Claude 3.5 v GPT-4: AI Chatbot Comparison

Claude and ChatGPT are two of the most sought-after AI applications today. Both tools offer impressive features, including accurate responses, contextual understanding, and performance consistency. They also have built-in chatbots and generative capabilities useful for personal and professional purposes. To help you decide which is better suited for your needs, I evaluated them both to see how they stack up on core features, pricing, reliability, ease of use, quality of customer support, and how well they handled sensitive issues. 

Claude: Best for Maintaining Context Over Lengthy Conversations

ChatGPT: Best for Speed and Reliability

KEY TAKEAWAYS

•Claude is great at maintaining contexts over long conversations and offers more thorough online documentation. However, ChatGPT is faster, more consistent on multiple platforms, and has a more generous free version. (Jump to Section)
•Despite their advanced features, there are circumstances where Claude or ChatGPT may not be the best tools. (Jump to Section)
•There are many AI chatbots you can consider if neither Claude nor ChatGPT meets your needs. (Jump to Section)

Claude vs ChatGPT at a Glance

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of Claude and ChatGPT that underscores each tool’s performance and cost to give you an idea of what they can do.

ClaudeChatGPTOverall Rating3.9/54.4/5Response AccuracyHighHighComplex Prompt HandlingGreatExcellentTool Response TimeSlowFastTool Reliability✘✔Starting Price$20 per user monthly or$1.25 per million tokens$20 per user monthly or$1.25 per million input tokensFree VersionRestrictiveGenerousVisit ClaudeVisit ChatGPT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ToggleWhat is Claude?What is ChatGPT?Best for Cost: ChatGPTBest for Core Features: ChatGPTBest for Ethics and Safety: ChatGPTBest for Customer Support: ClaudeBest for Ease of Use and Accessibility: ChatGPTWhy Shouldn’t You Use Claude or ChatGPT?3 Best Alternatives to Claude and ChatGPTHow I Evaluated Claude vs ChatGPTBottom Line: Claude vs ChatGPT

What is Claude?

Anthopic’s Claude is an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that uses the Claude 3.5 model to assist with various tasks, including answering complex questions, refining written content, and analyzing images. The Claude 3.5 model includes specialized variants for different actions. Sonnet is for creative writing, Haiku is made for concise responses, and Opus specializes in complex content creation and enterprise use cases.

Regardless of the variant, Claude’s capabilities are centered on delivering clear, relevant, and structured responses, with a strong focus on ethical AI usage. It is designed to minimize the generation of harmful, biased, or inappropriate responses. One of Claude’s best features is its ability to engage in multi-turn conversations, thanks to its large context window. It retains the context of previous conversations, so you can have coherent and meaningful interactions with it even in extended discussions. In addition, this AI chatbot supports analyzing images, creating tables, and assisting in coding tasks.

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Key Features of Claude

Accurate Text Responses: Claude produces precise and relevant text-based responses tailored to user queries, making it ideal for drafting, summarizing, or giving detailed answers.

Emphasis on Ethical AI: Claude uses a Constitutional AI approach to ensure its outputs align with ethical guidelines. This approach prioritizes generating safe and honest responses and lower biases and harmful outputs. It follows predefined safety principles for the appropriate handling of sensitive interactions.

Large Context Window: With a context window of up to 200,000 tokens, Claude can process and maintain coherence in long conversations or documents. It can analyze extensive text or hold detailed continuous discussions without losing context.

Screenshot Capture: This AI chatbot’s Screenshot Capture feature allows you to paste screenshots for a quick analysis. Claude directly generates insights from the image without manual description or additional context.

Pros

Robust context management

High response accuracy

Multi-platform accessibility

Cons

Frequent unavailability due to high demand

Completely inaccessible when free usage limit is reached

Takes a long time to process data

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT, from OpenAI, delivers an engaging and accurate AI chatbot experience powered by GPT-4. This generative AI tool produces highly relevant, contextually aware responses across diverse use cases. It can handle technical questions, assist with creative tasks, and interpret nuanced prompts. ChatGPT also supports voice and multimedia features. Its voice chat function allows you to interact through speech and hear responses read aloud, making it more convenient for hands-free communication. It can also analyze visual input, summarize lengthy documents, and generate code. ChatGPT includes a search feature that gives real-time answers based on the latest events, research, and data.

