AI apps for Mac and iPhoneHead to head
ChatGPT vs Claude
ChatGPT ranks #1 and Claude ranks #2 in our guide to the best AI apps for Mac and iPhone. ChatGPT is our pick for most people.
ChatGPTPick ChatGPT if you want 1 assistant you can type to, talk to or show photos on every device.Free to start#2 in the guide
ClaudePick Claude if you write or code for a living and want an AI that reasons through problems with you.Free to startWhat decides it
- On price: ChatGPT is free. Go is $8 a month and Plus is $19.99 a month in the App Store. Claude is free. Pro is $20 a month.
- Both run on Mac, iPhone and iPad.
- ChatGPT has the higher App Store rating: 4.8 from 11.8M ratings, against 4.7 for Claude.
Side by side
Prices are checked every day.
| At a glance | ChatGPT | Claude |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. Go is $8 a month and Plus is $19.99 a month in the App Store | Free. Pro is $20 a month |
| How you pay | Free, with paid upgrades | Free, with paid upgrades |
| 3 years of use | Depends on the plan | $600 Yearly plan |
| Free trial | Free to start | Free to start |
| Runs on | Mac, iPhone, iPad | Mac, iPhone, iPad |
| Where to buy | App Store, Developer | App Store, Developer |
| Rating | 4.8 11.8M ratings Higher | 4.7 293K ratings |
| Made by | OpenAI OpCo, LLC | Anthropic PBC |
| Last updated | 2 Nov 2026 | 1 Nov 2026 |
Who should get which
Get ChatGPT if
You want 1 AI assistant on your phone and Mac that you can type to, talk to or show a photo.
Get Claude if
You write or code for a living and want an AI that talks problems through with you, not just answers.
Skip ChatGPT if
You ask an AI something a few times a week, and the free plan answers that without a subscription.
Skip Claude if
You ask an AI something once a month, and claude.ai in a browser tab handles that with nothing to install.
Our verdicts
ChatGPT
Some questions are too messy for a Google search, like how to word a hard email or what a handwritten recipe says. ChatGPT takes them by text, live voice or a photo, makes images from a description and syncs your chats across iPhone, iPad and Mac. Plus costs $19.99 a month in the App Store, the same as Gemini Pro, and OpenAI says the cheaper $8 Go plan may include ads.
Claude
If you write long drafts, work through dense PDFs or debug code, Claude is the assistant that explains the why behind each fix instead of just handing back an answer. The free plan already covers web search, file creation, memory and Artifacts Pro costs $20 a month for more usage, Research and Claude Code, while ChatGPT's $8 Go plan is the cheaper paid step if you only want more chats.
What each one helps you do
ChatGPT
- Draft and rewrite emails in seconds
- Talk through a problem out loud
- Turn a photo of handwriting into text
- Generate an image from a description
Claude
- Draft and polish emails in your own voice
- Get a long PDF summarized in minutes
- Debug code with each fix explained
- Research a topic with live web search
Where to get them
ChatGPT
Free. Go is $8 a month and Plus is $19.99 a month in the App Store
Neither one quite right?
The other picks in our guide to the best AI apps for Mac and iPhone.
GeminiPick it if your email, files and calendar already sit in Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar.Free to start
PerplexityPick this if you want answers with a link to every source, and you ask from an iPhone or iPad.Free to start
LM StudioPick it if you have an Apple silicon Mac with more than 8 GB of RAM and want AI that stays offline.Free
LittlebirdPick it if you want AI that already knows what you worked on today without you explaining it.Free to start
Read the full guideAll ChatGPT alternativesAll Claude alternatives
More comparisons
- ChatGPT vs GeminiPick it if your email, files and calendar already sit in Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar.
- ChatGPT vs PerplexityPick this if you want answers with a link to every source, and you ask from an iPhone or iPad.
- Claude vs GeminiPick it if your email, files and calendar already sit in Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar.