Aidar Akmaev
Disclosure: NOXI publishes this page. It is a presentation maker, so it sits outside the ChatGPT vs Copilot head-to-head and appears once, as a reference row in the slides section, scored on the same rules as the two assistants. That's why the rules, weights and the source of every cell are printed, along with the rule where both assistants lead NOXI.
ChatGPT vs Copilot: on seven printed rules checked on 30 October 2026, ChatGPT scores 90 and Microsoft Copilot 77. ChatGPT leads on the free plan, add-ons and long documents; Copilot leads on training privacy and comes with Word, Excel and PowerPoint in Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month. For slides: ChatGPT 90, Copilot in PowerPoint 83.
Copilot isn't ChatGPT, and it isn't one product either. Many comparisons (ChatGPT vs Copilot, or Copilot vs ChatGPT) still use the old Bing Chat name. This one reads OpenAI's and Microsoft's own plan, help and privacy pages on one day, signed out, scored on the same seven rules as our ChatGPT vs Claude and ChatGPT vs Gemini pages. Every cell links to its source.
ChatGPT vs Copilot at a glance (30 October 2026)
ChatGPT leads Microsoft Copilot by 13 points as an assistant (90 to 77) and by 7 points as a slide maker (90 to 83); Copilot's one lead on the assistant rules is training privacy, worth 3 points.
| Assistant | Assistant score (7 rules) | Slides score (7 rules) | Why, in one line | Free plan · cheapest paid (as shown) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (OpenAI) | 90 | 90 | Fuller free plan, custom MCP on paid plans, a published 256K context window, a PowerPoint add-in from Free | Free with limits · Go $8 a month ("This plan may include ads.") |
| Microsoft Copilot | 77 | 83 (Copilot in PowerPoint) | Chats "aren't used to train foundation models"; Copilot inside the Word, Excel and PowerPoint desktop apps | Free, "subject to available capacity and limits" · Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year |
In the slides section, NOXI, a dedicated deck maker you can use inside ChatGPT and Claude, is printed as a reference row (98) on the same presentation rules, outside this head-to-head. Prices are US list prices before tax, as shown on each vendor's page on 30 October 2026.
Who should pick what
Where your files already live decides more than the 13-point gap. Each line rests on one fact from the vendor's page, checked on 30 October 2026.
- If your work lives in Word, Excel and PowerPoint → Microsoft 365 Personal with Copilot, because Microsoft's plan page includes "Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote desktop apps with Microsoft Copilot" for $9.99 a month.
- If you want the most for $0, or the lowest price → ChatGPT, because OpenAI's plan table lists web search, file uploads, image generation and the plugin directory on Free, and Go costs $8 a month.
- If you want chats kept out of training without changing a setting → Microsoft Copilot, because Microsoft says prompts, responses and file contents "aren't used to train foundation models".
- If your company already pays for Microsoft 365 → Copilot Chat, because Microsoft includes it "at no additional cost" for eligible work accounts; Microsoft 365 Copilot adds the paid work licence at $30 a user a month.
- If you want to connect your own tools → ChatGPT, because Plus lists developer mode (beta) and OpenAI says "Pro users can connect custom MCP servers"; Copilot's personal connectors are OneDrive, Outlook.com, Gmail and Google Drive.
- If the job is a designed deck with sources on the slides → a dedicated deck maker such as NOXI, because its reference row takes full marks for research with sources on slides started from a prompt, where both assistants score 3 of 5.
Key numbers
The two user figures count different things: weekly ChatGPT users and paid Microsoft 365 Copilot work seats. Microsoft publishes no consumer Copilot user count; no rule rewards popularity.
ChatGPT vs Copilot side by side
ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot share most everyday features on 30 October 2026, including web, desktop and phone apps, file uploads and image creation; the documented differences are the free plan, custom connectors, a published context window, the default training setting and how deep each goes into Office files.
| Item | ChatGPT (OpenAI) | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | $0: search "Yes"; file uploads and image generation "Limited"; plugin directory; ChatGPT Work "Limited (desktop app)" [4][5] | $0: chat and AI image generation with "Limited usage with a free Microsoft account"; file uploads [16][23] |
| Cheapest paid | Go, $8 a month, monthly only [3] | Microsoft 365 Personal, $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year [16] |
| About $20 | Plus, $20 a month [3] | Microsoft 365 Premium, $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year [16] |
| Top personal tier | Pro, $100, $200 or $500 a month [3] | Microsoft 365 Pro, $99.99 a month, "Monthly billing only" [17] |
| Work | Business, $20 a user a month billed annually (2+ users), $25 monthly [3] | Copilot Chat at no additional cost; Microsoft 365 Copilot $30 a user a month, paid yearly [18] |
| Published context window | 256K on Go and Plus, 400K on Pro [4] | No consumer figure published |
| Inside Office apps | "Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Google Sheets extensions"; PowerPoint add-in from Free [4][11] | Copilot in the Word, Excel and PowerPoint desktop apps from Personal, owner only [16][30] |
| Custom connectors | Developer mode (beta) on Plus; custom MCP on Pro [4][7] | OneDrive, Outlook.com, Gmail and Google Drive on paid personal plans [25] |
| Training default | Used unless you turn off "Improve the model for everyone"; Temporary chat is excluded [8] | "aren't used to train foundation models" [26] |
US dollar list prices before tax, from learn.chatgpt.com, chatgpt.com/pricing (read signed out) and Microsoft's US plan pages.