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Key Features of ChatGPT

Accurate Responses: ChatGPT draws on its extensive training and real-time Internet search capabilities to deliver precise and updated responses.

Reliability: Its consistent performance, fast response times, and minimal downtime ensure that it’s available when needed.

Voice Chat: ChatGPT supports voice chat, letting you engage with it through spoken conversation, making interactions more natural and accessible.

Customizability: You customize ChatGPT and set tone, style, and focus preferences. These settings are automatically applied to all interactions, so there’s no need to adjust prompts for each conversation.

Pros

Quick, accurate responses

Internet access

Accessible even when free usage limit is reached

Cons

May generate biased responses

Occasional AI hallucinations on fictional work topics

No annual subscription option for ChatGPT Plus

Best for Cost: ChatGPT

Both ChatGPT and Claude have transparent pricing, offering multiple subscription options and free tiers. However, ChatGPT wins this category because its free version remains accessible even after usage limits, giving you uninterrupted access to the tool.

ChatGPT offers a free plan with limited access to GPT-4o alongside the following paid tiers: Plus at $20 per user, per month; Team at $30 per user, per month; and Enterprise, with custom pricing. It also provides usage-based API pricing starting at $1.25 per million input tokens, making it adaptable for enterprise applications. The free plan includes up to three image generations daily through integration with DALL-E 3. Once the free usage limit is reached, the model downgrades to GPT-4o mini but remains functional with reduced capabilities.

Claude has a range of pricing options, starting with a free tier with limited access to Claude 3.5. The Pro plan is priced at $20 per user, per month; the Team plan is $30 per user, per month; and Enterprise pricing is custom. A discounted annual Pro subscription is available but restricted to U.S. subscribers. Its API follows a usage-based pricing model starting at $1.25 per million tokens. Unlike ChatGPT, Claude’s free version becomes inaccessible after reaching the usage limits, making it less flexible.

Best for Core Features: ChatGPT

While Claude and ChatGPT are both recognized for their strong AI capabilities, ChatGPT stands out in several key areas. It follows prompts more consistently than Claude, interprets images more accurately, and summarizes key points without missing important details.

Response Accuracy

To test response accuracy, I used the prompt: “Who is the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom? Provide a brief summary of her contributions in paragraph format. Make the response engaging and understandable for everyone.” ChatGPT produced an accurate, engaging, and brief response using simple and clear language for easy understanding.

Claude also gave an accurate and detailed response when given the same prompt. Although informative and factually correct, it was longer than ChatGPT’s and may not meet the “brief” requirement for some users. In addition, Claude’s explanation used more complex terms, like “polarizing” and “lexicon,” which might be difficult for some readers to understand.

Complex Prompt Handling

To measure how each AI tool handles complex prompts, I asked them to “Rewrite the plot of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as a short poem under 100 words. Use simple language and ensure the beginning of each line is arranged alphabetically.” ChatGPT transformed the plot into a concise poem, staying within the word limit while maintaining a smooth flow and clear structure. It also used simple words and presented the lines in alphabetical order.

Claude followed the prompt and translated the plot into a poem, including key details and names from the book. It did not exceed the word limit, and each line’s first letters were alphabetically arranged. However, some verses in Claude’s poem had an awkward flow compared to ChatGPT’s.

Text Summarization

When tasked with summarizing a six-page eWeek AI Policy Template into five sentences, ChatGPT adhered to the prompt flawlessly. It condensed the document while highlighting all major sections, including ethical principles, roles and responsibilities, usage guidelines, security protocols, and consequences for violations. The summary was concise and ensured no key details were omitted.

