Copilot vs ChatGPT: which one earns its keep?

Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT get lumped together as "AI", but they're built for slightly different jobs, and for a small business the right choice usually comes down to where your work already lives and how many people need it. This is an even-handed look at both, with honest pricing, so you can spend on the one that actually pays off.

What Microsoft 365 Copilot is

Copilot is AI built into the Microsoft apps you probably already use. It sits inside Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams and the rest, and its big advantage is that it can see your own work: your documents, your spreadsheets, your inbox, your meetings.

That makes it good at jobs rooted in your own files. Draft a document in Word from a few bullet points, summarise a long email thread in Outlook, pull a quick analysis out of an Excel sheet, or catch up on a Teams meeting you missed. Because it works where you already work, there's less copying and pasting, and the answers draw on your actual material rather than generic knowledge.

What ChatGPT is

ChatGPT is a general-purpose assistant you open on its own, in a browser or an app, and talk to about almost anything. It isn't tied to your files by default. You bring the context to it by typing or pasting, and it helps with drafting, brainstorming, summarising, explaining and rewriting across a huge range of topics.

Its strengths are breadth and flexibility. It happily jumps from a marketing post to a tricky customer email to explaining a concept you half understand, all in one chat. It's also cheaper to get started with, which matters when it's just you or a small team trying things out. For a fuller picture of the everyday jobs it handles well, see our guide to practical ways to use ChatGPT in a small business.

Where they overlap

A lot, honestly. Both will draft an email, summarise a document, write a first-pass marketing post, tidy up clumsy wording and brainstorm ideas. For those everyday tasks you'd be happy with either, and you'd struggle to tell the output apart.

The real difference isn't the writing, it's the context and the plumbing. Copilot reaches into your Microsoft files automatically; ChatGPT needs you to feed it the material. Copilot is one click inside the app you're already in; ChatGPT is a separate window you switch to. For some people that convenience is worth real money. For others, a quick copy and paste is no bother at all.

Honest pricing for an Australian small business

This is where the decision often gets made. The numbers below are indicative and worth checking against current rates, but the bands are the point.

• ChatGPT. A free tier covers a lot. The paid plan is around US$20 a month per person, roughly AU$30, with team and business plans available above that.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot. A per-seat add-on, commonly near AU$45 per user a month, on top of your existing Microsoft 365 subscription. You're paying for it for every staff member who gets it.

So for one or two users, ChatGPT is the cheaper way in. Copilot's cost makes more sense when several staff spend their day in Microsoft apps and the in-app convenience genuinely saves each of them time. The maths is per seat, so multiply before you commit.

When each makes sense

Lean towards Copilot if: your team already pays for Microsoft 365 and works in Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams most of the day, and you want AI right there in those apps drawing on your own files. The deeper you're invested in Microsoft, the more naturally Copilot fits.

Lean towards ChatGPT if: you want a flexible, affordable assistant for a wide mix of jobs, you're a small team or solo operator, or you're not heavily tied to Microsoft. It's the easier, cheaper place to start and learn what AI can do for you.

If you're weighing up the broader field as well, our comparison of ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini covers the other big general assistants worth knowing about.

Do you need both?

Almost never, at least not to start. Paying for both means paying twice for a big overlap, and for most small businesses that's money you don't need to spend. Pick the one that matches where your work lives and how many people need it, get good at it, and only revisit if you hit a real wall.

The honest bit: the best tool is the one your team will actually use, not the one with the longest feature list. If you'd like help matching the choice to how your business runs, that's exactly what our AI consulting conversations are for, and there's no pressure to buy anything.