Is Copilot the same as ChatGPT?
No: Copilot is Microsoft's assistant, not ChatGPT. Microsoft names models only for work accounts, where Copilot in PowerPoint on a commercial subscription lets you pick "ChatGPT from OpenAI" or "Claude from Anthropic"; no Microsoft page opened on 30 October 2026 names the models behind the consumer Copilot app.
- Copilot in PowerPoint, work accounts. The model page says you can choose models "including Claude from Anthropic and ChatGPT from OpenAI", with the options "Auto (which lets Copilot pick the best model), ChatGPT, or Claude". It adds that this "requires a commercial Microsoft Copilot subscription" [21].
- Microsoft 365 Copilot, work licence. The enterprise pricing table lists the latest OpenAI models and model choice, and the Copilot Business page promises "large language model (LLM) choice" [18][19].
- The Microsoft Copilot app. The app page says "Choose from leading AI models for the task at hand." It names none [20].
Does Copilot use ChatGPT?
In Microsoft's documented terms: Microsoft's work versions let you choose OpenAI or Anthropic models, and in PowerPoint the OpenAI option is labelled "ChatGPT". For the free Copilot app and the Microsoft 365 Personal, Family and Premium plans, Microsoft does not say which models answer, so a page claiming the consumer app "runs" a particular OpenAI model goes beyond Microsoft's own documentation. What really differs is the account: ChatGPT is an OpenAI account; Copilot is your Microsoft account, sitting inside the Microsoft 365 files you already have.
Which Copilot? The app, Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat
"Copilot" names four things on Microsoft's pages on 30 October 2026: the Microsoft Copilot app (renamed from the Microsoft 365 Copilot app), Copilot inside the consumer Microsoft 365 plans from $9.99 a month, Copilot Chat for work accounts at no extra cost, and the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot work licence at $30 a user a month.
Microsoft's support page opens with the rename: "The Microsoft 365 Copilot app is now called Microsoft Copilot app." It is one app for work and personal accounts, on the web, Windows, Mac, iOS and Android [20].
| Name | What it is | Who gets it | Price (US, 30 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Copilot app | The assistant app for personal and work accounts | Anyone with a Microsoft account | Free, "subject to available capacity and limits" [17] |
| Copilot in Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, Premium, Pro | Copilot in the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote desktop apps | The subscription owner only | $9.99, $12.99, $19.99 or $99.99 a month [16][17] |
| Copilot Chat (work) | Chat for work and school accounts | Microsoft Entra users with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription | "at no additional cost" [18] |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | The paid work licence, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint agents | Work accounts with a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan | $30 a user a month, paid yearly; Copilot Business $18 first-year offer, list $21 [18][19] |
Three naming traps: "Copilot Pro" is a legacy name still used in the PowerPoint Copilot FAQ (the plan nearest $20 today is Microsoft 365 Premium); the consumer Microsoft 365 Premium plan is not the work licence label "M365 Copilot (Premium)"; and GitHub Copilot is a separate coding product. The scored Copilot row is the consumer app with a personal account, with Microsoft 365 Personal and Premium read for price and tools.
How we compared ChatGPT and Copilot
Both assistants are scored on documented capability with the same seven rules as our ChatGPT vs Claude and ChatGPT vs Gemini pages, using only OpenAI and Microsoft pages opened signed out on 30 October 2026; it is not a new hands-on test, and it does not score answer quality.
Changed recently: Microsoft now calls the Microsoft 365 Copilot app the Microsoft Copilot app, lists a Microsoft 365 Pro plan at $99.99 a month, and offers Copilot Business at $18 between 1 July and 31 December 2026; OpenAI says ChatGPT Go "may include ads" and that ChatGPT Slides is still "rolling out" on Pro, Business and Enterprise.
| Code | Criterion | Weight | The rule (identical for both) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Free plan | 20 | Count five capabilities documented for the free plan: web search, file uploads, image generation, file or document creation, connections to other apps. 5 = all five; 4 = four; 3 = three; 2 = two; 1 = 0–1. |
| A2 | Entry price | 10 | The cheapest paid tier per month; annual price ÷ 12 where annual billing is published. 5 = $10 or less; 4 = $10.01–15; 3 = $15.01–20; 2 = $20.01–30; 1 = over $30. |
| A3 | Long documents | 10 | The largest context window published for the consumer plan nearest $20 a month, on a page that opens signed out. 5 = 1M tokens or more; 3 = 128K to under 1M; 2 = not published; 1 = under 128K. |
| A4 | Tools on the ~$20 plan | 20 | Count six tools: web search, deep research, image generation, voice conversation, file creation, video generation. 5 = 5–6; 4 = 4; 3 = 3; 2 = 2; 1 = 0–1. |
| A5 | Add-ons | 15 | 5 = custom MCP connectors on free and paid personal plans; 4 = paid personal plans only; 3 = an app or plugin directory, custom MCP only in business workspaces; 2 = built-in links to a few services; 1 = none. |
| A6 | Training control | 15 | 5 = the vendor states consumer chats aren't used for training; 4 = an opt-out setting plus a chat mode excluded from training; 3 = an opt-out only; 2 = opt-out by request; 1 = none stated. |
| A7 | Where it works | 10 | Count six surfaces: web, desktop app, mobile app, browser extension or own browser, office add-in or integration, own coding agent. 5 = 6; 4 = 5; 3 = 4; 2 = 3; 1 = 2 or fewer. A desktop app counts if the vendor ships one that runs its assistant. |
One change since our 22 October assistant pages, where ChatGPT scored 88: OpenAI's plan table, read signed out, now publishes a 256K context window for Go and Plus, so A3 moves from 2 to 3 (+2 points).
