Kitsmith / Compare / Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT
MacMicrosoft Copilot vs ChatGPT
Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT: verdict, pricing, and specs compared, so you can pick the right one for your Mac.
At a glance
Microsoft Copilot
FreeMicrosoft’s free AI chat app for Mac — text and voice chat, AI image generation, and writing help, blending OpenAI and Microsoft’s own models.
ChatGPT
FreeOpenAI’s desktop chat app for Mac — brings ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex to the desktop with screen and file context, free to start.
Spec comparison
Microsoft Copilot
- Price
- Free
- Pricing model
- Free
- License
- Proprietary
- Placement
- Screen
- Channels
- Mac App Store
- Category
- Utilities
ChatGPT
- Price
- Free
- Pricing model
- Freemium
- License
- Proprietary
- Placement
- Screen
- Channels
- Homebrew · Direct
- Category
- Utilities
The verdict
Both are free to download and start chatting immediately. Microsoft Copilot’s Mac app is the more contained tool per its own App Store listing — text and voice chat, AI image generation, writing help — without detailing whether Microsoft’s separate paid tiers (Copilot Pro, Microsoft 365 Copilot) unlock anything extra inside this specific app. ChatGPT’s desktop app is the more expansive free download: alongside standard chat it adds screen and file context, the Codex coding agent, and ChatGPT Work’s delegated tasks on Plus/Pro/Business/Enterprise plans. If you just want a simple, free chat app, Copilot covers it; if you want screen/file context and coding-agent features in the same window, ChatGPT is the more feature-complete free download.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Microsoft Copilot if…
- Pick Microsoft Copilot if you want a simple, free text-and-voice chat app with nothing else to configure
- Pick Microsoft Copilot if built-in AI image generation in the same window as chat is useful to you
- Pick Microsoft Copilot if you’re already inside the Microsoft ecosystem and want the native Mac download
- Pick Microsoft Copilot if you don’t need coding-agent or screen-context features at all
Pick ChatGPT if…
- Pick ChatGPT if you want screen and file context available to the assistant, not just typed chat
- Pick ChatGPT if Codex’s coding-agent features matter to you
- Pick ChatGPT if ChatGPT Work’s delegated, multi-step tasks (Plus/Pro/Business/Enterprise) are something you’d use
- Pick ChatGPT if you’d rather have the free chat app most people already have an account for
Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT — questions people ask
Are Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT both free?
Yes — both are free to download and use on Mac. ChatGPT gates some features (ChatGPT Work, higher usage) behind Plus/Pro/Business/Enterprise plans; Microsoft’s own paid tiers aren’t detailed as applying inside this specific Mac app.
Does ChatGPT’s Mac app do more than chat?
Yes — screen and file context, the Codex coding agent, and ChatGPT Work’s delegated tasks, per OpenAI’s own app description.
Is there a “ChatGPT Classic”?
Yes — OpenAI distributes two separate Mac downloads from the same page: the full ChatGPT app and a simpler ChatGPT Classic build.