The short answer
If your company runs entirely on Microsoft 365 and you want AI inside Outlook, Word, Teams and SharePoint, Microsoft 365 Copilot is the logical choice: 18.20 euros per user per month excluding VAT, on top of your Microsoft subscription. If you want the strongest general model, custom GPTs and a fast start, ChatGPT Business is: 21 euros per user per month on annual billing. Copilot wins on integration, ChatGPT on freedom and model quality. The free Copilot Chat is a good first step for many teams.
Copilot vs ChatGPT: the difference in one table
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | ChatGPT Business | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 18.20 euros on annual billing; until 31 December 2026 15.60 euros in the first year for existing Microsoft 365 customers. Monthly 21.84 euros | 21 euros on annual billing, 26 euros monthly. At least two users |
| Requires | A suitable Microsoft 365 business subscription; it cannot be bought standalone | Nothing, it works alongside your existing software |
| Free version | Copilot Chat, free with a work account, without access to your own documents | ChatGPT Free; your conversations are used for training unless you switch that off |
| Models | OpenAI models and, if your administrator enables it, Anthropic's Claude | OpenAI models |
| Your data | No training on your prompts and documents; processed inside the EU, except web searches and Anthropic models | No training on business data by default, data processing agreement available; storage in the EU only with Enterprise |
| Strongest point | Sits inside Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams and SharePoint and knows your own documents | Strong general models, custom GPTs, projects and connectors to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace |
| Weakest point | Quality depends on how clean your SharePoint and permissions are | Knows your company files only if you supply or connect them |
| Suits | Organisations already running fully on Microsoft | Teams that want to move fast and are not tied to one suite |
What does Copilot cost?
Microsoft has four versions that are often mixed up. The key difference: only the paid version works with your own mail, documents and meetings.
| Version | Price per user per month | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot Chat | Free with a work account | Chat with web knowledge and uploads, with business data protection. No access to your mailbox and documents |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot for business | 18.20 euros (annual), 21.84 euros (monthly); offer 15.60 euros until the end of 2026 for existing Microsoft 365 customers | Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, with your own business data. Up to 300 users |
| Business Standard plus Copilot | 20.36 euros (annual) | The Microsoft office suite and Copilot in one subscription |
| Microsoft 365 Personal or Premium | 10 or 22 euros including VAT | For home use; Copilot Pro is no longer sold |
Microsoft is renaming its products in the meantime: in the documentation Microsoft 365 Copilot is now called Microsoft Copilot, while the pricing page still uses the old name. It is the same product.
ChatGPT Business: what you get and what it costs
ChatGPT Business is OpenAI's business plan, formerly ChatGPT Team. A standard seat costs 21 euros per user per month on annual billing and 26 euros a month without an annual contract, from two users. Heavier users can take a Premium seat. OpenAI quotes that price in dollars: 100 dollars a month on annual billing or 125 dollars monthly, for five times the usage of a standard seat.
- No training on your business data by default, and a data processing agreement you can sign.
- Connectors to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and Slack among others, so ChatGPT can search your own files.
- Custom GPTs, projects, deep research and agents for recurring work.
- User management and sign-in through your own account system (SSO).
- Storing your data in Europe is only possible with ChatGPT Enterprise, not with Business.
For one person there are also Go (8 euros), Plus (23 euros) and Pro (from 103 euros a month). Those are personal plans: without a data processing agreement and with training on unless you switch it off yourself. For work with customer data, Business is the minimum. More on the page about customer data in ChatGPT.
What does it cost for a team of ten?
Ten users on Microsoft 365 Copilot cost 2,184 euros a year excluding VAT at list price, or 1,872 euros in the first year with the offer price for existing Microsoft 365 customers until the end of 2026. That comes on top of your existing Microsoft 365 subscription. Ten users on ChatGPT Business cost 2,520 euros a year on annual billing. If you want both, budget just over 4,700 euros a year. That is rarely needed for the whole team: license the people who use it daily first.
When Copilot
Choose Microsoft 365 Copilot when your mail, documents and collaboration already live in Microsoft 365 and you mainly want AI to think along inside those windows. The gain is that nothing has to be moved: Copilot reads the documents your people already work in, summarises Teams meetings and drafts in Outlook.
