WhichBot › Compare › Claude vs Microsoft Copilot
Last checked Oct 28, 2026 · plain English · no paid picks
Claude vs Microsoft Copilot
Short answer: neither wins at everything.
Pick Claude if you mostly write, edit or work through long documents and want the most natural-sounding writing.
Pick Microsoft Copilot if you already pay for Microsoft 365 and want help inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Claude vs Microsoft Copilot side by side
| Claude | Microsoft Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Chat app from Anthropic | Chat app from Microsoft, also built into Microsoft 365 |
| Made by | Anthropic | Microsoft |
| Price | Free $0; Pro $20/mo ($17/mo annual); Max from $100/mo | Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99/mo; Family $12.99/mo; Premium $19.99/mo; Pro $99.99/mo (monthly billing only; highest Copilot limits) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Good at | Natural-sounding writing; good with long documents; Best for: writing, long documents, coding, homework | Works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook; Best for: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook |
| Watch out for | No built-in image generation | On Family plans, AI features are only for the subscription owner |
| Privacy | Consumer (Free/Pro/Max): model training is opt-out, meaning it's on unless you turn it off. Team/Enterprise: no training by default | Not listed in our data |
| Where it runs | web, desktop, iOS, Android | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, web |
| Status | Current | Current. Microsoft is retiring the Critique and Council preview features in Microsoft 365 Copilot Researcher (Frontier program users only) from late Oct to mid-Nov 2026; Researcher and Analyst stay (Message Center MC1515927, Oct 19, 2026) |
| Sources | claude.com · claude.com (2) · support.claude.com | microsoft.com · microsoft.com (2) · mc.merill.net |
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Questions people ask
Is Claude or Microsoft Copilot better?
It depends on what you do. Pick Claude if you mostly write, edit or work through long documents and want the most natural-sounding writing. Pick Microsoft Copilot if you already pay for Microsoft 365 and want help inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Is Claude free?
Yes. Claude has a free plan. Plans: Free $0; Pro $20/mo ($17/mo annual); Max from $100/mo.
Is Microsoft Copilot free?
Yes. Microsoft Copilot has a free plan. Plans: Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99/mo; Family $12.99/mo; Premium $19.99/mo; Pro $99.99/mo (monthly billing only; highest Copilot limits).
Can I try both Claude and Microsoft Copilot?
Yes. Both have a free plan, so you can try each one on the same task and keep the one you like.
How does WhichBot decide?
Hector uses a written rubric: everyday usefulness, cost and free plans, privacy, reliability, ease of use, availability and safety. Rankings are one input, not the answer.
Facts come from the companies' own pages, linked above, and were last checked Oct 28, 2026. Prices are US and can change. Picks are Hector's: no paid picks, sponsors always labeled, and no sponsorship from AI labs. Our policy.