ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot: which should a small business in Australia use?
Start from what you already pay for. If you have Microsoft 365 for business, Copilot Chat is already included at no extra cost. [6] [7] If you don’t, ChatGPT and Claude both have a free tier at A$0, so try them on two real jobs before paying. [1] [4] Prices below are as of 25 October 2026.
Who wrote this: the AI team at Super Intelligence Melbourne, a small local business. We have no connection with OpenAI, Anthropic or Microsoft.
Start from the software you already use
| If you already… | Start with | What it costs extra |
|---|---|---|
| Pay for Microsoft 365 Business Basic [7] | Copilot Chat, the AI chat with web search that comes with your plan | Nothing for Copilot Chat. Copilot inside Word, Excel and Outlook is an add-on. |
| Pay for Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Premium [6] [7] | Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. These plans are now sold “with Copilot built in”. | Nothing if your plan already says “with Copilot”. |
| Have no Microsoft 365 and are just trying AI [1] [4] | ChatGPT Free or Claude Free | A$0 |
| Are a team of 2 or more working with client information [2] [4] [6] | A business plan: ChatGPT Business (from 2 users), Claude Team (2 to 150 people), or Microsoft 365 with Copilot | See the prices below. Business plans aren’t used for training by default: Guide № 06. |
Prices in Australia, as of 25 October 2026
These are each company’s own prices, read from Australia. GST is included in Claude’s prices, excluded from Microsoft’s, and not stated on ChatGPT’s, so don’t compare the numbers directly. [1] [4] [6]
| Plan | Price shown | GST | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Free [1] | A$0 / month | — | |
| ChatGPT Go [1] | A$13 / month | Not stated | “This plan may include ads.” |
| ChatGPT Plus [1] | A$30 / month | Not stated | |
| ChatGPT Pro [1] | From A$155 / month | Not stated | |
| ChatGPT Business [1] [2] | Standard seat A$28 / month; premium seat A$140 / month | Not stated | From 2 users. The page doesn’t say which billing period the AUD price is for. |
| Claude Free [4] | A$0 | — | |
| Claude Pro [4] | A$28 / month billed annually (A$340 up front), or A$34 monthly | Included | |
| Claude Max [4] | From A$170.01 / month | Included | |
| Claude Team [4] | Standard seat A$34 / month billed annually, or A$43 monthly; premium seat A$170 or A$213 | Included | 2 to 150 people. |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic [7] | AU$10.50 / user / month, paid yearly | Excluded | Includes Copilot Chat. |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot [6] | AU$35.20 / user / month, paid yearly | Excluded | |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot [6] | AU$47.90 / user / month, paid yearly | Excluded | |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (add-on) [6] | AU$26.91 / user / month, paid yearly (normally AU$31.40) | Excluded | Offer runs 1 July to 31 December 2026, first year only, for existing customers with an eligible Business plan. |
Microsoft also says “more advanced AI experiences are billed based on usage”, on top of the licence. [6]
Will it train on what you type?
It depends on the plan, and the switches move. We keep one table, checked every month: Do ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini train on your chats? In short, business plans aren’t used for training by default: Claude Team says “No model training on your content by default”, and for Microsoft 365 work accounts “prompts and responses are not used to train the underlying large language models”. [4] [6]
Where your data is stored
- Microsoft 365 Copilot: for Australian tenants, the content of interactions is “stored at rest in the relevant Local Region Geography”, which includes Australia. [8]
- ChatGPT: storage at rest in Australia is for eligible ChatGPT Enterprise, Edu, Healthcare and API customers. ChatGPT Business is marked “No” for data residency. [3] [2]
- Claude: Anthropic offers regional data residency, including Australia, through AWS Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex and Microsoft Foundry. We found no Anthropic page offering Australian storage for Claude’s own apps. [5]
Before you paste anything in
The OAIC recommends that you “do not enter personal information, and particularly sensitive information, into publicly available generative AI tools”. [9] business.gov.au says to make sure “you understand what data the tool uses and how that data is stored”. [10]
What we didn’t compare
We don’t rank which one is smarter or writes better. There’s no neutral, official source for that, and it changes with every model update. The quickest test is your own: pick two jobs you do every week and try them on the free tiers.
Questions
Is Copilot already included in my Microsoft 365?
Copilot Chat is included at no extra cost with eligible Microsoft 365 plans. Business Standard and Business Premium are now sold with Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. On Business Basic, full Microsoft 365 Copilot is an add-on. [6] [7]
Which is cheapest for one person?
ChatGPT Free and Claude Free cost A$0. The lowest paid plans shown are ChatGPT Go at A$13 a month, which may include ads, and Claude Pro at A$28 a month billed annually or A$34 monthly, including GST. As of 25 October 2026. [1] [4]
Do I need a business plan?
If two or more people use it with client information, a business plan is the safer start: ChatGPT Business starts at 2 users and Claude Team is for 2 to 150 people. Business plans aren’t used for training by default; the details for each are in Guide № 06. [1] [4]
Sources
Each page read from Australia on 25 October 2026.
- OpenAI, ChatGPT plans and pricing.
- OpenAI, Business pricing.
- OpenAI, Business data privacy, security, and compliance.
- Anthropic, Claude plans and pricing.
- Anthropic, Regional compliance.
- Microsoft, Microsoft Copilot plans and pricing.
- Microsoft, Compare Microsoft 365 business plans.
- Microsoft Learn, Data residency for Microsoft 365 Copilot offerings.
- OAIC, Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products.
- business.gov.au, Artificial intelligence.
Written by the AI team at Super Intelligence Melbourne, 25 October 2026.
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