ChatGPT vs Microsoft 365 Copilot: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of ChatGPT and Microsoft 365 Copilot to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
ChatGPT
7.2/10
OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for writing, research, coding, image creation and agent tasks, sold in individual, team and enterprise plans.
Microsoft 365 Copilot
6.6/10
An AI assistant built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams that drafts, summarizes and analyzes work content from an organization's Microsoft 365 data.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | M Microsoft 365 Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7.2/10 | 6.6/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 4/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Ease of Use | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Output Quality | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $8/mo Go | $25/user/mo Microsoft 365 Copilot Business |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $250/mo Business Standard | $252/mo Microsoft 365 Copilot Business |
| Features | ||
| AI Agents | ||
| Data Analysis | ||
| Enterprise Controls | ||
| Knowledge Base Search | ||
| Text Generation | ||
| API Access | Not listed | |
| Chatbots | Not listed | |
| Code Generation | Not listed | |
| Image Generation | Not listed | |
| Transcription | Not listed | |
| Voice and Audio | Not listed | |
ChatGPT vs Microsoft 365 Copilot cost by team size
ChatGPT costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | ChatGPT | Microsoft 365 Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree | $25/moMicrosoft 365 Copilot Business |
| 5 users | $125/moBusiness Standard | $126/moMicrosoft 365 Copilot Business |
| 10 users | $250/moBusiness Standard | $252/moMicrosoft 365 Copilot Business |
| 25 users | $625/moBusiness Standard | $630/moMicrosoft 365 Copilot Business |
| 50 users | $1,250/moBusiness Standard | $1,260/moMicrosoft 365 Copilot Business |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose ChatGPT
- Has a free plan (Microsoft 365 Copilot does not)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: $250/mo vs $252/mo
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for freelancers (9/10 vs 3/10)
MWhy choose Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Higher Integration score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Higher Analytics score (6/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (9/10 vs 7/10)
Pros & Cons
ChatGPT
Pros
- Covers chat, deep research, image generation, voice and coding in a single subscription.
- Has a wide price range, from an $8 Go plan to Business seats at $20 per user on annual billing.
- Business data is not used for training, and Business includes SAML SSO and MFA.
- Standard and Premium seats can be mixed so heavy users get more capacity without upgrading everyone.
- Pro tiers bundle monthly API credits that developers can use.
Cons
- Usage caps vary by plan, change often, and are a frequent complaint from heavy users.
- Users report confident hallucinations and context loss in long threads.
- SCIM, role-based access and data residency require Enterprise through sales.
- Plus and individual plans have no annual billing discount.
- API usage is billed separately from all ChatGPT subscriptions.
MMicrosoft 365 Copilot
Pros
- Works directly inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, so users don't need to switch to a separate tool.
- Grounds answers in the organization's own email, SharePoint and OneDrive data, and respects the tenant's existing security and compliance settings.
- Teams meeting summaries with action items save time for meeting-heavy teams.
- Copilot Business brought the price for organizations with up to 300 users down to $21 from $30 while keeping the same functionality.
Cons
- It is an add-on, so the per-user cost comes on top of the base Microsoft 365 license.
- Reviewers report inconsistent output quality across the Office apps.
- Some users report daily usage or message limits.
- Overlapping product names (Copilot, Copilot Pro, Copilot Business) have led buyers to purchase the wrong tier.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
ChatGPT scores higher on our AI Software criteria: 7.2/10 against 6.6/10 for Microsoft 365 Copilot. The largest gap is in Cost: 7/10 for ChatGPT and 4/10 for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
ChatGPT costs less for 10 users: about $250/mo on its Business Standard plan, against about $252/mo on its Microsoft 365 Copilot Business plan for Microsoft 365 Copilot, billed monthly.
ChatGPT has a free plan; Microsoft 365 Copilot does not list one.
ChatGPT is the better fit for freelancers: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 3/10 for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