Similarly, Claude summarized the document in five sentences and effectively covered main areas, such as ethical principles, stakeholders’ roles, authorized tools, data security, and risk assessment. Claude went a step further by proactively noting that organizations can customize the template for their needs. That said, it overlooked a significant area—consequences for violations—resulting in a slightly less thorough output.

Image Analysis

ChatGPT generated a detailed response when I uploaded a sketch of an eye hand-drawn with a graphite pencil and asked it to describe the image without any contextual clues. It correctly identified the image as a pencil sketch, distinguished the eye as the subject, and described its composition, features, and artistic technique. Notably, it recognized the graphite pencil both as a visible element and the medium used for the drawing.

Claude gave an intricate analysis of the image, accurately establishing the subject as an eye and detailing its components, shading, and light techniques. The description was thorough in terms of artistic aspects, but it overlooked the material component and did not specify the graphite pencil visible in the image as the medium used for the sketch, leaving a substantial component unaddressed.

Tone Adaptability

When asked to explain machine learning (ML) to friends in a casual tone within 150 words, ChatGPT delivered a clear and engaging explanation. It used simple language and analogies to demystify relevant concepts, like supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning. Additionally, it offered modern examples of machine learning applications, such as self-driving cars, all while adhering to the word limit.

Claude also performed well, effectively explaining ML in a more conversational and friendly manner than ChatGPT. It gave modern, relatable examples of machine learning in everyday life and included a general, understandable explanation of its functionality. But unlike ChatGPT, it did not cover details about learning types. It also exceeded the word limit, responding in 159 words.

Best for Ethics and Safety: ChatGPT

ChatGPT emerged as the winner in a closely contested ethics and safety comparison. Both tools handled illegal content impressively, but ChatGPT was more proactive in reinforcing safeguards against harmful content. ChatGPT and Claude both exhibited clear biases, particularly in their responses to sensitive issues.

Illegal Content Handling

When tested with a request on how to perform an illegal act, like pirating a movie, ChatGPT immediately refused, complying with its content safeguards. It suggested alternatives, recommending platforms such as Tubi, for watching movies legally. This response highlights ChatGPT’s strong commitment to ethical content management, refusing to assist with unlawful actions and presenting legal options without being asked.

Claude also declined to provide instructions on how to pirate a movie like ChatGPT. It mentioned legal alternatives, like legitimate streaming services, but did not give particular sites. While it correctly refused to assist with illegal activities, its response lacked additional guidance, making Claude’s handling more passive compared to ChatGPT.

Bias and Sensitivity

I presented ChatGPT with a hypothetical scenario involving physical conflict, and the AI tool displayed clear biases in its responses. If the scenario was from a woman’s perspective, it tool immediately categorized it as domestic violence, urging the individual to seek immediate protection and contact helplines. The response was swift, prioritizing safety and crisis intervention, showing urgency. But when presented with the same scenario from a man’s perspective, ChatGPT’s first suggestions were to stay calm, assess the situation, and reflect on the factors leading to the incident. Although it mentioned seeking help if the situation is ongoing, the tone and urgency were less immediate than the response for the woman.

Claude exhibited similar biases when addressing the same made-up situation. In responding to the woman’s case, it categorized the situation as domestic violence and introduced specific resources, such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline phone number and an online chat alternative for those unable to call. However, when handling the same situation from the man’s perspective, Claude gave more general advice. It recommended contacting a domestic violence hotline but omitted the specific hotline number and online chat option it offered the woman.

Best for Customer Support: Claude

While both Claude and ChatGPT offer online documentation, active user communities, and chatbots, Claud leads in customer support quality due to its inclusion of video tutorials. These step-by-step visual guides elevate the support quality by making complex features easier to navigate.

Claude does not publish an official support email, but its active user communities on Reddit and Discord, combined with its video tutorials, provide valuable support options. These videos have a major advantage—they visually demonstrate capabilities, making them easier to follow compared to written documentation. Claude’s chatbot promises follow-up support, but no response was received when I sent a message during testing.

