In this guide · 8 sections
- 01ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini: the short version
- 02Business plan prices and seats
- 03Which model is strongest right now? What the benchmarks say
- 04Data, privacy and PDPA: what each business tier promises
- 05Which one suits which kind of business
- 06Run your own 30-minute test before you pay
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
If your team lives in Google Workspace, start with Gemini, because it is already in your plan. If you want the strongest writing and document work, Claude Team leads the current published rankings. If you want the widest set of features and integrations, ChatGPT Business is the safe all-rounder.
ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini: the short version
Prices below are from each vendor's pricing page, approximate, as of October 2026. ChatGPT and Claude list US dollars before tax; Google lists Singapore dollars.
ChatGPT Business
All-rounderUS$20/user/mo (annual), US$25 monthly
- Minimum 2 seats
- GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol in ChatGPT Work and Codex
- Connectors for Microsoft 365, Google Drive, Slack and more
- No training on business data by default
Best for: Teams that want one tool for writing, analysis, images and agents.
Claude Team
Top rankedUS$20/user/mo (annual), US$25 monthly
- For teams of 2 to 150
- Claude Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5
- Claude for Microsoft 365 and Outlook included
- No model training on your content by default
Best for: Document-heavy work: contracts, proposals, reports and long files.
Gemini in Google Workspace
Already paid forIncluded from S$9.40/user/mo (Starter)
- Gemini in Gmail on Starter; Docs, Sheets and Meet from Standard (S$18.80)
- Works inside files your team already has
- Gemini 4 Argon launched 13 October 2026
- Data not used to train models outside your domain
Best for: Businesses already on Google Workspace.
If you use Microsoft 365 rather than Google, our Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace guide covers what each suite costs before you add any AI.
Business plan prices and seats
The headline seat price is the same for ChatGPT and Claude. Both now sell a standard seat and a heavier 'premium' seat, and you can mix them in one workspace.
| Plan | Standard seat | Heavy-use seat | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Business | US$20 annual / US$25 monthly | Premium: US$100 annual / US$125 monthly | 2 seats |
| Claude Team | US$20 annual / US$25 monthly | Premium: US$100 annual / US$125 monthly | 2 users (up to 150) |
| Google Workspace | Starter S$9.40, Standard S$18.80 | Plus S$29.40 | 1 user |
For a team of five on annual billing, ChatGPT Business or Claude Team costs roughly US$100 a month in total. If you already pay for Google Workspace Business Standard, Gemini adds nothing to the bill. OpenAI cut the ChatGPT Business standard seat by US$5 on 2 April 2026, and introduced Premium seats in August 2026.
Which model is strongest right now? What the benchmarks say
IT Sorted has not run its own scored tests. The rankings below are published third-party leaderboards, which measure different things and change often.
| Model (vendor) | Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index | Arena text: instruction following | API price per 1M tokens (in / out) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) | 58 (max effort), rank 1 | Rank 1, score 1536 | US$4 / US$20 |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Anthropic) | 56 (max effort) | Rank 13, score 1488 | US$2 / US$10 |
| GPT-6 Astra (OpenAI) | 53 (max effort) | Rank 48, score 1455 | US$10 / US$50 |
| Gemini 4 Argon (Google) | 53 (high) | Rank 2, score 1536 (preliminary) | US$2 / US$10 until 30 Nov, then US$4 / US$20 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol (OpenAI) | 52 (max effort) | Rank 31, score 1469 | US$2 / US$10 |
Two caveats. First, Artificial Analysis scores depend on the effort setting, and the top settings are slow and costly. Second, Arena ranks by human votes, and new models such as Gemini 4 Argon carry a 'preliminary' tag until they have enough votes. For typical SME tasks like emails, summaries and quotes, all five are capable.
A model that wins coding benchmarks may not write better customer emails in Singapore English. Use rankings to make a shortlist, then test with your own documents.
Data, privacy and PDPA: what each business tier promises
For a Singapore business, the most important difference is between consumer and business plans. Free and personal plans may use chats to improve models unless you opt out. Business plans say they do not.
