Microsoft discontinued the standalone Copilot Pro plan. Paid Copilot now comes bundled with Office in M365 Premium ($19.99/mo) or M365 Pro ($99.99/mo), which is poor value if you don't need Office itself.
Claude Pro ($20/mo) is the best swap for Office users: it includes Claude for Microsoft 365. ChatGPT is the best standalone assistant, from $8/mo. Gemini is the cheapest at $4.99/mo, and the right choice if you'd rather work in Google's apps.
| App | Free tier | Paid from | Top plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot | Yes | $19.99/mo | $99.99/mo | Excel data, Word drafting, PowerPoint decks, Outlook triage |
| Claude | Yes | $20/mo | $100–200/mo | Document analysis, research papers, nuanced writing, software engineering |
| ChatGPT | Yes | $8/mo | $500/mo | Everyday writing, brainstorming, image generation, casual coding |
| Gemini | Yes | $4.99/mo | $99.99–199.99/mo | Google ecosystem users, video generation, very long documents (1M tokens) |
| Perplexity | Yes | $20/mo | $200/mo | Research with verifiable sources, fact-checking, exploring unfamiliar topics |
Monthly prices in US dollars before tax, from each vendor's official pricing (US list price; weekly-billed plans converted to a monthly figure). Updated October 7, 2026
Claude Pro includes Claude for Microsoft 365, so you can bring Claude into the Microsoft tools you already pay for instead of buying an M365 bundle, and it's built for long documents.
Pick it if: you already own Office and only want to add a capable AI on top.
Full Claude pricing →Copilot's free tier is basic; ChatGPT Free has unlimited text chats, voice, file uploads and limited image generation. Go ($8/mo) adds memory and projects.
Pick it if: you used Copilot as a general chatbot rather than inside Word or Excel.
Full ChatGPT pricing →AI Plus at $4.99/mo is the cheapest paid assistant here; AI Pro bundles 5 TB of storage and Gemini in Gmail and Docs, the Google equivalent of what M365 Premium sells.
Pick it if: you're open to Google Workspace or mainly wanted the storage-plus-AI bundle.
Full Gemini pricing →If you used Copilot in Edge to look things up, Perplexity cites a source for every answer and has unlimited quick searches for free.
Pick it if: you mostly ask factual questions and want to check the sources.
Full Perplexity pricing →M365 Premium covers up to 6 family accounts with full Office apps and 6 TB of shared OneDrive, but Copilot AI is for the owner only. If you'd pay for Office and storage anyway, it may still be the best deal. If you don't need Office, you're paying for a bundle to get the AI.
No. Copilot Pro is no longer available to new subscribers, and support for existing subscribers ended on Aug 1, 2026. Microsoft now points individuals to M365 Premium.
There is a free tier with basic Copilot chat. Advanced Copilot inside the Office apps needs M365 Premium ($19.99/mo) or M365 Pro ($99.99/mo).
How we choose: prices come from each vendor's official pricing page and are re-checked every week. We take no affiliate fees, so rankings aren't for sale.