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Technical Research Brief • Dataset verified 2026-10-17

OpenAI vs Anthropic Subscriptions: October 2026 Tiers Compared

Both labs now sell a ladder of consumer and team subscriptions, and both include a first-party coding agent: Codex for OpenAI, Claude Code for Anthropic. The useful comparison is not the headline price but the included model access, the credit or usage system, and how much coding capacity each seat actually buys.

Cheapest Codex seat
ChatGPT Plus $20
Expanded Codex usage on GPT-6 models
Cheapest Claude Code seat
Claude Pro $20
$16.67/mo billed annually
Top individual tiers
$200 – $500
Claude Max 20x vs ChatGPT Pro 200/500

ChatGPT and Claude tiers

Sources checked 2026-10-17
PlanMonthlyAnnual / moIncluded usage
ChatGPT Free
OpenAI		Free—Unlimited text chats subject to abuse guardrails; limited tools
ChatGPT Go
OpenAI		$8/mo$8/moMore messages, uploads, image creation and memory than Free
ChatGPT Plus
OpenAI		$20/mo—Expanded Codex, deep research, projects and advanced reasoning
ChatGPT Pro 100
OpenAI		$100/mo—5x Plus usage; longer Codex and ChatGPT Work sessions
ChatGPT Pro 200
OpenAI		$200/mo—20x Plus usage; maximum deep research, memory and context
ChatGPT Pro 500
OpenAI		$500/mo—25x Plus usage; Ultrafast responses on eligible tiers
ChatGPT Business Standard
OpenAI		$25/mo$20/moPer-seat access with admin console and zero training on business data

Claude tiers

Sources checked 2026-10-17
PlanMonthlyAnnual / moIncluded usage
Claude Free
Anthropic		Free—Daily chat limits; up to 1M context on supported models
Claude Pro
Anthropic		$20/mo$16.67/mo5x free-tier usage; Claude Code included; 1M context on supported models
Claude Max 5x
Anthropic		$100/mo—5x Pro usage; $100/mo API credits; priority access at high traffic
Claude Max 20x
Anthropic		$200/mo—20x Pro usage; $200/mo API credits; priority access
Claude Team Standard
Anthropic		$25/mo$20/moPer-seat usage with central billing and collaboration
Claude Team Premium
Anthropic		$125/mo$100/moHigher per-seat usage than Team Standard; all Team controls

How to choose

  • If you want the cheapest coding agent: Claude Pro at $20/month (or $16.67 billed annually) includes Claude Code, and Claude Sonnet 5.5 is one of the strongest coding models per dollar in our dataset. ChatGPT Plus at $20 includes Codex on GPT-6 models but no annual discount.
  • If you hit limits constantly: Claude Max 5x at $100 gives five times Pro usage plus $100/month in API credits; the $200 Max 20x gives twenty times Pro usage and $200/month in API credits. On the OpenAI side, Pro 100/200/500 correspond to roughly 5x, 20x and 25x Plus usage.
  • If you are buying for a team: Claude Team Standard is $25/seat monthly or $20 annual with a five-seat minimum; Team Premium is $125/seat monthly or $100 annual. ChatGPT Business Standard is $25/seat monthly or $20 annual with a two-seat minimum and a $100/seat premium option for five times the usage.
  • If you need both: many heavy users run one Claude plan and one OpenAI plan rather than choosing, because each lab's agent has different strengths on a real repository.

Coding agents in the subscription

Anthropic ships Claude Code inside paid Claude plans, including the $20 Pro tier. OpenAI ships Codex inside ChatGPT plans, with free and Go plans limited and Plus and above expanded. Both are terminal-first agents that also run in the desktop app and IDE extensions, and both now support long-running tasks with tool use.

Model access differs at the top end. Claude Max exposes Opus 5.5 and Fable 5.1 with priority access; ChatGPT Pro exposes GPT-6 Astra at expanded limits and the $500 tier adds Ultrafast responses. Match the tier to the model you actually need rather than to the headline usage multiplier.

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