ChatGPT offers broader capabilities, superior writing quality, and 200+ million users with extensive plugin integrations, while Grok provides real-time internet access via X, edgier responses, and lower operational costs through Elon Musk's infrastructure investment.
ChatGPT vs Grok — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
General-purpose conversational AI accessible via web, mobile, and API.
Real-time AI assistant with internet access built into X Premium
Real-Time Internet Access. User Base (Monthly Active Users). Response Style. Integration Ecosystem. Reasoning Capability (Math/Logic). Cost per 1M Tokens. Content Moderation Strictness
Choose ChatGPT if you need production-grade AI for work tasks, complex reasoning, creative writing, and extensive third-party integrations across professional workflows. Choose Grok if you prioritize real-time information access, want an unrestricted conversational AI without safety guardrails, or are already embedded in the X/Twitter ecosystem and value low-cost access through Premium subscriptions.
ChatGPT: Conversational assistance & content generation | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: o1/o3 advanced reasoning series | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Hundreds of plugins and integrations | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Knowledge cutoff with occasional browsing | Grok: Yes (via X/Twitter feed)
ChatGPT: Limited or subscription-only | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Available but not primary focus | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Custom GPTs with established ecosystem | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Single model per session | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: GPT-5.2 advanced context | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Web access in Plus tier | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Superior synthesis and judgment | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: GPT-4, GPT-4o, o1, and newer models | Grok: N/A
Minimum Monthly Cost for Advanced Features
ChatGPT: Yes; extensive custom GPT ecosystem | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Thousands via Zapier and API | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Yes, via GPT-4 Vision in Plus/Pro tiers | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Yes (ChatGPT Enterprise custom terms) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: $0.05-3.00 (varies by model) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Strong (GPT-4o/5.4 capable) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Text, image, voice, video | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Limited (enterprise only) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Consumer-friendly, polished | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: November 2022 | Grok: November 2023
ChatGPT: No (knowledge cutoff) | Grok: Yes (via X integration)
ChatGPT: Web, iOS, Android, API | Grok: X Premium only
ChatGPT: $240 (ChatGPT Plus) | Grok: $168 (X Premium)
ChatGPT: Very Strong (GPT-4o) | Grok: Strong (Grok-3)
ChatGPT: $20 (Plus) / $200 (Pro) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Advanced (image, video, text, document analysis) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 1 (standalone web/app) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: GPT-4o: Superior accuracy on technical/logic problems | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 5-10 (account creation, app download) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Excellent - follows detailed creative prompts precisely | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: $240 (Plus annually) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Manual copy-paste only | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Thousands via Zapier | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Separate application | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Processes public web data only | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Available (full GPT-3.5) | Grok: Limited (X Premium required)
ChatGPT: 3 (text, image, voice) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Strong across 50+ languages | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Strict JSON mode + tool calling | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: ~2025 (browse compensates) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Yes (DALL-E 3) | Grok: Not available
ChatGPT: Yes — Advanced Voice | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Largest (GPTs, Operator) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Polished, top-rated | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Automatic on supported models | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: GPT-5.5-class + 4o-mini | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Cloud-only (Azure OpenAI closest) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: ~500 RPM / 90K TPM (GPT-5.5) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: GPT-5.5 mini (rate-limited) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: ChatGPT Plus $20/mo | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Pro $100/mo · Pro Max $200/mo | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: GPT-4o / o1 (advanced) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 40 messages (GPT-4); unlimited (GPT-3.5) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: No—manual upload required | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: No—requires web/app | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Basic (via API keys) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: No - requires manual import | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Full API with fine-tuning | Grok: Limited API access
ChatGPT: 3-6 seconds average | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Advanced custom instructions system | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 200+ million | Grok: 5-10 million estimated
ChatGPT: Limited messages (no dedicated search) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: GPT-4o & o1 reasoning | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Available (not default) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 5,000+ verified GPTs and plugins | Grok: Native X integration only
