ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude: which AI to use for each task

You open your phone to get help with a difficult email and freeze before typing: do I use ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude? All three answer almost anything, have a free version and charge around $20 a month for the main plan. Choosing at random costs time, or money.

This guide compares ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude task by task: writing, programming, research, analyzing spreadsheets, creating images and voice conversation. At the end, you'll have the price of each plan, what the free version delivers and a recommendation for your profile.

Quick summary: the answer in 30 seconds. Claude is the most consistent for text and code, but doesn't generate photos. Gemini delivers more for the same price: storage, strong images and integration with Gmail, Docs and Chrome. ChatGPT is the most versatile and best at executing tasks on the web for you. When in doubt, start with the free version of whichever fits your routine and only subscribe when you hit the limit.

Index

• ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude: who's who
• Which is better for writing?
• Which is better for programming?
• Which searches better and analyzes spreadsheets and PDFs?
• Which creates images and converses by voice?
• How much does each cost and what does the free plan deliver?
• Which to subscribe to: recommendation by profile
• Frequently asked questions

ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude: who's who

These are three conversational assistants: ChatGPT is from OpenAI, Gemini is from Google and Claude is from Anthropic. ChatGPT is the most used in the world, Gemini comes second, pulled by Google products, and Claude is the smallest of the three, but has the largest share of paying users.

Behind each one is a model, the engine trained to understand and generate text; the application is the car around that engine. Our artificial intelligence guide explains how these models learn.

Each company provides a lighter model in the free plan and a stronger one in the paid plan (checked on 10/27/2026):

• ChatGPT: free with GPT-6 Luna; Plus unlocks GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra.
• Claude: free with Sonnet and Haiku; Pro unlocks Opus.
• Gemini: free with Flash-Lite; Google AI Pro unlocks Gemini 4 Argon.

According to a Sensor Tower estimate published by TechCrunch, at the end of May ChatGPT had 46.4% of assistant app users, Gemini 27.7% and Claude 10.3%. The same research indicates that 13% of Claude users pay for a subscription, the highest rate among assistants.

Which is better for writing?

For everyday text, Claude and Gemini sound more natural, and ChatGPT is best at adjusting tone to what you ask for. For long texts, Claude; for quick messages, Gemini.

In ZDNET's test between ChatGPT and Claude, conducted in April with free versions and models prior to the current ones, Claude won in writing, but took minutes to respond to some requests. In the comparison between ChatGPT Plus and Gemini Pro, also from April, Gemini sounded more human in an apology message to a friend.

CNET highlights ChatGPT precisely for getting the tone right, and the Ars Technica test, from January, gave it the win in creative writing and humor.

Which is better for programming?

Claude is the reference for programming, mainly because of Claude Code, included in all paid plans. For small projects, however, a well-written request matters more than the brand.

Claude Code is a programming assistant: instead of just suggesting code in conversation, it reads the project, writes the files and fixes errors directly on the programmer's computer. OpenAI has Codex, which the free plan unlocks with a limit, and Google has Jules and Antigravity.

CNET named Claude the best assistant of 2026 and praised the speed with which it generates code, even in the free version. ZDNET used ChatGPT Plus's Codex to contain a fake registration attack on a server, within the $20 monthly budget.

The $20 plans have usage caps. Those who program all day hit it and end up on plans of $100 per month or more, five times the main plan.

Best AI for programming, if you're not a programmer

Creating an app just by talking to the AI has a name: vibe coding (programming "by vibe," describing what you want instead of writing the code). It's like ordering a renovation from a contractor: the clearer the request, the better the work.

In March, CNET asked all three for the same e-book reader, which reads the text aloud and marks the sentence being read. All three delivered a working app, and the reporter noticed no performance difference when the request was well detailed.

What changes is comfort: Claude shows a preview of the app in the conversation itself.

Which searches better and analyzes spreadsheets and PDFs?

In tests, Gemini made fewer factual errors than ChatGPT, and Google AI Pro accepts up to 1,500 pages of files at once. All three search the web, cite sources and have a deep research mode that generates reports, but in Claude this mode only exists in paid plans.

