Ask four people which AI assistant is best and you will get four loud answers and no useful one. The better question is smaller: which one do I open for this job, right now? Here is a plain way to answer it.
Checked 10 October 2026. Product facts below link to the makers’ own pages. Anything marked Opinion or TSN’s view is judgement, not fact.
The short version
TSN’s view (opinion): don’t pick one assistant for life. All four have a free plan, so pick one per type of job, try the same prompt on two, and keep whichever one you reach for without thinking.
What you can verify today
ChatGPT (OpenAI). The Free plan lists unlimited text chats with GPT-6. OpenAI’s release notes say Free and Go users get GPT-6 Luna, while Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise get GPT-6 Sol. Plus costs $20 a month. The same notes cover voice, audio uploads on paid plans, a Library that connects Google Drive, Box, Dropbox and SharePoint on paid plans, and ChatGPT add-ins for Word, Excel and PowerPoint, including on Free. For UK readers: OpenAI says it began rolling out ads on Free and Go in the UK in June; Plus stays ad-free.
Claude (Anthropic). Claude’s pricing page lists four current models: Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5. Free includes web search, file creation, code execution, memory, connectors and voice mode. Pro is $17 a month billed annually or $20 monthly, and adds Research, Claude Code, Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365 integration. Context windows go up to 1M tokens, depending on the model. Claude’s plan page lists design, slides and docs tools but no image generator.
Gemini (Google). Google’s plans page shows US prices of $4.99 (AI Plus), $19.99 (AI Pro) and from $99.99 (AI Ultra) a month, with a 1 million token context window on AI Pro and Ultra. Its subscriptions page lists Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas and image generation on the free tier and says you can upload up to 1,500 pages. Gemini’s release notes describe Gemini Omni video creation for Google AI subscribers. Google announced the Gemini 4 Argon model on 30 September, but it is only with trusted cyber defenders so far. Google has not said when it reaches the Gemini app.
Grok (xAI). The pricing page lists a Free plan with real-time web and X search, voice mode and connectors. SuperGrok is $30 a month and lists Grok Bot access, higher rate limits and image and video generation; SuperGrok Plus is $100. The Grok page says Grok searches the web and X live with citations, makes images up to 2K and videos up to 15 seconds, and summarises uploaded files and PDFs. xAI (its pages now say SpaceXAI) calls Grok 4.7 its most capable model, though the plans page still names Grok 4.6, so check which one your plan runs.
Which one for which job
| Task | Try first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday questions | Whichever is already on your phone | Fact: all four have a free plan (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok). Opinion: convenience beats small quality gaps here. |
| Writing and editing | Claude, then ChatGPT | Opinion: Claude’s drafts often read less templated to us; test on your own text. Fact: Claude lists Docs on every plan. |
| Research with sources | Gemini or Grok | Fact: Deep Research is on Gemini’s free tier; Grok searches the web and X live. Opinion: always click the sources, whichever you use. |
| Coding | Claude or ChatGPT | Fact: Claude Code is in every paid plan; Codex is in ChatGPT. Gemini has Antigravity and Jules; Grok has Grok Build. Opinion: pick the one that fits your editor. |
| Summarising long documents | Gemini | Fact: a 1M token window and 1,500-page uploads. ChatGPT Plus lists about 320 pages of reasoning input. Opinion: a bigger window is not a better summary. |
| Images | ChatGPT or Gemini | Fact: ChatGPT Images 2.5; Gemini image generation. Opinion: compare both on the same prompt. |
| Video | Gemini or Grok | Fact: Gemini Omni; Grok video up to 15 seconds. We found no video generator listed on the ChatGPT or Claude pages we read. |
| Voice | ChatGPT or Gemini | Fact: ChatGPT Voice and Gemini Live are both in the app. Opinion: try a five-minute chat on each. |
| Your own files and apps | Match your ecosystem | Fact: Gemini works in Gmail and Docs; Claude has Microsoft 365 and Chrome; ChatGPT has Word, Excel and PowerPoint add-ins. |
How to choose in two minutes (TSN’s view)
- Where does your work live? Google apps point to Gemini. Microsoft 365 points to Claude or ChatGPT.
- Is it a fact-finding job? Use one with live search and check the links it gives you.
- Is it a long, careful read or write? Try Claude and Gemini on your real document, not a demo.
- Do you need images or video in the same chat? Start with ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok.
- Are you paying? Use the free tier for a week first. Don’t upgrade for a feature you haven’t used.
Try the same prompt on two assistants
Tip: paste the same prompt and the same file into two assistants, side by side. Ask each to show its sources or say what it is unsure of. You will learn more in ten minutes than from any review, ours included. Opinion: the second answer often shows what the first one skipped.
Limits, prices and small print
Limits are not numbers you can plan around. Claude says usage resets on a rolling five-hour window, with weekly caps on paid plans. Gemini says the same five-hour pattern up to a weekly limit. xAI’s plan page says only higher rate limits. Prices above are in US dollars as shown on those pages; we have not checked UK prices. Check each company’s data and training settings before you upload anything private.
Products change fast
Model names, plans and limits shift within weeks. Several arrived in the last month. This guide was checked on 10 October 2026. If you are reading later, treat the links as the source of truth, not us. For the wider picture, see our guide to AI chatbots, coding tools comparison and voice AI guide. New to all this? Start with the beginner’s guide to AI. On the Gemini side, see what Google has and hasn’t released; on the ChatGPT side, GPT-6 and the free tier.
Primary pages checked (10 October 2026)
- OpenAI: https://openai.com/chatgpt/pricing/ ; https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes ; https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6950777-what-is-chatgpt-plus
- Anthropic: https://claude.com/pricing
- Google: https://one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans/ ; https://gemini.google/subscriptions/ ; https://gemini.google/release-notes/ ; https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-4-argon/
- xAI: https://x.ai/pricing ; https://x.ai/grok ; https://x.ai/news/grok-4-7