ChatGPT: April 2024 | Grok: Real-time via X API
ChatGPT: 1,200-2,000ms (requires API call and context setup) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 128,000 tokens (~96,000 words) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 0 (web and API only) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 67% correct on HumanEval benchmark | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 15-30 seconds (copy code, switch tabs, paste results) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 128,000 tokens (GPT-4o Pro) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: $20/month (Plus tier) | Grok: $14/month (X Premium)
ChatGPT: Not supported (text/images only) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Text, images, voice (limited) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 1,200-1,800ms average | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Current (December 2024) | Grok: Real-time (0 months)
ChatGPT: Advanced (GPT-4V with OCR, charts, diagrams) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Available (vision-enabled) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: External (API + plugins) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 200M+ weekly users | Grok: 3-5 million
ChatGPT: April 2024 cutoff | Grok: Real-time (live internet)
ChatGPT: Strict safety guidelines | Grok: Minimal filters
ChatGPT: Yes (voice input/output) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: GPT-4o mini (capable) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: ChatGPT Plus subscribers only | Grok: N/A
Coding Task Accuracy (HumanEval Benchmark)
ChatGPT: 40-50 (approximate) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 12,000 tokens (GPT-4 Turbo) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: DALL-E 3 (free + paid) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 86% (GPT-4 on AIME problems) | Grok: ~60% estimated
ChatGPT: $20/month | Grok: $14/month (Premium X)
ChatGPT: ~15% of edge-case queries | Grok: ~2% of queries
ChatGPT: $0.03 (GPT-4 Turbo) | Grok: Included in Premium
ChatGPT: Text, images, PDFs, audio, video | Grok: Text, images via X API
ChatGPT: Yes (Plus/Pro users) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Yes (GPT-3.5 free tier with limited queries) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 200,000 tokens (GPT-4o Turbo) | Grok: 128,000
ChatGPT: 1,000+ (via API, Zapier, Make, native integrations) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: Advanced (multi-file, architecture design, debugging) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 120 MB per file (ChatGPT Plus) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 2-5 seconds (depends on query complexity) | Grok: N/A
ChatGPT: 50+ programming and markup languages | Grok: N/A
Complex Reasoning Accuracy (AIME Benchmark)
ChatGPT: N/A | Grok: $14/month (X Premium required)
Code Generation Quality (HumanEval Benchmark)
ChatGPT: N/A | Grok: Minimal - answers most queries
ChatGPT: N/A | Grok: $14/month (X Premium)
ChatGPT: N/A | Grok: Live X/Twitter feed integration
ChatGPT: N/A | Grok: $168/year (X Premium+)
ChatGPT: N/A | Grok: Limited (X Premium subscribers only)
ChatGPT: N/A | Grok: Capable but limited optimization
ChatGPT: N/A | Grok: X platform integration only
Coding Performance (HumanEval Benchmark)
ChatGPT vs Grok — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for ChatGPT vs Grok. Contains 190 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
ChatGPT vs Grok — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for ChatGPT vs Grok.
Can I use these AIs without a subscription?
Yes, both offer free tiers. ChatGPT's free tier uses GPT-3.5 with limited features. Grok is free for X Premium subscribers only (not free tier users). If you want zero-cost access to advanced AI, ChatGPT's free tier (GPT-3.5) is the only option, though it's less capable than paid models.
Can Grok access current information while ChatGPT cannot?
Yes. Grok has live internet access via the X Platform API, enabling real-time lookup of current events, stock prices, and breaking news. ChatGPT's knowledge cutoff is April 2024, though ChatGPT can browse the web with the web browsing plugin (paid tier only). For real-time financial data and news, Grok has a native advantage.
Which AI is better for professional work: emails, reports, coding?
ChatGPT is significantly better for professional workflows. It has 86% accuracy on complex reasoning tasks versus Grok's estimated 60%, 5,000+ integrations with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Notion, and other enterprise tools, and a more polished writing style. Grok's edgy tone is less suitable for formal business communication.
What's the total cost difference over one year?
ChatGPT Plus costs $240/year ($20/month). Grok requires X Premium at $168/year ($14/month). However, if you don't already have X Premium, ChatGPT is effectively $72 cheaper annually. For API users, ChatGPT costs $0.03 per 1M input tokens while Grok access is bundled with Premium, making Grok cheaper at scale.
Does Grok refuse to answer certain questions more often?
No, Grok refuses significantly fewer requests. Grok has a ~2% refusal rate while ChatGPT refuses approximately 15% of edge-case queries due to stricter content policies. If you want fewer restrictions and more controversial topic engagement, Grok is more permissive. However, this also means less safety filtering for harmful content.
Real-Time Internet Access: ChatGPT has Limited to training data (April 2024), while Grok has Live internet access via X platform.
Consider: User Base (Monthly Active Users)
User Base (Monthly Active Users): ChatGPT has 200+ million (as of 2024), while Grok has 5-10 million estimated (2024).
Response Style: ChatGPT has Professional, safety-focused, filtered, while Grok has Irreverent, edgy, less restrictive.
Integration Ecosystem: ChatGPT has 5,000+ verified GPTs and plugins, while Grok has Native X integration only.
Consider: Reasoning Capability (Math/Logic)
Reasoning Capability (Math/Logic): ChatGPT has GPT-4 with 86% accuracy on AIME problems, while Grok has ~60% estimated accuracy on reasoning tasks.
Cost per 1M Tokens: ChatGPT has $0.03 (input) / $0.06 (output) for GPT-4, while Grok has Free for X Premium subscribers.
Content Moderation Strictness: ChatGPT has High content filtering, refusal rate ~15%, while Grok has Minimal filtering, refusal rate ~2%.