As chatbots become more advanced, sometimes the most sophisticated features are not available within the free tier. The latest updates and newest models often come to subscribers first, which leaves users wondering if the extras are worth it. Premium subscriptions for ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro are about the same price, but knowing what you’re getting when you hand over your credit card can help determine which one is best for you.
To find out, I ran both AIs through seven identical prompts, each designed to push one of their flagship features — from Artifacts and Skills to Canvas and Code Interpreter. Here’s who came out on top in this Claude Pro vs ChatGPT Plus subscription showdown.
1. Artifacts vs Canvas: App building
Prompt: “Build me a simple budgeting app that tracks expenses by category, with editable fields and a running total.”
ChatGPT Plus gives you access to GPT-4o, which includes: Code Interpreter / Advanced Data Analysis (runs Python code right inside ChatGPT)
Claude Pro allows users to experience advanced tools like Claude Code (the terminal/IDE-integrated coding agent), which are not available in the free plan.
Winner: Claude Pro wins for an exceptionally useful app that included example expenses to immediately highlight the features. While both chatbots delivered a serviceable app, Claude Pro’s is more useful and immediately available in Artifacts. That's in contrast to ChatGPT Plus, which would require GitHub integration.
2. Skills vs custom GPTs: Building reusable expertise
Prompt: “Create a reusable workflow for writing press releases in my tone — include structure, formatting and tone rules.”
ChatGPT Plus has a custom GPT template for users to create reusable GPTs that allow the chatbot to remember aspects of writing like tone and pacing.
Claude Pro now offers Skills, which allow users to store instructions such as tone, structure and any pertinent information that a project might need. Claude automatically knows when to use the Skill. In this case, I created a Skill (located in the Settings) for future use.
Winner: Claude Pro makes it so easy to pack all your customized requests into a single template to reuse again. Because it detects context and applies the Skill automatically, there’s a lot less set up, which helps manage flow.
3. Projects vs Projects: Managing a long-term task
Prompt: “Create a project called ‘Holiday Marketing Plan.’ Store this file, remember my brand voice, and track all future edits.”
ChatGPT Plus lets you group everything in one place called Projects for long-running tasks. You can put chats, files and custom instructions there for future reference.
Claude Pro has a dedicated workspace called Projects inside Claude where you can focus on a specific task, topic or initiative. Within that space you can upload documents, files and spreadsheets that the AI can refer to as guidelines.
Winner: ChatGPT Plus offers a more intuitive Projects space that better understands context and isn’t just a place to hold files. It naturally feels more useful with memory.
4. Coding & workflows: Debugging across files
Prompt: “Find the bug in this React app and fix the syntax error across all components.”
ChatGPT Plus fixed the syntax but missed cross-file dependencies. It worked best when I fed one file at a time.
Claude Pro understood all three uploaded files at once and fixed the broken import chain while explaining each change.
Winner: Claude Pro wins for superior long-form reasoning for codebases. Claude proves once again to be the better coder and debugger.
5. Creativity & multimodality: Visual storytelling
Prompt: “Write a bedtime story about a robot who learns to dream — then create a matching cover image.”
ChatGPT Plus delivered a warm, Pixar-style story and generated a beautiful image of the robot lying in bed with stars overhead.
Claude Pro wrote a lyrical, deeply emotional story, but the image generation was pretty pathetic.
Winner: ChatGPT Plus wins for multimedia creation that is still unmatched.
6. Reasoning & tone: Explaining complex ideas
Prompt: “Explain the concept of quantum entanglement in simple language — but make it sound like a bedtime story.”
ChatGPT Plus is ambiguous when it comes to how many queries users get per day. Numbers vary according to model, but even as a power user, I have never experienced a limit. That said, this query came after lots of use and the chatbot delivered a clear and concise explanation with a fun bedtime vibe.
Claude Pro gives a clearer baseline for short conversations at least 45 messages every 5 hours, but even as a power user with Claude, I haven’t run into a limit. Claude tends to offer a lot in one query, even with follow-ups, which was the case with this prompt, too. The chatbot wove the complex ideas in the prompt into an actual narrative, making physics surprisingly poetic.
Winner: Claude Pro wins for emotionally intelligent storytelling, although heavy users might run into issues with limits sooner than if they were using ChatGPT Plus.
7. Real-world use: Integrated tasks
Prompt: “Find the latest news about multimodal AI, summarize the key points, and format them for a LinkedIn post.”
ChatGPT Plus accessed real-time web results and created a polished, share-ready post. The real-time search is still useful even though ChatGPT Atlas brings ChatGPT to the browser.
Claude Pro is less useful when it comes to real-time searches. It provided sources, but overall the query did not seem as fleshed out as ChatGPT.
Winner: ChatGPT Plus wins for its superior live search capabilities.
Overall winner: Claude Pro
After seven rounds, Claude Pro proved to be the best overall pick, especially if you're building things, coding, designing and prototyping. Its reasoning is deeper, its multi-file debugging is superior and its ability to understand context across long conversations gives it an edge for serious work. Skills are also genuinely useful for anyone doing repetitive creative or analytical tasks.
ChatGPT Plus wins where Claude can't compete. Real-time web search is actually useful, image generation is polished and fast, and its Projects feature feels more intuitive for long-running collaborations. If you're doing multimedia work or need live information, this is your subscription.
If you have to choose just one subscription, ask yourself: am I optimizing for depth of reasoning or breadth of tools? Claude Pro doubles down on thinking hard. ChatGPT Plus thinks faster and reaches farther. Either way, you're not wasting $20. You're just picking which tool supports the focus that matters most to you.
Let me know in the comments if you subscribe to either one.
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