Comparisons
AI chat assistants compared
Five AI chat assistants, scored uniformly on the same seven criteria - with a source link and date for every entry, so you can verify the numbers yourself. Switch between the individual and business perspective at the top of the table. At the bottom you'll find scenario recommendations instead of a single "winner": which tool fits depends on your specific situation.
A comparison of AI chat assistants weighs tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and Microsoft Copilot against uniform, independent criteria - from value for money to privacy to integration depth.
How we score →At a glance
Calculated automatically from the scores below - the provider highlighted in green has the highest average score across all criteria, not an editorial pick. Toggle providers in the legend on or off.
Last data review: 08/17/2026
Could not be verified automatically in the last run: ChatGPT, Gemini - those figures date from 07/05/2026.
Click a row for strengths, weaknesses, and our take.
| Tool | Price | Value for money | Privacy & GDPR | Performance & context window | German-language quality | Integrations & API | Multimodality | Business admin & compliance | Ideal for | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ChatGPT OpenAI | Free · Plus $20/month · Business from ~$20/user/month | 4 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 5 of 5 | Newcomers with no prior experience +1 | |
Claude Anthropic | Free · Pro $20/month · Team from $20/user/month | 4 of 5 | 2 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 1 of 5 | 4 of 5 | Demanding writing, analysis, and coding +1 | |
Gemini | Free · AI Plus €19.99/month · AI Pro €29.99/month · Workspace Business from ~€6.80/user/month | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 5 of 5 | Already living in the Google ecosystem (Gmail, Docs, Drive) +1 | |
Grok xAI | Free · SuperGrok ~$30/month · API from $1/M input tokens | 3 of 5 | 2 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 2 of 5 | Current social-media/trend data matters to you +1 | |
Microsoft Copilot Microsoft | Free · Microsoft 365 Premium ~€22/month · Business add-on from ~€15.60/user/month | 3 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 2 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 5 of 5 | Individuals with an existing Microsoft 365 subscription +1 | |
Which tool fits you?
Solo founder or small team with no prior experience
ChatGPT
Highest brand recognition, broadest ecosystem, easiest entry point with no prior knowledge needed.
Current web and social-media data matters
Grok
The only tool with privileged real-time access to public X data.
Key takeaways
- There's no single best tool - ChatGPT has the largest ecosystem, Gemini the largest context window (up to 1-2M tokens), Claude the strongest model performance, Microsoft Copilot the deepest Office integration.
- EU data residency varies widely: Microsoft Copilot (EU Data Boundary) and Google Workspace (selectable EU regions) are strongest here; Claude and Grok currently offer no guaranteed EU data residency.
- Grok is the only tool in this comparison without publicly documented security certifications (SOC 2/ISO 27001) - a real gap versus the other four vendors.
- If you're already on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, Gemini or Copilot respectively benefit most from native integration into tools you already use.
- All five vendors offer a free tier; paid individual plans range from roughly $20-30/month.
→ How to get more out of any of these tools: What makes a good prompt?
Frequently asked questions
Which AI chat assistant is the best?
There's no single winner - ChatGPT has the largest ecosystem, Gemini the largest context window, Claude the strongest model performance, Microsoft Copilot the deepest Office integration. Which tool fits depends on your use case - see the scenario recommendations above the table.
Which AI chat assistant is best for businesses with strict privacy requirements?
Microsoft Copilot's EU Data Boundary offers the most extensively documented EU data residency (with exceptions for web search and embedded Anthropic models), and Google Gemini offers selectable EU regions on Workspace plans. Claude and Grok currently have no guaranteed EU data residency.
What do ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and Microsoft Copilot cost?
All five tools offer a free tier. Individual paid plans range from roughly $20-30/month (ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, Gemini AI Pro, Grok SuperGrok); Microsoft 365 Copilot costs around $22/month on top of an existing 365 license. Business/team plans typically start around $15-20 per user/month.
Which AI chat assistant has the largest context window?
Gemini offers up to 1-2M tokens of context, already on its regular paid plans - useful for long documents or extensive research in a single request. Worth knowing: Claude is often quoted at 1M tokens too, but that applies only to the API. On the chat subscriptions (Free, Pro, Max), Anthropic's pricing page states 200,000 tokens.