Quick answer
There is no winner: ChatGPT (OpenAI) and Gemini (Google) are both general AI assistants. If you already pay for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, first check which assistant that plan includes. As of October 2026, ChatGPT Plus lists $20/month and Google AI Pro lists $19.99/month; team and business plans are priced per seat.
Key takeaways
- No winner: both are general assistants, and this page ranks neither. The right first step is to check which assistant your current Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 plan already includes.
- Prices as of October 2026, from each vendor's page: ChatGPT Plus $20/month, Google AI Pro $19.99/month; team plans are charged per seat (ChatGPT Business Standard $25 per user per month billed monthly).
- Data settings differ by plan, not just by vendor. OpenAI says it may use content from its individual services to train its models unless you opt out, and does not use ChatGPT Business content by default. Google ties Gemini training to its Keep Activity setting on personal accounts.
- Both document connections to your files. OpenAI's help page lists Google Drive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams and Outlook apps; Google's pages list Gemini in the side panel of Gmail and Docs on Workspace plans and connectors on Gemini Enterprise.
- Rule of thumb: check what your Google or Microsoft plan already includes from that vendor's own page, then try both assistants on one task from your own week.
Should a small business use ChatGPT or Gemini?
There is no winner: ChatGPT (from OpenAI) and Gemini (from Google) are both general AI assistants, and which one fits depends on where your work already lives. If you pay for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, your first step is to check which assistant that plan already includes, using that vendor's own page.
This page compares only what each vendor publishes: plans, prices, data settings and app connections, all read on October 7, 2026. It does not score the two on writing quality or accuracy. No benchmark or test was used.
What do the two cost, and what do the plans include?
Each vendor lists a free plan and personal paid plans, and prices team plans per seat. As of October 7, 2026, OpenAI's help page lists ChatGPT Plus at $20/month, billed monthly, and Google's plan page lists Google AI Pro at $19.99 / month. Google's page states no billing period beyond that "/ month". The table lists only what each vendor's own page says; a cell that says "not stated" means we did not find it on the pages we read, not that it is absent.
| As of October 7, 2026 | ChatGPT (OpenAI) | Gemini (Google) |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | OpenAI's pricing page: "The free version of ChatGPT is available to everyone." | $0 / month with a Google Account |
| Personal paid plans | ChatGPT Plus: $20/month, billed monthly. Go: price is on OpenAI's pricing page, which showed local currency when read from outside the United States | Google AI Plus: $4.99 / month. Google AI Pro: $19.99 / month |
| Team or business plan | ChatGPT Business, standard seat: $25 per user per month on the monthly plan, or $20 per user per month, billed annually | Gemini Enterprise, Business edition: starting at $21 USD per seat per month, up to 300 seats. Annual billing: not stated on the pages we read |
| Link to office software | Not stated on the pages we read; see App connections | Google's help page: began adding AI features to Google Workspace Business and Enterprise editions in January 2025. "The AI features available to your organization depend on Google Workspace edition." |
| Features listed, ChatGPT Plus beside Google AI Pro | ChatGPT Plus help page: voice conversations, image generation, file uploads and analysis, deep research tools (where available) | Google AI Pro column: "Everything in Free and:", plus "Access Gemini directly in Google apps". The Free column lists image generation and editing, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas, Gems |
| Training on content, personal accounts | "When you use our services for individuals, such as ChatGPT and Codex, we may use your content to train our models." To opt out: "turn off Improve the model for everyone under Settings > Data controls" | Keep Activity on: "Google uses your activity to provide, develop, and improve its services (including training generative AI models)". Keep Activity off: chats "won't be used to train our AI models, unless you choose to send Google feedback" |
| Training on content, business accounts | ChatGPT Business: "By default, we don't use inputs or outputs from ChatGPT Business, ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, or our API to improve our models." | Google Workspace: "Your content is not human reviewed or used for generative AI model training outside your domain without permission." Gemini Enterprise: not stated on the pages we read |
| App connections | Help page: apps connect ChatGPT to services "such as Google Drive or Slack"; setup pages for Google Drive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams and Outlook | Privacy hub: connect Google Workspace or Google Photos to "look up info in your emails or photos". Gemini Enterprise: connectors to Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, HubSpot, Jira. Workspace help page: Gemini in the side panel of Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive and Chat |
Two cautions about reading prices. First, personal plans are priced per person and business plans per seat, and the data wording differs between them, as the table shows. Second, usage limits and model availability depend on the plan and change. OpenAI's Plus help page tells users to "check the model picker for the options on your account," so this page names no models.
