beginner 15 min read Feb 24, 2026

Platform Breakdown: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and More

Detailed comparison of major AI platforms including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and alternatives. Find the right tool for your needs.

#platforms #comparison #chatgpt #claude #gemini

The Platform Breakdown

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The three major platforms - ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini - are all excellent. Their flagship models are so close in capability that “which one is best” has become the wrong question. The benchmarks change weekly, and whoever is leading on any given metric is likely to be overtaken within months.

The better questions are: Which one fits how you already work? Which integrates with the tools you use? And what are you actually trying to do?

For a complete framework on choosing between AI tools, see How to Think About AI Tools.

That’s what this section is designed to help you figure out. It also covers some alternatives worth knowing about - including options that cost significantly less. For guidance on what’s worth paying for, see Cost Management & ROI.

The Three Major Platforms {#major-platforms}

ChatGPT (OpenAI) {#chatgpt}

ChatGPT is the most widely used AI in the world, and that scale has practical consequences: more third-party tools connect to it, more tutorials exist for it, and if you want to share workflows or prompts with colleagues, there’s a good chance they’re already on it. The ecosystem around ChatGPT is the most mature.

The underlying model (GPT-5.2 as of February 2026) handles writing, analysis, coding, research, and image generation well. The platform has also moved decisively into agentic territory - ChatGPT can connect to your Google account, browse the web, generate images, execute code, and run multi-step tasks through its agent mode, all within the same conversation. OpenAI also offers Codex, a terminal-based coding agent available as both a CLI and a Mac app, for more serious development work (see Building Apps with AI for a comparison of coding tools).

Where it fits best: General-purpose daily use. People who want a single tool that handles a wide range of tasks. Teams where having a common platform matters.

Understanding the models: OpenAI’s GPT-5.2 family has three tiers. GPT-5.2 Instant is the fast, everyday version - good for most tasks. GPT-5.2 Thinking is the reasoning model: it takes longer to respond but works through complex problems step by step, making it meaningfully better for analysis, coding, and anything multi-step. GPT-5.2 Pro is the most powerful variant, reserved for the highest subscription tier. In practice: Instant for quick tasks, Thinking when you need depth. To get the most out of any model, see Prompt Engineering: The Deep Dive.

Pricing:

  • Free: GPT-5.2 access, limited to roughly 10 messages per 5 hours before dropping to a lighter model
  • Go ($8/month): Unlimited standard model, no reasoning or video features - good for light daily use without the free tier’s message caps
  • Plus ($20/month): Reasoning model access, higher message limits, image generation, Sora video (limited), Codex coding agent - where most users should start
  • Pro ($200/month): Unlimited access to the most capable model variant - for very heavy users only

See ChatGPT pricing for current plan details and any updates.

Worth knowing: As of February 13, 2026, OpenAI retired GPT-4o and older models from ChatGPT. Everything now runs on the GPT-5.2 family.

Claude (Anthropic) {#claude}

Claude’s strengths show up most clearly on tasks that require sustained attention to nuance - long documents, complex instructions, careful editing, extended reasoning. Its context window (200K tokens standard, with 1M token beta at higher tiers) means it can hold more of a large document or codebase in its head at once than most platforms.

Claude is also particularly strong for agentic coding. Claude Code - included with Pro and Max - is a terminal-based coding agent that can write code, run it, catch and fix errors, and iterate on an entire project autonomously (covered in Agentic AI and Building Apps with AI).

The MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration is Claude’s other notable differentiator. It connects natively to Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Slack, Asana, Figma, and 50+ other tools through an open standard - meaning if you want AI working directly with your actual data rather than in a chat vacuum, Claude’s integration story is the deepest.

Where it fits best: Heavy writing and document work. Coding and technical projects. Anyone who wants to connect AI directly to their tools and workflows.

Understanding the models: Anthropic’s model family has three tiers. Haiku is lightweight and fast - good for simple, quick tasks. Sonnet is the everyday workhorse: capable, fast enough for regular use, and what most people will use most of the time. Opus is the most powerful model, built for the hardest tasks - complex reasoning, long documents, demanding coding work. The free tier gives you Sonnet with limits. Pro unlocks Opus. Think of it as economy, business, and first class - Sonnet handles most things well, Opus is there when you need it.

Pricing:

  • Free: Limited Sonnet access, roughly 15 messages per 5-hour window
  • Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually): 5x usage vs free, Opus model access, Google Workspace integration, extended thinking, Claude Code, remote MCP connectors
  • Max $100/month: 5x Pro usage, full Opus 4.6 with 1M token context window, agent teams for parallel tasks
  • Max $200/month: 20x Pro usage - for people who rely on Claude as a primary work tool throughout the day

See Claude pricing for current plan details and any updates.

Google Gemini {#gemini}

Gemini’s biggest advantage is not the model - it’s where the model lives. If your work already happens in Google Workspace, Gemini shows up as a sidebar inside Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar, and Meet. You don’t go to a separate tool; it’s just already there when you open a document. For people embedded in Google Workspace, that ambient presence changes how AI actually gets used day to day.

The model itself (Gemini 3.1 Pro as of February 2026) is excellent and competitive with the other flagship models. Its context window - 1 million tokens standard - is the largest of the three platforms, making it a strong choice for processing very large documents. On the coding side, Google offers its own CLI and Antigravity, an agentic development platform (covered in Agentic AI).

Where it fits best: People and teams who live in Google Workspace. Anyone processing very large documents. Students (verified students get a free year of the Pro plan).