The scored table: ChatGPT 90, Copilot 77
ChatGPT scores 90 and Microsoft Copilot 77 out of 100: ChatGPT gains 16 points on the free plan (+8), add-ons (+6) and long documents (+2), and Copilot wins 3 back on training control, while entry price, tools on the $20 plan and surfaces are level.
| Criterion | ChatGPT: rating and reason | Copilot: rating and reason | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Free plan (20) | 5. Free: search, uploads, images, plugins, ChatGPT Work on desktop [4][5] | 3. Free: uploads, limited images, web search; connectors and file creation on paid plans only [16][23][24] | ChatGPT +8 |
| A2 Entry price (10) | 5. Go at $8 a month [3] | 5. Personal at $9.99 a month, or $99.99 a year ($8.33 a month) [16] | Level |
| A3 Long documents (10) | 3. Plus: "GPT Reasoning total context window, 256K" (Pro 400K) [4] | 2. No consumer context window published | ChatGPT +2 |
| A4 Tools on ~$20 (20) | 5. Plus: search, deep research, images, voice, file creation: 5 of 6 [4][6] | 5. Premium: search, "advanced research", images, voice, presentation outlines: 5 of 6 [16][17][28] | Level |
| A5 Add-ons (15) | 4. "Developer mode (beta), Yes" on Plus; "Pro users can connect custom MCP servers" [4][7] | 2. Built-in links: "OneDrive, Outlook.com, Gmail, and Google Drive" [25] | ChatGPT +6 |
| A6 Training control (15) | 4. "Improve the model for everyone" toggle; Temporary chats "not used to improve OpenAI models" [8] | 5. Prompts, responses and file contents "aren't used to train foundation models" [26] | Copilot +3 |
| A7 Where it works (10) | 5. Web, desktop, mobile, browser extension, Office extensions, Codex: 6 [3][10] | 5. Web, Windows and Mac app, mobile, Edge, Office apps, GitHub Copilot: 6 [20][27] | Level |
The arithmetic, row by row
Each weighted score is the rating divided by 5, times the criterion's weight; each total is the sum of seven weighted scores.
| Criterion | ChatGPT | Copilot | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 (20) | 5 ÷ 5 × 20 = 20 | 3 ÷ 5 × 20 = 12 | ChatGPT +8 |
| A2 (10) | 5 ÷ 5 × 10 = 10 | 5 ÷ 5 × 10 = 10 | 0 |
| A3 (10) | 3 ÷ 5 × 10 = 6 | 2 ÷ 5 × 10 = 4 | ChatGPT +2 |
| A4 (20) | 5 ÷ 5 × 20 = 20 | 5 ÷ 5 × 20 = 20 | 0 |
| A5 (15) | 4 ÷ 5 × 15 = 12 | 2 ÷ 5 × 15 = 6 | ChatGPT +6 |
| A6 (15) | 4 ÷ 5 × 15 = 12 | 5 ÷ 5 × 15 = 15 | Copilot +3 |
| A7 (10) | 5 ÷ 5 × 10 = 10 | 5 ÷ 5 × 10 = 10 | 0 |
| Total | 20 + 10 + 6 + 20 + 12 + 12 + 10 = 90 | 12 + 10 + 4 + 20 + 6 + 15 + 10 = 77 | ChatGPT +16, Copilot +3: ChatGPT by 13 |
Is Copilot better than ChatGPT?
Not on these rules: ChatGPT leads on three of seven, Copilot on one, and three are level. Copilot is the better choice for keeping chats out of training by default, and the more convenient place for AI if your day is spent in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, which the rules count as one surface among six. For the wider field, the same seven rules score Grok 89 against ChatGPT's 90 in our Grok vs ChatGPT comparison, and our ChatGPT vs Gemini and ChatGPT vs Claude pages answer the "ChatGPT vs Copilot vs Gemini vs Claude" question pair by pair.
What would change the result
- ChatGPT 86 if free image generation, or free file creation through ChatGPT Work on desktop, is not counted (A1 4); 82 if neither is.
- Copilot 81 if the app page's line "Create images and Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files" counted as free file creation (A1 4); the same page says "Feature availability varies by subscription type" and the agents need "a Microsoft 365 Copilot license" [20][29].
- Copilot 73 if web search is not counted on the free app (A1 2): the only free-plan sentence for it sits in a privacy FAQ that "applies only to the older version" of the app [24].
- Copilot 75 if GitHub Copilot is not counted as Microsoft's own coding agent (A7 4).
No line puts Copilot ahead: the closest pairing is ChatGPT 82 against Copilot 81. One OpenAI conflict: a Work and Codex FAQ on learn.chatgpt.com says "Image generation isn't available on the Free plan", while the plan table and the Free Tier FAQ list it [5]; the plan page decides.
