Claude vs. ChatGPT: which AI fits your business?

The wrong question — and the right one

“Kirsten, should I switch to Claude now?” If I had received a euro for every version of this question, this would be a very short article.

My answer always starts the same way: “Which chatbot is better?” is a duel that tech portals love to proclaim because it brings clicks. For your business, a different question counts: What is the tool actually supposed to do for you — and which one do you prefer working with in the end? I worked intensively with both for a long time — and in the end switched completely. I will tell you honestly why — without trashing the tool that was probably your entry point too.

ChatGPT was the top dog — and the entry point for almost everyone

Let us start honestly, because anything else would be disreputable: ChatGPT was the first AI truly accessible to everyone — no expert knowledge, no special access, just a chat window. That democratised access is how most people entered the AI age — probably you too. That is why so many still remember their first steps there. At that point I had already been dealing with AI for over two decades — and that is exactly why I knew immediately how big this moment was. And ChatGPT has long stopped being “just a chat window” — a lot has happened:

• A work agent that builds whole results from a goal — spreadsheets, slides, documents, even small websites — and does so across several programs.
• A code area for developing applications.
• Scheduled, recurring jobs that run in the background for you.

That is strong, and I say it this clearly on purpose. Anyone still claiming today that ChatGPT can “only chat” has slept through the last months. If ChatGPT is your tool and carries you well through your day — do not let anyone push you to switch, not even me. Switching tools just because everyone is talking about them is exactly the tool-hopping I always advise against.

But then something happened that I myself had long not expected: Anthropic pulled ahead with Claude — quietly at first, then unmistakably. I had my first Claude experiences in the summer of 2024, with so-called vibe coding — building software in dialogue, without programming skills. In early 2026 I then switched completely, onto the Max plan. Today 90 percent of my business runs on Claude; for me it has simply become the gold standard. I will lay out why in three reasons.

Reason 1: better results overall

For me, the decisive thing is not which tool has the longer feature list — but what ends up on my desk. And there, Claude delivers the better results overall.

“Overall” matters to me. This is not about the one perfect answer to a test question. It is about the big picture: the quality of the texts, the depth of the analyses, the cleanness with which a concept becomes a finished result. By now, 90 percent of my business runs on Claude — and that is long past being just a website. I have built countless websites with it, several apps of my own (how the first one came to be, you can read here), own software solutions, automations, agents that work for me, and entire dashboards through which I run my company. Plus the day-to-day: evaluations, concepts, the newsletter. In this daily use, over months, Claude is simply the tool I trust with the demanding work.

Reason 2: I look at who stands behind the tool

A tool I work with every day and trust my business to is not a pure feature decision for me. I also look at who is behind it and how the company is run.

And there I feel more comfortable with Anthropic, the company behind Claude. My impression is that they genuinely orient themselves to the needs of their customers — that someone has thought about how people like me actually want to work. That is a personal assessment, not a reckoning with others. But it is part of my choice: if I let a tool this deep into my business, I want to feel comfortable with the attitude behind it. With Claude, I do.

Reason 3: I used ChatGPT’s expensive tier myself for half a year

This is my most tangible reason, because it rests not on feeling but on my own money and a real trial over half a year.

I started like most people: with the normal subscription for around 20 euros a month. In 2025 I then deliberately upgraded and used the highest subscription tier for half a year — the one for around 220 euros a month. I wanted to know: what does this really get me on top? And quite honestly: I got nowhere near out of it what I get today with Claude Max. Not in quality, not in substance, and not in volume either.

I say that this clearly on purpose, because many people compare apples with pears — the free version of one against the paid version of the other. I tested top against top, with a real budget, on real projects. And the result was unambiguous for me — in early 2026 I drew the consequence and switched completely to Claude Max. What the Claude plans cost and when which one pays off, I have broken down for you in What does Claude cost? — including my recommendation on when Max genuinely pays for itself.

What I still use ChatGPT for today

So no wrong impression arises: I have not abolished ChatGPT. There is one area where it remains irreplaceable for me to this day — and it belongs in any honest comparison.

My own AI assistants run there. In ChatGPT you can build custom GPTs — assistants with their own knowledge and a clearly defined job — and hand them directly to others. That is exactly what I do with my Freedo-GPTs: tailor-made assistants I sell via meetfreedo.com — my clients then use them directly in their own ChatGPT account. Claude so far has no comparable route for this — I build Skills there for my own business, but a place where others can use them directly does not exist (yet).

That is not a footnote but a real point for ChatGPT: If your clients work in ChatGPT, a custom GPT is the shortest path to them. Division of labour instead of either-or — my business work runs on Claude, and part of my products is delivered via ChatGPT.