This mode, Deep Research, works like an intern who reads dozens of sites and comes back with a report. The most important thing, however, is in the errors. At Ars Technica, ChatGPT invented the year a journalist joined the magazine, while Gemini got it right and indicated the sources. At ZDNET, ChatGPT told someone to register a property in the wrong county. None of the three is free from this, and we explain why in why AI invents things.

In one sentence: distrust any number the AI brings and open the source.

For spreadsheets, ChatGPT Plus has extensions for Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Google Sheets. Claude returns the spreadsheet or document ready to download in all plans, and Pro adds Claude for Microsoft 365. Google AI Pro works inside Gmail and Docs and builds charts from uploaded files.

Which creates images and converses by voice?

In images, Gemini and ChatGPT compete for the top, and Claude is left out, because it doesn't generate photos or illustrations. In voice, ChatGPT and Gemini converse in real time already in the free plan. Claude also has voice mode, but was the one that stumbled most in tests.

Gemini uses Nano Banana, which CNET called the best image generator in the category. In a ZDNET test from April that transformed a selfie into a professional photo, ChatGPT kept the person's face, while Gemini worked on the lighting and changed the face. Claude, according to Anthropic's help center, creates diagrams, charts and interactive pages, not photos.

In voice, the ZDNET reporter asked in April, speaking with an accent, for a substitute for a difficult-to-pronounce ingredient. ChatGPT understood on the first try; Claude froze. Between ChatGPT and Gemini it was a tie.

And the agents that do tasks for you?

An agent is AI that, instead of just responding, acts: opens websites, fills out forms and gets to the payment screen. In ZDNET's April test, ChatGPT's agent mode took a theme park ticket purchase to the payment screen. Gemini only achieved the same using the Chrome browser. Claude Pro has Claude in Chrome, with the same idea.

How much does each cost and what does the free plan deliver?

The main plan for all three costs around $20 per month; in Brazil, Google AI Pro costs R$96.99 (in Brazilian reais). ChatGPT and Google have a cheaper middle tier, Claude doesn't. Heavy-use plans start at $100 per month.

Prices from the official pages of OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, checked on 10/27/2026. OpenAI and Anthropic show values in dollars; Google's in reais comes from the Brazilian page.

What matters in each free version:

• ChatGPT: text unlocked, but files, images, voice and deep research are limited.
• Gemini: includes images, deep research, voice and Gemini Notebook, a notebook where you upload your PDFs and chat only about them.
• Claude: web search, memory (remembers what you told it before), file creation and voice, without Claude Code and with up to five projects (folders of files and instructions by subject). The limit renews every five hours, and Pro gives at least five times more.

Google AI Pro has a trump card: 5 TB of storage for Gmail, Drive and Photos, more than 300 times the 15 GB of the free version. To get the most without paying anything, see our guide to free Google AI.

Which to subscribe to: recommendation by profile

Nobody needs all three. Choose by what you do most and by the ecosystem where you already live: Gmail and Android call for Gemini, text and code call for Claude, and a bit of everything calls for ChatGPT.

Frequently asked questions

Claude or ChatGPT: which is better?

Depends on the task. Claude writes and programs with more consistency; ChatGPT generates images, has more reliable voice and more mature agents.

ChatGPT vs Claude: which writes better?

In American tests, conducted in English, Claude won in naturalness and ChatGPT in tone adjustment. Ask both for the same text and compare: the best result usually comes from revising the first version.

Can you use ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude for free?

Yes, all three have a permanent free plan, with lighter models and usage limits. For occasional use, it's enough.

Which takes better care of my data?

None stands out. ChatGPT and Claude show on the pricing page the option not to use your conversations in training; Google doesn't detail this on the plans page. In any of them, don't paste passwords or health data.

Is Gemini better than ChatGPT?

In research, tests favored Gemini, which invented fewer facts; in creative writing and agents, ChatGPT.

To close

There is no best AI, there is the best AI for what you do today. Choose one, use the free version with your real tasks and let the limit show when it's time to subscribe.