# The two apps side by side (/claude-and-chatgpt-2/the-two-apps)

---
type: Document
title: "The two apps side by side"
description: "How Claude and ChatGPT compare on starting and watching a job and on how much they do without asking, and what you need to begin."
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last_verified: 2026-11-05
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    title: "Claude Cowork and chat are one Claude (Anthropic, verified 2026-11-05)"
    resource: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/16761823-claude-cowork-and-chat-are-one-claude
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Both apps can now do this kind of work. They can do similar things. The main difference is where you find each feature.

| | Claude | ChatGPT |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Starting a job** | Just ask. Claude decides when a request needs a whole job | Normal questions go to **Chat**. For a whole job, turn on **Work**, a switch above the message box |
| **Jobs you want to watch step by step** | The **Code** tab, a separate area of the app. You do not need to know programming | **Codex**, a separate area for the same kind of work |
| **What you get back** | Documents, slides, designs and more, which you can edit and share | Documents, spreadsheets, presentations and simple websites |
| **When you close your laptop** | Cloud jobs keep going, and you can follow them on your phone. Jobs that use your own files need the app open | The same |
| **How much it does without asking** | You choose: it asks before each step, or it works on its own while an automatic safety check reviews each step | You choose how much it may do, and which steps need your OK |

Part 0 of this book shows you both apps, step by step, and the practice lab lets you try them now. For more detail on every feature, and on which model to use, see [Claude and ChatGPT 2.0: The Tour](../claude-and-chatgpt-2-tour/overview.md). Read it now if you are curious, or come back to it later. Open-source AI tools, whose code anyone can read and change, such as OpenCode, are a third option. You can run them on your own computer. Part III covers them.

## What you need to begin

- **The Claude desktop app,** on a Mac or a Windows computer, with a free account. This book starts with Claude, and Part 0 shows you how to set it up. A free account is enough for the first exercises.[^plans]
- **The ChatGPT desktop app,** later, when the exercises start comparing the two. Its free plan includes Chat, Work and Codex.
- **A paid plan, later.** Larger jobs, like the payment run above, usually need one. Some features also need one, such as letting the AI use the other apps on your computer. The book tells you when a paid plan becomes worth it.

[^plans]: As verified on November 5, 2026, Anthropic was bringing the single conversation that turns requests into tasks to Pro, Max and Ultra plans first, with Team in beta and Enterprise through an owner setting. A free account may not have it yet. Part 0 shows how to start a job if yours does not. Claude Cowork and chat are one Claude, Anthropic.