ChatGPT vs Copilot price: every plan side by side
At every personal price point the two are within $2 a month: ChatGPT Go $8 against Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99, Plus $20 against Premium $19.99, and ChatGPT Pro from $100 against Microsoft 365 Pro $99.99; Microsoft also sells Personal, Family and Premium on yearly billing.
| Tier | ChatGPT | Microsoft Copilot | 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, with limits on uploads and images [4] | $0, "subject to available capacity and limits" [17] | $0 on both |
| Entry | Go $8 a month, monthly only [3] | Personal $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year [16] | Go 12 × $8 = $96; Personal $99.99 yearly or 12 × $9.99 = $119.88 |
| Family | No family plan listed | Family $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year, 1 to 6 people, "AI for subscription owner only" [16] | $129.99 yearly |
| ~$20 | Plus $20 a month [3] | Premium $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year [16] | Plus 12 × $20 = $240; Premium $199.99 yearly or 12 × $19.99 = $239.88 |
| Top | Pro $100, $200 or $500 a month [3] | Microsoft 365 Pro $99.99 a month, monthly only [17] | ChatGPT Pro from 12 × $100 = $1,200; Microsoft 365 Pro 12 × $99.99 = $1,199.88 |
Microsoft 365 Personal adds the Office desktop apps with Copilot and "Advanced Copilot chat with higher usage than free", plus four connectors; Premium adds "Extensive usage for AI image creation in Copilot" and limited "advanced research and analytics" [16][25]. ChatGPT Go raises the free limits; Plus adds deep research, image generation, expanded voice and ChatGPT Work everywhere [4][6].
Copilot vs ChatGPT Plus: which is cheaper?
Microsoft 365 Premium is cheaper over a year: $199.99 on yearly billing against $240 for twelve months of ChatGPT Plus, which is $40.01 less, or 16.7%. Month to month the two are 1 cent apart ($19.99 and $20). The old "Copilot Pro vs ChatGPT Plus" question now means Premium vs Plus, because Copilot Pro is a legacy name. Both include research, image creation and voice; Premium also includes the Office desktop apps with Copilot, while Plus includes ChatGPT Work on desktop, web and mobile.
Copilot vs ChatGPT free: what $0 gets you
ChatGPT's free plan documents all five of the free capabilities our rule counts and Microsoft Copilot's free app three, the largest single gap on the page (8 points); both free plans carry usage limits that neither vendor states as a number.
| Capability on $0 | ChatGPT Free | Copilot free (personal account) |
|---|---|---|
| Web search | "Search, Yes" [4] | Documented in the older app's privacy FAQ [24] |
| File uploads | "Limited" [4] | "All Microsoft Copilot experiences" [23] |
| Image generation | "Limited" [4][5] | "Limited usage with a free Microsoft account" [16] |
| File creation | ChatGPT Work "Limited (desktop app)" [4][9] | Scoped to Microsoft 365 Copilot licences [29] |
| Connections to apps | "Discover & use Plugins, Yes" [4][15] | Connectors start on Personal [25] |
| PowerPoint | PowerPoint add-in, "Free and Go include limited usage access." [11] | Copilot in PowerPoint starts on Personal; one-month trial [17][30] |
Text chats on ChatGPT Free have no fixed cap but are "subject to abuse guardrails"; Microsoft calls free Copilot "a limited free version of Copilot subject to available capacity and limits" [4][17]. Neither free plan lists video.
ChatGPT vs Copilot for work and business
For a company already on Microsoft 365, Copilot Chat costs nothing extra and Microsoft 365 Copilot costs $30 a user a month on yearly billing as an add-on; ChatGPT Business costs $20 a user a month billed annually or $25 monthly, for two or more users.
| Work plan | Price (US, 30 Oct 2026) | What the page says |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Business | $20 a user a month billed annually, $25 monthly, 2+ users [3] | OpenAI does not use Business, Enterprise or Edu content to train its models by default [8] |
| Copilot Chat | No additional cost [18] | For "all Microsoft Entra account users with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription" |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | $30.00 a user a month, paid yearly [18] | "A separate license for a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan is required." |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business | $18.00 a user a month, paid yearly, a first-year offer available between 1 July and 31 December 2026; list $21.00 [19] | Bundles: Business Standard with Copilot $23.50, Business Premium with Copilot $32.00 a user a month, yearly |
For ten people over a year: ChatGPT Business 10 × $20 × 12 = $2,400; Microsoft 365 Copilot 10 × $30 × 12 = $3,600; Copilot Business 10 × $18 × 12 = $2,160 at the offer price, or $2,520 at list. The Microsoft figures are add-ons on top of Microsoft 365 licences, so they are not like-for-like with a standalone ChatGPT Business seat, and they bring work-data grounding and admin controls that these rules don't score.
Copilot vs ChatGPT for Excel and Word
Copilot works inside the Word and Excel desktop apps from Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month (owner only, and Copilot in Excel needs AutoSave with the file on OneDrive), while ChatGPT reaches Office through its Excel, Word and PowerPoint extensions and creates new files with ChatGPT Work.
- Copilot in Excel. Microsoft's compare page lists "Get powerful analysis and insights with Copilot in Excel" on Personal, Family and Premium, and its footnote says Copilot in Excel "requires AutoSave to be enabled", with the file saved to OneDrive [16].
