ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot — What One Person Actually Needs
Based on public prices as of 24 September 2026, one person running several chat subscriptions pays about 80 dollars a month. If only the writing job overlaps, one is enough. Copilot is separate when Microsoft files are involved.
- AI tools
- pricing
- ChatGPT
- Copilot
Reference date: 24 September 2026. Amounts are public prices in US dollars. Korean card payments, VAT, annual discounts and limited-time promotions take precedence over this table on each checkout screen. This compares individual subscriptions only.
What this covers
This is for the case where you write, read documents and ask questions, and want to know whether to pay for each of the four below. It excludes API usage pricing, team minimums and GitHub Copilot. GitHub Copilot is a code editor subscription and a different product from Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Personal, single-seat prices published in September 2026:
| Product | Monthly price | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | $20 | General conversation, files, voice |
| Claude Pro | $20 ($17 monthly equivalent on annual billing) | Long documents, shares usage with the same company's code tools |
| Google AI Pro | $19.99 | Gemini with Google storage and documents |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | $19.99 | Consumer Microsoft 365 with Copilot included |
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business for company files is not a single add-on. You need an existing Microsoft 365 business plan, and in September 2026 the annual list price is about $21 per user per month, with a first-year promotion of $18 per month through 31 December 2026, and $25.20 on a monthly plan. That money sits on top of the office plan.
The formula
Monthly overlap = the sum of the monthly prices of the subscriptions you actually keep on
If two subscriptions do the same job, one of them is overlap. If all you do is write, ask and summarise, Plus, Pro and AI Pro are the same job. AI Pro remains if your files live only in Google, Copilot if your work lives inside Word, Excel and Outlook, and Claude remains if you handle long documents end to end with one vendor.
Examples
Paying monthly for all four personal products is 20 + 20 + 19.99 + 19.99 = $79.98. If you only write and files live on one side, one plan around $20 is enough. If you also handle office files, one chat plan ($20) plus Microsoft 365 Premium ($19.99) is $39.99. Add Copilot Business and the base office charge comes back into the calculation. Three chat subscriptions plus Copilot at $79.98 is a structure that buys the same question four times.
Sources
Comparison table transcribed from each vendor's pricing pages on 23–24 September 2026. ChatGPT Plus $20, Claude Pro $20 ($17 monthly equivalent annually), Google AI Pro $19.99, Microsoft 365 Premium $19.99, Microsoft 365 Copilot Business $21 annually and $18 in the first-year promotion (1 July – 31 December 2026, existing Business customers, annual commitment). The currency and tax shown on the checkout screen is the final amount.