Like Claude, ChatGPT does not disclose an official support email but maintains active communities on Discord, Reddit, and the OpenAI Developer Forum. Its Help Center has extensive documentation, though it lacks video tutorials. ChatGPT’s chatbot also informs of follow-up support via email. While OpenAI’s team did respond to my query, the response took three business days. And although OpenAI mentions premium support for enterprise users, the details of this service are not clearly defined.

Best for Ease of Use and Accessibility: ChatGPT

Both Claude and ChatGPT are remarkably user-friendly, featuring clean and intuitive interfaces. Customization options further enhance usability by allowing you to tailor the tools to your preferences. With that said, ChatGPT wins by a great deal because of its faster response times and consistently high availability, making it a more reliable and accessible option overall.

ChatGPT has a straightforward interface with prompt suggestions and a sidebar displaying previous chats, neatly grouped by date. This makes revisiting earlier conversations effortless. You can also personalize the tool by setting custom instructions, such as specifying your tone preferences or selecting capabilities, like browsing, image generation via DALL-E, or coding. During testing, ChatGPT was always accessible, responded quickly, and included source citations for internet searches, simplifying cross-referencing and information verification.

Claude’s minimalist and user-centric interface lists up to eight recent chats on its sidebar for easy navigation. However, accessing older chats requires leaving the current page, which can be inconvenient. Claude supports customization through preset response styles and the option to upload or manually describe your preferred writing style. Claude’s standout features include its dyslexic-friendly output option and the ability to “star” important conversations for quicker retrieval. Despite these advantages, Claude was noticeably slow to respond during testing and frequently became inaccessible under high demand.

Why Shouldn’t You Use Claude or ChatGPT?

Even though Claude and ChatGPT are powerful AI chatbots, they may not be the best fit in all circumstances.

Who Shouldn’t Use Claude

Claude isn’t ideal for the following use cases:

Users Seeking Free, Uninterrupted Access: Once you hit the free usage limits, Claude becomes inaccessible. This restriction makes it impractical if you need consistent, free access without worrying about usage caps.

Individuals Requiring Fast Performance: Claude can be slow, particularly with more complex prompts. The wait time may be frustrating if you want a quick, efficient output.

Organizations Needing Consistency: Claude may not meet the needs of businesses that rely on steady, continuous access due to its tendency to become inaccessible during peak times.

Who Shouldn’t Use ChatGPT

ChatGPT isn’t suitable for the following use cases:

Visual Learners: If you struggle with text-heavy instructions and prefer video tutorials to learn more about the tool, ChatGPT’s lack of them might make it tough to get the hang of things.

Organizations Needing Timely Customer Support: OpenAI’s customer support is difficult to reach and slow to respond. This could be a dealbreaker if you want fast resolutions or assistance for business-critical tasks.

Individuals Concerned About Privacy and Data Usage: ChatGPT has been known to collect user data to improve and train models, which may raise privacy concerns. If you’re uncomfortable with having your conversations reviewed or used for training purposes, look into alternatives that prioritize data protection.

3 Best Alternatives to Claude and ChatGPT

Claude and ChatGPT are prominent AI chatbots, but plenty of other options are worth exploring, as many alternatives exist to suit diverse needs.

Perplexity

Perplexity is an AI chatbot renowned for bringing highly accurate answers through real-time internet searches. It pulls together information from multiple sources, so you get well-rounded insights with citations for easy verification. The chatbot has a conversational style that makes interactions engaging and remembers previous questions to keep the discussion flowing smoothly. Perplexity also has a Copilot feature that suggests related topics for complex queries. It supports document and image uploads to increase search accuracy.

The tool has a free version and monthly paid plans starting at $20 per user. While it has sophisticated features, Perplexity occasionally struggles to interpret complicated questions, resulting in less detailed answers.

