ChatGPT model | Score | Rank | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-6 Astra | 84.98 | #4 | Supported |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | 84.91 | #5 | Supported |
| GPT-6.1 Terra | 80.13 | #10 | Estimated |
| GPT-6 Luna | 62.37 | #44 | Supported |
Scores are our overall score, 0 to 100, from the main leaderboard. Supported means we have enough independent evidence to stand behind the row. Estimated means the rank is visible and the uncertainty is wider. Which of these models your plan opens is on ChatGPT plans in detail.
Which should you pick?
Pick ChatGPT if…
- You want a named model with public results: GPT-6 Astra scores 84.98 at #4 on our leaderboard.
- You want a coding agent in the same subscription. Codex is listed on every ChatGPT plan, with limits on Free.
- You use projects, scheduled tasks, or custom GPTs, which the Plus plan lists.
- It’s the wrong pick if you won’t change the training setting and don’t want your chats used that way.
Pick Copilot if…
- You already pay for Microsoft 365. Copilot comes with Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month, against $20 for ChatGPT Plus.
- Your work is in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, where Copilot is built in.
- You want chats kept out of model training without touching a setting.
- It’s the wrong pick if you need to know which model you’re using, or if you want agent features on the cheapest plan. Microsoft lists those from Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99.
How this comparison works
Plan, feature, and data-use facts were read on each maker’s own pages on November 10, 2026, and each table links them. Plan prices were read October 16, 2026 for ChatGPT, and November 10, 2026 for Copilot. Scores come from our public leaderboard, and a model without a public rank shows as unranked. We don’t test the apps themselves, so answer quality inside Copilot, speed, and the limits you hit in daily use aren’t measured here.
Questions
Is Copilot the same as ChatGPT?
No. They’re separate apps from separate companies. Microsoft says Copilot uses models from Microsoft, OpenAI, and other developers, and doesn’t say which model answers a given chat. ChatGPT names the models on each plan. The two apps also differ on plans, features, and what they do with your chats.
Is Copilot or ChatGPT cheaper?
Copilot’s cheapest paid plan is Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month, and ChatGPT’s is Go at $8. Near $20 they cost about the same: ChatGPT Plus is $20 and Microsoft 365 Premium is $19.99. Both have free plans. Microsoft’s price also covers Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and cloud storage.
Does Copilot train on my chats?
Microsoft says prompts, responses, and file contents in the Copilot app aren’t used to train foundation models. That statement covers the updated Copilot app on a personal Microsoft account, as read on November 10, 2026. ChatGPT uses chats on personal plans for training by default, and you can turn that off under Data controls.
Which is better, Copilot or ChatGPT?
We can’t rank them on answer quality, because Microsoft doesn’t name the model Copilot runs. On what’s published, Copilot fits people who work in Microsoft 365 and want chats kept out of training. ChatGPT fits people who want a named model with public benchmark results, a coding agent, and projects.
Is Microsoft Copilot the same as GitHub Copilot?
No. GitHub Copilot is a coding assistant that runs in a code editor and is sold on its own plans. Microsoft Copilot is the general chat app this page covers. For the coding tool, see our GitHub Copilot pricing page and the Cursor vs GitHub Copilot comparison.