There is a condition that often gets skipped. Copilot inherits both the permissions and the mess of your SharePoint. If documents are open that should have been restricted, Copilot will find those too. Clean that up first. How Microsoft 365 and AI fit together is on the Microsoft 365 page.
When ChatGPT
Choose ChatGPT Business when you want the strongest general model, want custom GPTs for recurring tasks, or when your company does not run fully on Microsoft. It stands alone, you can be live tomorrow, and you are tied to nothing.
With ChatGPT Business and Enterprise you sign a data processing agreement and training on your data is off by default. If your data has to stay stored in Europe, you need Enterprise. That is exactly what you need to know as soon as customer data comes into play.
And Gemini, if you use Google Workspace?
If your team works in Gmail, Google Docs and Google Meet, Gemini is the third option. It is included from Google Workspace Business Standard, at 13.60 euros per user per month excluding VAT on an annual contract, and then works in Gmail, Docs, Drive and Meet. Business Starter only has a limited version. For a Google company that is often cheaper than adding a separate ChatGPT or Copilot licence.
Five situations and what I would choose
- Small office, everything in Outlook and Teams, lots of email and meetings: Microsoft 365 Copilot for those who email and meet daily, Copilot Chat for the rest.
- Marketing or sales, lots of writing and research, mixed software: ChatGPT Business.
- Everything in Google Workspace: Gemini through Business Standard, only then anything extra.
- You want to try without paying: start with the free Copilot Chat on your work account, without customer data.
- The same work comes back every week in fixed steps: no extra licence, but a workflow. See below.
When neither is enough
At their core both are chat windows. They wait until someone asks something. Work that comes back every week in fixed steps needs something else: a workflow that runs by itself, with fixed sources, an owner, an approval step and a log. If work piles up because nobody starts it, a licence will not solve that.
That is where AI automation starts and where a chat window stops. In practice I often use both: the model for the thinking, the workflow for the repetition. Having one process built that way costs 1,500 euros excluding VAT at Tamboer AI, see the prices.
Frequently asked questions
Is Copilot the same as ChatGPT?
No. Microsoft Copilot uses models from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, among others, but it is a different product: it sits inside Word, Outlook, Excel and Teams and works with your own Microsoft documents. ChatGPT is a separate OpenAI app that you connect to your files yourself.
Is Copilot free?
Copilot Chat is free with a Microsoft work account, but cannot look into your own mail and documents. Microsoft 365 Copilot for business, which can, costs 18.20 euros per user per month excluding VAT on annual billing, on top of your Microsoft 365 subscription.
Can I buy Copilot separately from Microsoft 365?
No. Microsoft 365 Copilot requires a suitable Microsoft 365 business subscription. You can add it as a separate add-on or take it in a bundle with Business Standard or Business Premium.
What is a ChatGPT business account?
That is ChatGPT Business, formerly ChatGPT Team: from two users, 21 euros per user per month on annual billing. You get an admin environment, connectors to your own software, no training on your data by default and a data processing agreement.
Is ChatGPT safe enough for company data?
With ChatGPT Business or Enterprise you sign a data processing agreement and training on your data is off by default. Storage in Europe is only available with Enterprise. With a free or personal account you have none of those agreements.
Which one is better in Dutch?
Both work well in Dutch, for questions and answers alike. The difference is not the language but where the work lives: inside Microsoft 365 or outside it.
Copilot vs ChatGPT: do I have to choose, or can I run both?
You can run both, and for many companies that is the wisest option: Copilot for work inside Microsoft, ChatGPT for heavier thinking and custom GPTs. Budget for two licences per person in that case, and only give them to people who use them daily.
What if neither solves my problem?
Then your problem is probably not a missing chat window but a process that keeps piling up. Start with the free AI plan: you hear which process is suitable, which tools fit and what it is worth.
About the author
I am Joost, AI specialist and founder of Tamboer AI. I have worked with AI daily since 2022. I tested and developed applications at one of the largest banks in the Netherlands and now build AI workflows for smaller businesses, with a person who checks every outcome. More about me.
