Pick Poe if…
you like comparing answers from several frontier models, or depend on a niche bot, and would rather pay one bill than three.
Poe doesn't build its own assistant. Quora runs it as a marketplace: one subscription buys points that you spend across 100+ models and user-made bots, GPT, Claude and Gemini among them. ChatGPT is OpenAI's own assistant, and every tier now has unlimited text chat. So the real choice is many models on a metered budget, or one product with no meter on text.
Pick Poe (from $4.99/mo) if you want to move between GPT, Claude, Gemini and niche bots without paying for each one, and you're fine with a points budget whose cost changes by model. Pick ChatGPT (Plus at $20/mo) if you mainly use OpenAI models and want unlimited text chat, Deep Research and Codex without tracking points.
| App | Free tier | Paid from | Top plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poe | Yes | $4.99/mo | $249.99/mo | Power users who want to compare GPT, Claude, Gemini and niche bots without juggling separate subscriptions |
| ChatGPT | Yes | $8/mo | $500/mo | Everyday writing, brainstorming, image generation, casual coding |
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 November 2, 2026
| Poe | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | 100+ models and user-made bots from several labs | OpenAI's models; GPT-6.1 Sol is the default on Plus |
| Free tier | Up to 300 points at a time, no rollover | GPT-6 Luna, unlimited text chats, limited image generation |
| Cheapest paid plan | Starter: 10,000 points/day, full chat history | Go: image generation, memory & projects |
| How usage is counted | Points, at a cost that varies by model | Text chat unlimited on every tier |
| Top plan | Pro Max ($249.99/mo): 8.25M points/month | Pro 500 ($500/mo): 25× Plus usage |
you like comparing answers from several frontier models, or depend on a niche bot, and would rather pay one bill than three.
you want one assistant with unlimited text chat, Deep Research and Codex, and don't want your allowance to depend on which model you pick.
Poe's points cost differs from model to model, so the same Premium allowance of 660,000 points a month goes a long way on cheap bots and much less far on expensive ones. Poe Pro Max exists specifically to fund the priciest frontier models. The free tier is for trying bots, not daily use: in March 2026 it dropped from 3,000 points a day to 300 that don't accumulate.
Not as a single assistant. Poe's value is access: GPT, Claude, Gemini and custom bots under one subscription. If you only use ChatGPT, OpenAI's own plans give unlimited text chat, while Poe meters everything in points.
At entry level, Poe Starter ($4.99/mo) costs less than ChatGPT Go ($8/mo). One tier up they are almost level: Poe Premium is $19.99/mo and ChatGPT Plus is $20/mo.
Yes, with rate-limited access to most bots, but you can hold no more than 300 points at a time and they don't roll over.
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.