Copilot vs ChatGPT Pricing in 2026:
All 10 Tiers, Real Combined Cost
Both headline prices are $20/month. Copilot Pro’s real cost is $30-33/mo. M365 Copilot Business rises from $18 to $21 on 30 June 2026. Here is the full picture with every tier, every prerequisite, and the honest total spend.
30 June 2026 Price Change: M365 Copilot Business $18 to $21
Microsoft’s promotional pricing of $18/user/month ends 30 June 2026. From 1 July 2026, the standard price is $21/user/month. For a 25-user team, locking in before the deadline saves $900/year ($3 x 25 x 12).
To lock $18, start an annual M365 Copilot Business subscription before 30 June 2026. Always verify on microsoft.com before purchasing.
All 10 Tiers at a Glance
| Product | Monthly | Annual | Prerequisite | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Copilot (Free) | Free | Free | None | Web/mobile/Windows chat only |
| Copilot Pro | $20 | $20 | M365 Personal/Family (+$9.99-$12.99) | Real cost: $30-33/mo for Office integration |
| M365 Copilot Business | $18 (promo) | $18 promo / $21 standard | M365 Business Basic/Standard/Premium | Promo ends 30 June 2026 |
| M365 Copilot Enterprise | $30 | $30 (annual only) | M365 E3 (+$36) or E5 (+$57) | Full compliance, Purview, FedRAMP |
| GitHub Copilot Pro | $10 | $100/yr | GitHub account | IDE completions + Chat |
| GitHub Copilot Pro+ | $39 | $390/yr | GitHub account | GPT-5 + Claude Opus 4.6 selectable |
| ChatGPT Free | Free | Free | None | Rate-limited GPT-5.2 |
| ChatGPT Plus | $20 | $20 | None | Flat price, no prerequisites |
| ChatGPT Team | $30 (mo-mo) | $25/user | Min 2 seats | No training on your data |
| ChatGPT Enterprise | Custom | ~$50-70/user | Min seats, contact OpenAI | SSO, SCIM, audit, HIPAA BAA |
Copilot Pro vs ChatGPT Plus: The $20 Question
- +Priority GPT-5.2 chat
- +Think Deeper reasoning mode
- +Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote (needs M365)
- +More Designer image boosts
- +Edge sidebar priority access
- -Requires separate M365 Personal/Family subscription for Office integration
- -No Advanced Voice mode
- -No Deep Research
- -No custom GPTs
- +Priority GPT-5.2 (no daily limits)
- +Advanced Voice mode (~300ms latency)
- +GPT Image 1.5 inline conversational editing
- +Deep Research with o3/o4 reasoning (autonomous)
- +Custom GPT creation and usage
- +128k context window
- -No Office-app in-app integration
- -No tenant-bounded data handling
- -No Microsoft Graph context
If you spend more than 3 hours per day in Word, Excel, Outlook, or PowerPoint and already have (or would buy) M365 Personal, Copilot Pro at $30/mo is worth it for the in-app integration. For everyone else, ChatGPT Plus at $20 flat is the better value: more features, no hidden prerequisite.
The M365 Base Licence Requirement
Every paid Copilot tier (except GitHub Copilot) requires a qualifying M365 base licence. Here is what each costs and which Copilot tier it unlocks.
| M365 Licence | Price/mo | Unlocks | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| M365 Personal | $9.99 | Copilot Pro Office integration | Solo consumer |
| M365 Family | $12.99 | Copilot Pro for up to 6 people ($5.50/person effective) | Household |
| M365 Business Basic | $6.00/user | M365 Copilot Business (+ $18-21) | SMB, web-only apps |
| M365 Business Standard | $12.50/user | M365 Copilot Business (+ $18-21) | SMB, full desktop apps |
| M365 Business Premium | $22.00/user | M365 Copilot Business (+ $18-21) | SMB with advanced security |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | $36.00/user | M365 Copilot Enterprise (+ $30) | Enterprise |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | $57.00/user | M365 Copilot Enterprise (+ $30) | Enterprise + advanced compliance |
Business Tier: M365 Copilot Business vs ChatGPT Team
At 100 users, M365 Copilot Business post-promo costs more than ChatGPT Team. But Copilot adds in-app Office integration across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams that ChatGPT Team cannot match. The productivity value typically justifies the delta at this scale.
Total Cost Calculator
Calculate your true monthly spend including all prerequisites.