- Copilot in Word. Included in the same desktop apps line; Microsoft's licence page says "only the subscription owner can use Copilot in the desktop apps" on Family [16][30].
- ChatGPT in Office. OpenAI lists "Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Google Sheets extensions" and says ChatGPT Work "can create or edit documents, spreadsheets, presentations" [4][9].
- Big files. ChatGPT accepts documents and presentations up to "512 MB per file", including XLSX and CSV [13].
One Microsoft conflict: the monthly cards on the Copilot pricing page say "Excel (web and mobile only)", while the compare page, the plan page, lists the desktop apps with Copilot; the plan page decides. If Excel is your main tool, Copilot inside your file is the shorter path; for analysis in a chat or a new workbook from scratch, ChatGPT documents both.
Copilot vs ChatGPT for coding
For coding, the two names point to different products: GitHub Copilot is Microsoft's separate coding product, and ChatGPT includes Codex on the command line, in the IDE and in the cloud [3]. Both count as a coding surface on rule A7; neither vendor's plan page publishes a code-quality measure, so this page does not score code.
ChatGPT vs Copilot for students
For students, the free plans and Microsoft's discount decide: ChatGPT Free documents web search, uploads and image creation at $0, and Microsoft offers students 50% off Microsoft 365 Personal, $4.99 a month, which adds Copilot in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Microsoft's student page reads "Students save 50% on Microsoft 365 Personal", with payment details required [35]. Students with an eligible school email "can get Office 365 A1 for free", the "web-based versions of core Office apps" [36]; we found no page adding Copilot in PowerPoint to A1. ChatGPT's PowerPoint add-in works on Free with limited usage [11]. If you mainly need the PowerPoint app itself, our best presentation software ranking scores PowerPoint against fourteen other apps. Whichever you use, check every figure against its source and follow your institution's rules on AI.
ChatGPT vs Copilot privacy: who trains on your chats
Microsoft Copilot scores 5 of 5 on training control because Microsoft says prompts, responses and file contents in the new app "aren't used to train foundation models"; ChatGPT scores 4 because consumer chats are used for training unless you switch off "Improve the model for everyone", with Temporary chat as the no-training mode.
| Control | ChatGPT | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Default for personal accounts | "data sharing is enabled by default" on Free, Plus and Pro [8] | "Prompts, responses, and your file contents … aren't used to train foundation models." [26] |
| Setting | "Improve the model for everyone" toggle under Data controls [8] | No training setting needed in the new app; the older app's opt-out FAQ "applies only to the older version" [24] |
| No-training chat mode | Temporary chats "are not used to improve OpenAI models" [8] | All chats, by default |
| Inside Office apps | Not stated separately | Copilot conversations in Word, Excel and PowerPoint "will not be used for training" [24] |
| Work plans | Business, Enterprise and Edu content not used for training by default [8] | Work licences not scored on this rule |
Microsoft's statement covers the new Copilot app, live since 18 August 2026; the older app's FAQ, with its own opt-out, now covers only the old version. For confidential company files, use what your employer licenses, not a personal account.
What these rules don't measure
Seven documented rules leave out several things buyers care about most, including answer quality, coding quality, work-data grounding and admin controls, and on several of them Microsoft's work licences or ChatGPT's own features are strong.
- Writing quality and accuracy. Neither vendor publishes a measure; give both the same brief and compare.
- Coding quality. GitHub Copilot is a separate product with its own plans; we count coding agents only as a surface.
- Work-data grounding. Microsoft 365 Copilot answers from your organisation's files, mail and meetings, a company strength the consumer rules don't reach.
- Admin controls. Microsoft's and OpenAI's business admin controls matter to IT teams and aren't rated.
- Edge. "Copilot is built into Edge", so anyone on Windows meets it in the browser without installing anything [27].
- Memory and projects. ChatGPT's memory and projects shape long-running work and aren't a rule.
- Model choice. Copilot in PowerPoint on a commercial subscription lets you choose ChatGPT or Claude models; we score plans and features, not models.
If your goal is a presentation: ChatGPT 90, Copilot in PowerPoint 83
For slides, ChatGPT scores 90 and Copilot in PowerPoint 83 on the seven rules of our AI presentation tools ranking, and NOXI, a dedicated deck maker you can use inside ChatGPT and Claude, is printed as a reference row at 98 outside the head-to-head.
We re-applied the rules of our AI presentation tools ranking on 30 October 2026. Points = rating ÷ 5 × weight: P1 editable PowerPoint export (20), P2 editing depth (20), P3 research with sources on the slide (15), P4 import of PDF, Word, Excel or CSV, PowerPoint and images with a stated limit (15), P5 languages including a documented right-to-left layout (10), P6 free plan reality (10), P7 where it runs: web plus inside PowerPoint or Google Slides plus an API, MCP or connectors (10).
| Tool | P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | P5 | P6 | P7 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (PowerPoint add-in, Slides, Work) | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 90 |
| Copilot in PowerPoint | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 83 |
| ref · NOXI (a dedicated deck maker you can use inside ChatGPT and Claude) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 98 |
The gaps. ChatGPT − Copilot = 7 (P4 +3, P6 +4). NOXI − ChatGPT = 8 (P3 +6, P5 +2, P6 +2, P7 −2). NOXI − Copilot = 15. Both assistants lead NOXI on P7, because they work inside PowerPoint itself; NOXI works on the web, as a plugin in ChatGPT and as a custom connector in Claude. Sensitivity: Copilot 80 on a strict reading of import (Word, PDF and image as the creation inputs, P4 3); NOXI 89 for a deck started from an attached file, because research is off by default then (P3 2); NOXI 94 without the connector and plugin (P7 2).
