Comparison

Copilot vs ChatGPT: which one should you use?

Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT share a lot of technology, since Microsoft builds Copilot on OpenAI's models. The choice is less about raw intelligence and more about where you work: inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, or in a standalone assistant with its own tools.

Research-based comparison, checked October 2026. We don't take payment or affiliate fees from anyone we compare. How we review.

The short verdict

Choose Copilot if you live in Microsoft 365. It works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and a Microsoft 365 plan gives you the Office apps and storage too. At work, Copilot Business can draw on your company's email, files and meetings.
Choose ChatGPT if you want the more capable standalone assistant: custom GPTs, projects, scheduled tasks, deep research, image creation, voice with video and the Codex coding agent.
Use the free versions first. Both have free tiers, and for casual questions the difference is small.

Copilot vs ChatGPT at a glance

US prices from Microsoft's Copilot plans page and ChatGPT's pricing page, as of October 2026.

	Microsoft Copilot	ChatGPT
Free	Copilot app and web, with limits	Yes, with limits
Personal paid	Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99, Family $12.99, Premium $19.99, Pro $99.99	Go $8, Plus $20, Pro from $100
Business	Copilot Business add-on $21 per user (annual; $18 promotion in October 2026)	Business $20 per seat annual, $25 monthly
Built into Office apps	Yes: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams	Extensions for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Google Sheets
Models	OpenAI GPT models; model choice on business plans	OpenAI GPT models
Custom assistants	Agents (Researcher, Analyst) on paid plans	Custom GPTs, projects, scheduled tasks
Coding agent	No (GitHub Copilot is separate)	Codex
Bundled extras	Office apps, 1-5 TB OneDrive storage	None
Apps	Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, web, Edge	Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, web

What each one is

"Copilot" is a Microsoft brand covering several products: the free Copilot app and website, Copilot inside Microsoft 365 apps for home users, and Microsoft 365 Copilot for businesses. (GitHub Copilot, for programmers, is a separate product; see our GitHub Copilot review.) Our Microsoft Copilot review explains the whole family.

ChatGPT is OpenAI's own assistant, a single app with a long feature list. Our ChatGPT review covers it in detail.

Features compared

Inside your documents

This is Copilot's reason to exist. With a Microsoft 365 plan, Copilot drafts in Word, builds slides in PowerPoint from a prompt, analyzes data in Excel (Microsoft notes the file must be saved to OneDrive with AutoSave on), and summarizes your Outlook inbox. Premium and Pro add Researcher and Analyst, Microsoft's agents for research and data analysis, and Cowork for multi-step tasks. ChatGPT can do similar work when you upload files or use its Office extensions, but you move content back and forth.

General assistant

As a standalone chat assistant, ChatGPT is the more complete product: custom GPTs, projects, memory across chats, scheduled tasks, deep research, a plugin directory, image creation and voice with video. The free Copilot app covers chat, image creation and voice too, and widely shared user feedback describes it as solid for everyday questions but less flexible than ChatGPT for power users.

At work

Microsoft 365 Copilot Business uses "Work IQ" to ground answers in your organization's email, files, chats and meetings, respecting existing permissions, and includes adoption analytics and model choice. That integration is hard for ChatGPT Business to match if your company runs on Microsoft 365. ChatGPT Business offers connectors to many apps and Slack and Teams integrations, which suits mixed-tool companies.

Pricing as of October 2026

Plan	Price (US)	What you get
Copilot (free)	$0	Chat, images and voice with limits
Microsoft 365 Personal	$9.99/mo or $99.99/yr	1 person, 1 TB, Office apps with Copilot, higher usage than free
Microsoft 365 Family	$12.99/mo or $129.99/yr	Up to 6 people, 2 TB shared; AI for the owner only
Microsoft 365 Premium	$19.99/mo or $199.99/yr	Family plus extensive Copilot usage, Researcher and Analyst
Microsoft 365 Pro	$99.99/mo (monthly only)	Highest Copilot limits, 5 TB
ChatGPT Go / Plus / Pro	$8 / $20 / from $100	Standalone assistant, increasing limits
Copilot Business add-on	$21/user/mo annual ($18 promo)	Requires a Microsoft 365 business plan; bundles from $23.50
ChatGPT Business	$20 annual / $25 monthly per seat	Premium seats $100/$125

Sources: Microsoft Copilot business pricing, Microsoft 365 plans and ChatGPT pricing. The honest value test: if you'd pay for Microsoft 365 anyway, Copilot costs little extra. If you wouldn't, ChatGPT Plus gives you more assistant for the money.