- ChatGPT Business: OpenAI's business pricing page states 'no training on your business data by default', with SAML SSO and MFA.
- Claude Team: Anthropic's pricing page lists 'no model training on your content by default'. Personal plans show training as opt-out.
- Gemini in Workspace: Google's Workspace AI privacy hub says prompts are customer data and are not used to train models outside your domain without permission.
Under the PDPA, you are still responsible for what staff paste in. Do not put NRIC numbers, medical details or full customer lists into any AI tool without a clear purpose and a policy. Our guide on using AI chatbots on your website covers the PDPC's AI guidance, and the IMDA AI governance checklist turns it into one page.
Which one suits which kind of business
| Your situation | Usually the better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Already on Google Workspace Business Standard | Gemini | Included, works inside Gmail, Docs and Sheets |
| On Microsoft 365, lots of Word and Outlook work | Claude Team or ChatGPT Business | Both connect to Microsoft 365; Claude lists Outlook and Office add-ins |
| Contracts, tenders and long reports | Claude Team | Top of the current instruction-following and intelligence rankings |
| Marketing team wanting images and many app connectors | ChatGPT Business | Widest feature set and connector list |
| Tight budget, light use | Gemini (Starter) or a free tier for non-sensitive work | Lowest cost; keep customer data out of free tools |
You do not have to pick one forever. Seats are monthly on both ChatGPT and Claude if you avoid annual billing, so you can switch after a quarter. Watch the Q4 2026 AI model roundup for changes; all five models in the table above launched in September or October 2026.
Run your own 30-minute test before you pay
Leaderboards cannot tell you which tool handles your price list or your customers' questions best. A short, fair test can.
Pick five real tasks
For example: reply to a customer complaint, write a quote from your price list, summarise a supplier contract, write an Excel formula, translate a notice into Chinese.
Remove personal data first
Replace names, phone numbers and NRIC numbers with placeholders before pasting anything.
Use the same prompt in each tool
Paste the identical instruction and file into ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, using their free trials or business trials.
Score each answer from 1 to 5
Judge accuracy, tone and how much editing it needed. Ask a colleague to score blind if you can.
Check the admin side
Look at SSO, MFA, how to remove a leaver and where chats are stored. These matter more after month three than raw quality.
Keep the tasks and scores in a spreadsheet. When the vendors release new models next quarter, rerun the same test so the comparison stays fair.
Do it yourself or get help?
Choosing and buying seats is something an owner can do in an afternoon. The harder part is the rules around it: which data staff can paste, who owns the account and what happens when someone leaves.
Security Awareness Training (S$390) includes a short AI-use policy and a session on what not to paste into AI tools. If you want AI to answer customers on your website with your own FAQ and prices, AI Website Assistant (S$790) sets one up on accounts you own. IT Sorted does not earn referral fees from OpenAI, Anthropic or Google.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on your tools. Gemini is the obvious start if you already pay for Google Workspace Business Standard. Claude ranks highest on current published leaderboards for writing and instruction following. ChatGPT Business has the broadest feature set. Run a short test with five real tasks before you commit.
OpenAI lists ChatGPT Business at US$20 per user per month billed annually, or US$25 billed monthly, with a minimum of two seats, as of October 2026. Premium seats with more usage cost US$100 annually or US$125 monthly. OpenAI says prices can vary by country and currency, so check checkout.
On their business plans, all three say no by default. ChatGPT Business and Claude Team state they do not train on business content by default, and Google says Workspace prompts are not used to train models outside your domain without permission. Free and personal plans can differ.
Yes. As of October 2026, Business Starter (S$9.40 per user per month in Singapore) includes Gemini in Gmail and the Gemini app, and Business Standard (S$18.80) adds Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet. Which models each plan can use is set by Google and can change.
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index fetched on 18 October 2026, Claude Opus 5.5 ranked first with a score of 58. On Arena's instruction-following leaderboard of 15 October 2026, Claude Opus 5.5 and Gemini 4 Argon tied at the top. Rankings change often, so check the date.