- ChatGPT. The PowerPoint add-in is available on every plan from Free, edits "while preserving editable slide structure", and "Free and Go include limited usage access." [11]. ChatGPT Slides, where you "select the element, then select Request edits", is "available on ChatGPT Pro, Business, and Enterprise" and still "rolling out" [12]. Arabic is in OpenAI's language list, with no right-to-left statement [14].
- Copilot in PowerPoint. It "generates or edits content directly within PowerPoint" for Windows, Mac and the web, and applies a Brand Kit on a Microsoft Copilot licence [31]. Its "response cites the sources it uses", in the response rather than on the slide [32]. It starts from "a single Word file", a PDF on work accounts, or an image [33], lists Arabic among supported languages [34], and on the free side offers a one-month trial [17].
- NOXI (reference). NOXI builds a designed deck from a topic, brief or outline; decks started from a prompt research the web first and put a source line on slides with figures. You edit one slide, one element or the whole deck by chat, or match the style of a file you upload. It imports PDF, Word, Excel or CSV, PowerPoint and images up to 200 MB, builds right-to-left Arabic slides, and exports an editable PowerPoint (.pptx) with real text boxes and embedded fonts, or a PDF, with no watermark. Each free account gets 1,000 credits a month; a full deck uses about 25.
NOXI is also a plugin in ChatGPT: open Plugins in the sidebar, search "NOXI", choose Install plugin, then Connect and sign in, and type @NOXI in a chat; OpenAI says availability "depends on your plan, workspace, role, region". Our NOXI ChatGPT plugin launch page walks through it. For a hands-on comparison of the assistants making slides, see Copilot vs Gemini vs ChatGPT for presentations and Copilot in PowerPoint and NOXI for who gets Copilot in PowerPoint and on which plan.
Two prompts for Complete a draft
"Complete this draft for [audience]. Slides [1 to 5] came from Copilot in PowerPoint; finish slides [6 to 10], keep every figure, name and date already in the draft, write every title as a full-sentence finding, and end with a next-steps slide with owners and dates."
"This deck is an outline ChatGPT drafted. Turn each bullet slide into a designed slide for [audience], keep the slide order, add a comparison table on slide [4] from the numbers already given, and keep body text under 30 words per slide."
Worked example: an HR coordinator choosing between Microsoft 365 and ChatGPT Plus
For a fictional Manchester HR coordinator who writes in Word, tracks in Excel and makes two training decks a month, Microsoft 365 Personal on yearly billing (£84.99) plus ChatGPT Free and NOXI's free plan covers the work, and adding ChatGPT Plus would cost $240 more a year.
| Option | Calculation | 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Personal, monthly | 12 × £8.49 | £101.88 |
| Microsoft 365 Personal, yearly | Billed once a year | £84.99 |
| ChatGPT Plus | 12 × $20 (US list price) | $240 |
| ChatGPT Go | 12 × $8 (US list price) | $96 |
| NOXI, 24 training decks | 2 decks × 25 credits = 50 of 1,000 monthly credits | £0 |
The arithmetic. Yearly billing saves £101.88 − £84.99 = £16.89, which is £16.89 ÷ £101.88 = 16.6% of the monthly-billed cost. Two decks a month use 2 × 25 = 50 credits, which is 50 ÷ 1,000 = 5% of NOXI's monthly allowance, so the decks cost nothing. ChatGPT Plus would add $240 a year, or Go $96, on top of the Microsoft plan.
Why this split. Hannah's policies and trackers already live in Word and Excel, so Copilot inside those files is the shortest path. For ad-hoc questions, ChatGPT Free's web search and uploads are enough. For the training decks, she drafts the outline with Copilot in PowerPoint and finishes it in NOXI with Complete a draft.
Decision: Microsoft 365 Personal on yearly billing, £84.99, plus ChatGPT Free and NOXI's free plan. Review on 1 February 2027: if she has needed deep research every week since November, add ChatGPT Plus at $20 a month then.
Build it: finish a ChatGPT or Copilot draft deck in NOXI
To finish a half-built deck from ChatGPT or Copilot, open Complete a draft on NOXI's Home, upload the draft as PowerPoint, ODP or PDF, describe what it needs, and download an editable PowerPoint or a PDF; research is off by default when you start from an attached file. One flow, six steps:
Step 1 — Save the draft from ChatGPT or Copilot
Save the half-finished deck as a PowerPoint file, the format Copilot in PowerPoint and the ChatGPT for PowerPoint add-in both work in, or as a PDF. Keep the facts, names and numbers you have already checked in it.
Step 2 — Open Complete a draft
Sign in to NOXI with a free account, and on Home open More, then choose Complete a draft. The action asks for your draft presentation.
Step 3 — Upload the draft
Upload the draft as PowerPoint, ODP or PDF, up to 200 MB. NOXI reads the slides already there, fills the gaps, finishes the incomplete slides and keeps the facts you have checked.