Privacy and data

Microsoft's Copilot privacy FAQ says it keeps conversation history for 18 months by default, that signed-in personal users can turn off the use of their conversations for training, and that it does not train on people signed in with a work Entra ID account, people who aren't signed in, or users under 18. Work accounts get Microsoft's enterprise data protection. OpenAI says ChatGPT trains on Free, Go, Plus and Pro content unless you opt out, and its business plans add SSO, admin controls and SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO certifications.

For companies already trusting Microsoft with their email and files, Copilot keeps AI under the same agreement, which is often the deciding factor for IT teams.

Answer quality and accuracy

Because Copilot is built on OpenAI's GPT models, the underlying intelligence is closely related, and for most everyday questions the answers are similar in quality. The differences come from what each app wraps around the model: how much of your own data it can see, which tools it can call, how long it thinks and how much usage your plan allows. Copilot's strength is grounding: in Microsoft 365 it can answer from your actual documents, inbox and (on business plans) your organization's files and meetings. ChatGPT's strength is depth: more modes, deeper research and more control over how it works.

Neither is reliable enough to trust blindly. Both can state wrong facts confidently, misread a spreadsheet or invent a source. For anything important, ask for sources, check the numbers, and keep a human in the loop.

Using Copilot and ChatGPT together

Many people end up with both. A common pattern is to use Copilot inside Word, Excel and Outlook for work that lives in those files, and ChatGPT (or another assistant) for open-ended research, brainstorming and personal projects. If your employer provides Microsoft 365 Copilot, use it for work data, since it stays under your company's agreements, and keep personal chats on a personal account.

If you're choosing just one for home use, the simplest rule is this: if you'd pay for Microsoft 365 anyway for Office and OneDrive, take the plan that includes Copilot. If you wouldn't, ChatGPT's free plan or Plus is the more complete assistant on its own.

Strengths and weaknesses

Copilot

Strengths

Built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Bundled with Office apps and storage
Uses your work data on business plans
Free app built into Windows

Weaknesses

Confusing product names and plans
Family plans share AI with the owner only
Less flexible as a standalone assistant

ChatGPT

Strengths

Most complete standalone assistant
Custom GPTs, scheduled tasks, deep research
Codex coding agent included
Works the same whatever office suite you use

Weaknesses

Not built into Office apps
No bundled storage or productivity apps
Trains on personal chats unless you opt out

Choose Copilot if... choose ChatGPT if...

Choose Copilot if you

Already pay for Microsoft 365
Spend your day in Word, Excel, Outlook or Teams
Work at a company standardized on Microsoft
Want storage and Office apps in the same plan

Choose ChatGPT if you

Want the strongest standalone assistant
Use Google Docs, Notion or a mix of tools
Want custom GPTs or a coding agent
Don't need Office apps or extra storage

Still deciding? See Claude vs ChatGPT and Gemini vs ChatGPT.

Frequently asked questions

Is Copilot the same as ChatGPT? +

No, but they are related. Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's own assistant, and Microsoft's business pricing page says it runs on OpenAI's latest GPT models, with a choice of other models on business plans. ChatGPT is OpenAI's own app. They share model technology, but the apps, features, limits and privacy terms are different.

Is Microsoft Copilot free? +

Yes. The Copilot app and web chat are free with usage limits. Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook comes with a Microsoft 365 subscription: Personal at $9.99 a month, Family at $12.99, Premium at $19.99 and Pro at $99.99 in the US as of October 2026. On Family and Premium, the AI features are for the subscription owner only.

Is Copilot or ChatGPT better for Word and Excel? +

Copilot, if you already use Microsoft 365. It works inside the documents, spreadsheets and email you already have, and on business plans it can use your work data. ChatGPT offers extensions for Excel, Word and PowerPoint, but Copilot is built into the apps themselves.

Should I pay for ChatGPT Plus or Microsoft 365 Premium? +

They cost about the same: $20 a month for ChatGPT Plus and $19.99 a month for Microsoft 365 Premium. Premium includes the Office apps, 2 TB of shared storage for up to six people and extensive Copilot usage for the owner. ChatGPT Plus gives you a broader standalone assistant with custom GPTs, Codex and deep research. If you would pay for Microsoft 365 anyway, Premium is the better value.

Does Copilot use my data to train AI? +

Microsoft says signed-in personal users can turn off the use of their conversations for model training, that conversation history is kept for 18 months by default, and that people signed in with a work Entra ID account are not used for training. OpenAI says ChatGPT personal plans train on content unless you opt out. Check the settings in both.