Which assistant is already included in the plan you pay for?
If you use Google Workspace, Gemini AI features may already be part of your edition; if you use Microsoft 365, check Microsoft's own page for what your plan includes, because this page makes no statement about Microsoft's assistant.
Google's help page says that in January 2025 it started adding AI features to "Google Workspace Business and Enterprise editions," and lists Gemini in the side panel of Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive and Chat. The same page says "The AI features available to your organization depend on Google Workspace edition," so use Google's page for your edition.
How do the data settings differ?
The wording that matters changes with the plan type, not just the vendor, so read your plan's row before anyone pastes in customer information. For ChatGPT, individual plans and ChatGPT Business sit on opposite sides of the default, as the table shows. OpenAI's page says it "may use eligible content to improve the performance and safety of its models," and that "Temporary chats are not used to improve OpenAI models while they remain temporary." Whether people review content is not stated on the pages we read, so this page cannot compare human review between the two. Google's page states more here, which is not the same as doing more.
For Gemini on a personal Google Account, the outcome depends on Keep Activity. Google says that even with Keep Activity off, or in temporary chats, it still uses your chats to respond to you and to help protect Google, its users and the public, including with help from human reviewers.
Separately, Google says a subset of chats are reviewed by human reviewers to help improve its services, and that turning off Keep Activity stops your future chats from being reviewed for that purpose. Its page also says temporary chats "are not used to improve Google AI with help from human reviewers." For a work or school account, Google says your use "may be subject to different data handling terms," and its Workspace page says "Your interactions with Gemini stay within your organization."
This page does not tell you any plan is safe for every kind of record. If you handle health, payment or legal records, read the vendor's business terms for your plan, and ask your lawyer or insurer before pasting them in.
Which fits which need?
Choose by where your files and email live, not by a headline comparison. Use this rule, in order.
- Check what you already pay for. Open your Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 plan page, or the vendor's help pages, and see which assistant it lists. If one is listed, try it on a real task for a week before buying anything.
- Gmail, Docs and Drive are your office. Google's help page lists Gemini in the side panel of those apps on Workspace Business and Enterprise editions, so try that first.
- Microsoft 365 is your office. Check Microsoft's own pages for what your plan includes; this page does not describe it. Try both assistants on your own task.
- Neither, or a mix. Use the free plans of both on the same task for a week. Pay for the one you opened more often, and move to a business plan when staff use it with customer information.
For help turning a chat assistant into a repeatable workflow, see AI automation for small business: a practical guide. For one specific use, see AI email responder for small business.
What should you do this week?
Run one real task through the assistant you already have, then through the other one's free plan. Pick something you do weekly, such as answering a standard customer question, and paste in no private customer data. Write down which result you would send with the fewest edits, then read the data wording on the vendor page for the plan you would buy, because prices here were read on October 7, 2026 and may have changed.
How was this page made?
We read each figure on the vendor's own pricing, help or privacy page on October 7, 2026, and used no reviews, videos or outside tests. Google's personal-plan prices show a dollar sign under a United States tab with no currency label; the Gemini Enterprise Business price is labeled USD.
OpenAI's pricing page showed local currency when read from outside the United States, so its prices come from help pages: Plus gives $20/month with no currency label, and the Business page says "For most countries, pricing (USD) is $25 per user per month if billed monthly and $20 per user per month if billed annually." The same page adds "pricing may vary depending on your country and currency type." Go is left to OpenAI's pricing page.
This page was drafted with Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, and checked against each vendor's published material on October 7, 2026. Anthropic also sells an assistant; it is not part of this comparison.
FAQ
Is Gemini better than ChatGPT?
This page does not rank them. No benchmark was used here, and the vendors' pricing and help pages are not a basis for ranking. The documented differences are in plan prices, data settings and which apps each connects to, so compare on those and on one real task from your own week.
Can Gemini do everything ChatGPT can?
This page does not compare capability. The plan pages list features that overlap, such as image generation and deep research, and both vendors say limits depend on the plan. Both change often, so check the vendor's current plan page for the one feature you need before paying.
Can I use both ChatGPT and Gemini?
Yes. Both have a free plan, so you can run the same task through each before you pay for either. Keep business customer data out of personal accounts, because the data settings on personal plans differ from those on business plans.
Which one is cheaper for a small team?
It depends on the plan you already pay for. As of October 2026, Google's help page says it began adding Gemini AI features to Google Workspace Business and Enterprise editions in January 2025, so check what your edition lists before buying anything extra. ChatGPT Business is priced per seat. Add up the seats you would actually use.