Step 4 — Describe what the draft needs
Paste Prompt 1 or Prompt 2, or write your own: the audience, which slides are unfinished and what must not change. A deck started from a file skips web research by default, so give the source and year for any figure you add; for researched source lines, start a new deck from a prompt instead.
Step 5 — Review and edit by chat
Read every completed slide against your draft. Ask for changes to one slide or the whole deck, click an element and say what to change, or edit text, tables and chart numbers yourself.
Step 6 — Download the PowerPoint
Download an editable PowerPoint (.pptx) with real text boxes and embedded fonts, or a PDF, with no watermark. You can also present full-screen from NOXI or share a view-only link.
ChatGPT vs Copilot: FAQ
- Is Copilot the same as ChatGPT?
- No. Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's assistant, and ChatGPT is OpenAI's. On 30 October 2026 Microsoft named models only for work accounts: Copilot in PowerPoint on a commercial subscription lets you choose ChatGPT or Claude models. No Microsoft page names the models behind the free Copilot app or Microsoft 365 Personal.
- Does Copilot use ChatGPT?
- In Microsoft's documented terms, its work versions let you choose OpenAI or Anthropic models: Copilot in PowerPoint on a commercial subscription offers "Auto", "ChatGPT" or "Claude". The consumer Microsoft Copilot app lets you "choose from leading AI models" but names none, as checked on 30 October 2026.
- Is Copilot better than ChatGPT?
- Not on documented facts: on seven rules checked on 30 October 2026, ChatGPT scores 90 and Microsoft Copilot 77. ChatGPT leads on the free plan, add-ons and a published context window. Copilot leads on training privacy and is the more convenient choice if your work lives in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- Is Copilot free?
- Yes, the Microsoft Copilot app is free with a Microsoft account, "subject to available capacity and limits", with limited chat and image generation. Copilot inside the Word, Excel and PowerPoint desktop apps needs Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month or a higher plan, as Microsoft's pages showed on 30 October 2026.
- Copilot vs ChatGPT Plus: which is cheaper?
- Microsoft 365 Premium, the Microsoft plan nearest ChatGPT Plus, costs $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year; ChatGPT Plus costs $20 a month, $240 over a year. On yearly billing Premium is $40.01 cheaper, 16.7% less. Copilot Pro is a legacy name. Prices were checked on 30 October 2026.
- Which is better for work, ChatGPT or Copilot?
- For a company on Microsoft 365, Copilot Chat costs nothing extra and Microsoft 365 Copilot costs $30 a user a month on yearly billing, as an add-on. ChatGPT Business costs $20 a user a month billed annually, or $25 monthly. Microsoft's licence adds work-data grounding; prices were checked on 30 October 2026.
- Which is better for Excel, Copilot or ChatGPT?
- Copilot works inside the Excel desktop app from Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month, for the subscription owner, and needs AutoSave with the file on OneDrive. ChatGPT offers an Excel extension, analyses uploaded spreadsheets up to 512 MB and creates new workbooks with ChatGPT Work, per OpenAI's pages on 30 October 2026.
- Which is better for students, ChatGPT or Copilot?
- ChatGPT Free documents web search, file uploads and image creation at $0. Microsoft offers students 50% off Microsoft 365 Personal, $4.99 a month, which adds Copilot in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and Office 365 A1 is free on the web with an eligible school email. Offers were checked on 30 October 2026.
- Which is more private, ChatGPT or Copilot?
- Microsoft Copilot, on our training-control rule: Microsoft says prompts, responses and file contents in the new Copilot app "aren't used to train foundation models", which scores 5 of 5. ChatGPT scores 4: consumer chats are used unless you switch off "Improve the model for everyone", and Temporary chats are excluded. Checked 30 October 2026.
- Which makes better PowerPoint slides, ChatGPT or Copilot?
- On seven presentation rules re-applied on 30 October 2026, ChatGPT scores 90 and Copilot in PowerPoint 83: ChatGPT's add-in works on the Free plan with limited use and accepts more file types. Both edit the PowerPoint file itself. NOXI, a dedicated deck maker, scores 98 on the same rules as a reference row.
Sources & methodology
Every price, plan feature and setting comes from OpenAI's and Microsoft's own pages, opened signed out on 30 October 2026. Scores are documented capability on seven printed rules, not a hands-on test. Hannah Brooks and Brooks HR are fictional; every calculation was checked twice. NOXI's cells come from its product documentation, its ChatGPT plugin listing and noxi.ai/connect.
- [1] "more than 1.2 billion people who use ChatGPT each week" (7 October 2026) — OpenAI, announcement of 7 October 2026.
- [2] Microsoft 365 Copilot "over 30 million paid seats" (29 July 2026) — Microsoft, FY26 Q4 earnings release.
- [3] Go $8, Plus $20, Pro $100, $200 or $500 a month, Business $20 per user billed annually and $25 monthly; Codex surfaces — OpenAI, ChatGPT pricing (learn.chatgpt.com).
- [4] Plan table read signed out: Free search, uploads, image generation, plugins and ChatGPT Work; Plus deep research, image generation, voice, 256K context window, developer mode; "Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Google Sheets extensions"; "This plan may include ads." — OpenAI, ChatGPT plans.