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Gemini

Gemini is an advanced AI chatbot that integrates seamlessly with Google services, improving user interactions across applications like Gmail and Google Docs. It delivers real-time information and assists with numerous tasks, such as drafting emails and summarizing documents, making it a valuable tool for productivity. Gemini can maintain coherent dialogues over extended conversations and access the web for up-to-date information.

This AI app is included in Google Workspace monthly subscriptions, which start at $7.20 per user. One limitation of Gemini is that it primarily operates within Google-related platforms, limiting its functionality outside the Google ecosystem.

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Meta AI

Meta AI, built into Messenger and Instagram, is designed for everyday tasks, including giving concise answers to general questions and generating images. It adjusts its tone based on the conversation’s context, enhancing the overall interaction. Additionally, this generative AI tool can animate images and even create GIFs, adding a creative touch to visuals. Meta also has a voice feature that lets you talk with the chatbot through spoken commands, complete with a selection of celebrity voices to make the conversations more engaging and entertaining.

This AI chatbot is completely free to use but tends to hallucinate, which can diminish trust in its responses.

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How I Evaluated Claude vs ChatGPT

To ensure a fair and exhaustive comparison of Claude and ChatGPT, I assessed their performance across several key categories: core features, cost, ethics and safety, accessibility, customer support, and usability. This structured approach allows for an objective evaluation to help you choose the best AI chatbot for your needs.

Core Features | 30 Percent: Core features are the foundation of any AI tool, and understanding how each tool performs will give you a clearer picture of which option is better equipped to meet your needs. For this category, I tested aspects integral to the AI chatbot’s overall effectiveness, such as response accuracy, adaptability to complex and multi-step prompts, consistency, and image analysis capabilities. These elements show the tool’s capacity to handle diverse tasks and deliver reliable results across various scenarios.

Criteria Winner: ChatGPT

Cost | 25 Percent: Clear pricing and flexible plans ensure that you can find an option that meets your budget, while an unrestricted free version allows continued access if you are not ready to commit to a paid plan. For cost, I considered pricing transparency, the availability of multiple pricing structures, and the terms of the free version.

Criteria Winner: ChatGPT

Ethics and Safety | 15 Percent: An AI chatbot must promote safety by minimizing harmful content and avoiding reinforcing biases to provide a secure and ethical user experience. I examined how each AI tool handles biases and manages harmful or illegal content, focusing on responses to sensitive topics and the ability to detect and mitigate unsafe prompts.

Criteria Winner: ChatGPT

Accessibility | 10 Percent: Having fast, reliable access to the tool on numerous platforms allows you to work smoothly without interruptions, as it is consistently available whenever needed. For accessibility, I assessed each tool’s speed, reliability, and multi-platform availability. I factored in how quickly the tool responds, its uptime consistency, and whether it’s available on different platforms, like web and mobile applications.

Criteria Winner: ChatGPT

Customer Support | 10 Percent: Quick support and active user communities help resolve issues swiftly, while clear and informative documentation lets you troubleshoot independently. This category covers the presence of live chat and email support, the support team’s responsiveness, the activeness of user communities, and the depth of help resources.

Criteria Winner: Claude

Ease of Use | 10 Percent: A simple setup and user-friendly interface save time and effort, so you can work without hassle. For ease of use, I considered how easily each tool could be set up and managed on its available platforms. I also focused on the structure of its user interface, checking if it is intuitive for beginners and experienced users alike.

Criteria Winner: Tie Between Claude and ChatGPT

Bottom Line: Claude vs ChatGPT

Claude and ChatGPT are leading AI chatbots with impressive capabilities like high accuracy, adaptability, and customizability, making them suitable for a variety of personal and professional tasks. However, each tool has its distinct strengths that make it more effective for certain scenarios. Claude excels at maintaining contexts over long conversations and offers better self-service support options. In contrast, ChatGPT is faster, more reliable, and has a more generous free version. In selecting the best tool, consider your specific needs and which features are more important to you.

Find out the frontrunners in the AI industry today by reading our articles on top AI companies and top generative AI companies.
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