The comparison at a glance

Because both tools can do a lot today, an honest table is no longer a list of “can / cannot” but a question of emphasis:

You see: on the feature level, the two are closer together than the duel articles claim. The difference that counts for me is in the second-to-last row — and it can only be experienced in real use, not read off a table.

My honest caveat

So no wrong impression arises here either: none of what I have built with Claude happened “at the push of a button”. Every one of these results is guided work — I decide, Claude builds. I am not a developer, born in 1972, and it still works because I lead the AI like a new employee in her first week: clear instructions, my material to go with it, follow up, check.

Anyone expecting a vending machine that runs the business on the side will be unhappy with either of the two tools. That is not a Claude question, it is a question of attitude — and the core of everything I write here: fewer tools, clearer jobs, more ownership.

And what about your own sources?

Just for completeness, because the question comes up often: when it is about working exclusively with my own documents — without the AI inventing anything on top — I use neither of the two, but NotebookLM. Why, and how exactly that works, is covered in What is NotebookLM?. That too is part of an honest answer: not every tool has to do everything.

How to test it properly (one week is enough)

Whatever my choice is — you make yours best not in the abstract, but with a real project:

1. Start for free and spend an afternoon getting to know the way it works. The price overview with my plan recommendation you only need once things get serious.
2. Pick a real task that has been annoying you for weeks: reworking an offer page, an evaluation, a text standard.
3. Lead instead of hoping: Say precisely what you want, add your material, follow up. Treat the AI like a new employee in her first week.
4. Take honest stock after seven days: What did it replace — in hours, in outsourced jobs, in waiting? Then you know more than from ten comparison articles.

You do not need a subscription for this test. Both have a free tier that easily covers a week of comparison — what works on each and where the limit runs is covered in Using AI for free.

My recommendation in three questions

1. Do you use AI only occasionally for texts and ideas? Stay where you are. Switching for switching’s sake is tool-hopping.
2. Do you want to outsource standard processes, work with your own knowledge, or build something — a page, a product, a system? Then test both with a real project and see which gets you the better results. For me, that is Claude.
3. Are you unsure which of this applies to your business? Then that is the real construction site — before any tool question. That is exactly what my Claude Sprint is for: there we implement Claude in your business together — the next round starts in August, and places are deliberately limited.

The decision is made — and this is where the real work starts: properly working your way into one tool instead of half-learning three. That is exactly what we talk about in my free community “KI — aber richtig” — the templates and workflows from my videos live there too. And if you want company instead of doing it alone: the AI Business Community offers monthly live calls, workshops and the MACHZEIT! challenge for exactly that.

Frequently asked questions

Is Claude better than ChatGPT?

ChatGPT was the top dog for a long time and keeps evolving — work agent, code area, scheduled jobs. For me personally, though, Claude has pulled ahead: it delivers the better results overall, 90 percent of my business now runs on it, and I feel more comfortable with the company behind it. Your choice may turn out differently; what matters is which one gets you the better results in your real business.

Claude or ChatGPT — which is better for the self-employed?

Depends on your use. For occasional texts and ideas, the everyday differences are smaller than the duel articles claim. For business work — outsourcing processes, working with your own knowledge, building pages or products — I recommend testing both with a real project. I myself work with Claude for that, because the results over months were more convincing for me.

What does Claude cost compared to ChatGPT?

Both have a free entry point. At ChatGPT the paid tiers currently cost (as of August 2026) €8 (Go), €23 (Plus) and €229 (Pro) gross per month; at Claude, Pro is €15 net on the annual plan and Max starts at €90 net. I used ChatGPT’s highest tier for half a year and got noticeably less out of it than I do today with Claude Max — in quality and in volume. The complete Claude plans (Free, Pro, Max) with my recommendation are in my article What does Claude cost?. More important than the price is the counter-calculation: what does the tool replace for you?

How good is Claude for non-techies?

Very good — that is one of my main reasons. Skills come into being in conversation, you connect programs with a click, input works by keyboard or voice. I am not a developer and have built complete websites, apps and dashboards with it. The honest caveat: this is guided work, not a vending machine — I decide and check, Claude builds.

What experiences have you had with Claude?

I have been using Claude since the summer of 2024. Countless websites, several apps of my own, automations, agents and entire dashboards for running my company have come into being in dialogue with Claude since then — as a non-techie, alongside the day-to-day business. Over months of constant use, the results are better overall for me than what I got out of ChatGPT’s highest tier. That is my honest, subjective balance — you only get your own by trying it on a real project.

Do I need both in the end?

Possibly — that is not a defeat but division of labour. It is exactly like that for me: my business work runs on Claude, and at the same time I deliver my custom AI assistants — the Freedo GPTs — via ChatGPT, because my clients can use them directly there. What matters is that each tool has a clear job — otherwise you are just collecting tools again.