Understanding the models: Google’s Gemini family also runs in tiers. Gemini Flash is the fast, lightweight model - handles everyday tasks efficiently and is what the free tier defaults to. Gemini Pro is the full-power model, built for complex reasoning, long documents, and demanding work. Think of Flash as optimized for speed and cost, Pro as optimized for capability. Most of the time Flash is plenty; Pro is there when the task genuinely needs it.

Pricing:

  • Free: Gemini 3 Flash, limited Gemini 3.1 Pro access, basic features
  • AI Plus ($13.99/month): Expanded access plus 200GB Google storage - worth considering if you need the storage anyway
  • AI Pro ($19.99/month): Full Gemini 3.1 Pro access, Deep Research, 1M token context, deeper Workspace integration
  • AI Ultra ($249.99/month): Highest access to all models and agentic features

See Google’s AI subscription plans for current plan details and any updates.

Worth knowing: Google offers a first-month free trial on AI Pro. Verified college students get a full year free.

Where to Start {#where-to-start}

If you have no strong reason to pick otherwise, start with whichever platform is already embedded in tools you use. Gemini if you’re in Google Workspace. Copilot if you’re in Microsoft 365 (see AI Already In Your Tools for details). ChatGPT or Claude if you’re coming in fresh.

If you’re not sure, start free. All three have genuinely useful free tiers. Use each for a week before committing to anything.

The one recommendation worth making: don’t subscribe to all three at once. Pick one, learn it well, and add a second only when you have a clear reason - a specific task the first one handles poorly, or a tool integration the first one doesn’t support. Two subscriptions at $20/month is a reasonable ceiling for most individual users. For a deeper framework on AI spending and ROI, see Cost Management & ROI.

Other Platforms Worth Knowing

The conversation doesn’t end with the big three. Depending on your use case and budget, these alternatives are worth considering.

Grok (xAI) {#grok}

Grok is xAI’s model, built to be deeply integrated with X (formerly Twitter). Its defining feature is real-time access to X data and trending topics - making it genuinely useful for anyone whose work involves monitoring social media, current conversations, or news as it breaks. The model (Grok 4) is competitive with the other flagships on benchmarks, and its DeepSearch feature is well-regarded for quick research tasks.

The tradeoff: at $30/month for SuperGrok, it’s 50% more expensive than ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro, and its ecosystem of integrations is thinner. It makes the most sense as a second tool for people already embedded in X, not as a primary platform.

  • Free: Limited access through grok.com or X
  • SuperGrok ($30/month or $300/year): Full Grok 4 access, DeepSearch, image generation, higher limits
  • SuperGrok Heavy ($300/month): For intensive professional use

Note: X Premium+ subscribers get 50% off SuperGrok, making the combined cost more competitive if you’re already paying for X.

Chinese Models: DeepSeek, Minimax, GLM, Qwen, and Others {#chinese-models}

This is where cost becomes a genuine differentiator.

Starting with DeepSeek’s R1 release in January 2025 - which briefly made it the most-downloaded app in the US App Store and triggered a sell-off in tech stocks - Chinese AI labs have repeatedly released models that match or approach frontier performance at a fraction of the price. DeepSeek V3.2, Minimax M2.5, GLM-5, and Alibaba’s Qwen3.5 are all competitive with Western flagship models on key benchmarks, and their API pricing can be dramatically cheaper.

For a non-technical reader, the most accessible entry point is DeepSeek’s chat interface, which is free and surprisingly capable. For developers or cost-conscious power users accessing via API, the price difference can be substantial - sometimes an order of magnitude cheaper per token than GPT-5 or Claude.

What the cost advantage actually means in practice: If you’re doing high-volume work - processing large batches of documents, running many repetitive tasks, building something that calls the AI frequently - Chinese models can reduce costs dramatically. For everyday chat use, the savings matter less since you’re on a flat subscription anyway.

What to be aware of:

Data and privacy considerations are real. These models are operated by Chinese companies and subject to Chinese law. For a detailed walkthrough of privacy settings across all major platforms, see Privacy & Security.

For sensitive professional or personal data, the same caution you’d apply to any third-party service applies here - and many enterprise users will want to stick with US-based providers for compliance reasons. See Privacy & Security for guidance on what not to share with AI tools.

There’s also an active controversy as of February 2026: Anthropic has alleged that DeepSeek, Minimax, and Moonshot AI trained their models using outputs from Claude through fraudulent accounts - a practice called distillation. OpenAI made similar allegations about its own models earlier in the month. The companies named have not publicly responded. This is a live dispute with no resolution yet, and it’s worth being aware of as you evaluate these tools.

None of this means these models aren’t useful. For cost-sensitive use cases with non-sensitive data, they’re worth knowing about. Just go in with clear eyes.

Starting points:

  • DeepSeek: chat.deepseek.com (free chat), or API access at api.deepseek.com
  • Qwen: Available via Alibaba Cloud and various API platforms
  • GLM: via Z.ai (formerly Zhipu AI)
  • Minimax: via minimax.io
  • All of the above: available through aggregator platforms like OpenRouter, which lets you access many models through a single API

A Note on Pricing Stability {#pricing-stability}

Pricing and plan structures in this space shift frequently. The figures above were verified in February 2026 but should be checked before subscribing. Each platform’s pricing page is the source of truth: chatgpt.com/pricing, claude.com/pricing, Google’s AI subscription plans, and x.ai/grok.