- [5] "Search the web", "Upload images or files", "Create images in ChatGPT" on Free — OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT Free Tier FAQ.
- [6] Plus at $20 a month billed monthly — OpenAI Help Center, What is ChatGPT Plus?
- [7] "Pro users can connect custom MCP servers with read/fetch permissions." — OpenAI Help Center, Connecting custom MCP servers in ChatGPT.
- [8] "Improve the model for everyone"; Temporary chats not used to improve OpenAI models; data sharing enabled by default on Free, Plus and Pro; Business, Enterprise and Edu not trained on by default — OpenAI Help Center, Data controls in ChatGPT.
- [9] "ChatGPT Work can create or edit documents, spreadsheets, presentations" — OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT Work.
- [10] ChatGPT browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi — OpenAI, ChatGPT browser extension.
- [11] PowerPoint add-in available to Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise; "while preserving editable slide structure"; "Free and Go include limited usage access." — OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT for PowerPoint.
- [12] ChatGPT Slides "available on ChatGPT Pro, Business, and Enterprise", "rolling out"; element edits and example decks — OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT Slides.
- [13] "Documents and presentations have a maximum size of 512 MB per file" — OpenAI Help Center, File uploads.
- [14] Supported languages, Arabic listed — OpenAI Help Center, Languages.
- [15] "The plugin directory is available across ChatGPT plans"; installing "depends on your plan, workspace, role, region" — OpenAI Help Center, Plugins in ChatGPT.
- [16] Personal $9.99 or $99.99, Family $12.99 or $129.99, Premium $19.99 or $199.99; desktop apps with Microsoft Copilot; free-account limits; Copilot in Excel footnote — Microsoft, Compare all Microsoft 365 plans (US).
- [17] Free Copilot "subject to available capacity and limits"; Microsoft 365 Pro $99.99 a month, "Monthly billing only"; one-month trial of Personal, Family and Premium — Microsoft, Copilot pricing for individuals.
- [18] Microsoft 365 Copilot $30.00 a user a month paid yearly; Copilot Chat at no additional cost; latest OpenAI models and model choice — Microsoft, Copilot pricing for enterprise.
- [19] Copilot Business $18.00 first-year offer available between 1 July and 31 December 2026, list $21.00; bundles; "large language model (LLM) choice" — Microsoft, Copilot pricing for business.
- [20] "The Microsoft 365 Copilot app is now called Microsoft Copilot app."; Windows and Mac app; "Choose from leading AI models" — Microsoft Support, What is the Microsoft Copilot app.
- [21] "including Claude from Anthropic and ChatGPT from OpenAI"; "requires a commercial Microsoft Copilot subscription" — Microsoft Support, Choose your model when editing with Copilot in PowerPoint.
- [22] Licence labels Copilot Chat (Basic), M365 Copilot (Basic) and M365 Copilot (Premium) — Microsoft Support, What Copilot license do I have.
- [23] File upload "applies to: All Microsoft Copilot experiences" — Microsoft Support, File upload in Microsoft Copilot.
- [24] Web search; "applies only to the older version"; Copilot in Word, Excel and PowerPoint "will not be used for training" — Microsoft Support, Privacy FAQ for Microsoft Copilot.
- [25] "OneDrive, Outlook.com, Gmail, and Google Drive"; Personal, Family, Premium and Pro — Microsoft Support, Connecting Microsoft Copilot to other services.
- [26] "Prompts, responses, and your file contents … aren't used to train foundation models." — Microsoft Support, Copilot activity history.
- [27] "Copilot is built into Edge" — Microsoft Edge, Copilot.
- [28] "Have a real-time spoken conversation with Copilot." — Microsoft Support, Voice features in Copilot.
- [29] Word, Excel and PowerPoint agents "only available to Microsoft 365 users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license" — Microsoft Support, Word, Excel and PowerPoint agents.
- [30] "Copilot is available in Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, Premium, and Pro subscriptions" — Microsoft Support, Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps for home.
- [31] "generates or edits content directly within PowerPoint"; example prompts; Brand Kit on a Microsoft Copilot licence; Windows, Mac and web — Microsoft Support, Edit with Copilot in PowerPoint.
- [32] "Copilot's response cites the sources it uses" — Microsoft Support, Connectors with Copilot in PowerPoint.
- [33] "a single Word file"; PDF on work accounts; "Copilot Pro" legacy name — Microsoft Support, FAQ about Copilot in PowerPoint.
- [34] Supported languages including Arabic (last updated September 2026) — Microsoft Support, Supported languages for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
- [35] "Students save 50% on Microsoft 365 Personal", $4.99 a month — Microsoft, College student pricing.
- [36] "can get Office 365 A1 for free"; "web-based versions of core Office apps" — Microsoft Education, Office 365 for students and educators.
- [37] Microsoft 365 Personal £8.49 a month or £84.99 a year (UK) — Microsoft, Compare all Microsoft 365 plans (UK).
- [38] NOXI listing in ChatGPT's plugin directory: Install plugin, Connect, capabilities — ChatGPT plugin directory, NOXI.
- [39] Server address mcp.noxi.ai/mcp for Claude and other assistants — NOXI, Connect NOXI to your AI assistant.
Drafted half a deck in ChatGPT or Copilot? Finish it in NOXI with Complete a draft and download it free as an editable PowerPoint or a PDF.
