Claude vs ChatGPT: Which One to Choose for Writing, Code and Work

Short answer

For long reasoning, multi-step code and dense documents, pick Claude Opus 5.5. For everyday writing and quick drafts, Claude Sonnet 5 or Claude Haiku 4.5 does the job for fewer tokens. If you need to give the model an audio recording or a video along with your files, pick ChatGPT-5.5. It's the only model in either family here that accepts both. In Moleculs you can use Claude online and ChatGPT under one subscription, so you don't have to commit to one family. Every run is paid from the same token balance.

How we compared them

We grouped the models by the task they fit best, then sorted them by cost within each task. We used four criteria:

• Writing style. How the default output reads before you edit it, and how closely the model follows a format you set.
• Reasoning and code. Whether the model is meant for long, multi-step work or for short answers.
• Inputs. What you can attach (images, files, audio, video) and how many images fit in one request.
• Cost per run. How many tokens one run uses in Moleculs. This is the number you notice at the end of the month.

Inputs and tokens come from the Moleculs catalog as of September 2026. The official vendor apps have their own features and pricing, so check those on the vendors' sites.

Claude vs ChatGPT at a glance

Two things stand out. Claude takes twice as many images per request. And the price ladders don't match: Claude's top model costs less per run than ChatGPT-5.5 and less than half as much as ChatGPT 6 Astra.

Claude Opus 5.5: long reasoning, code and multi-step tasks

Who it's for: developers, analysts and anyone whose task has several steps that depend on each other.

Anthropic describes Opus as its flagship model for complex reasoning, code and long agentic tasks. In practice, these are the jobs where a lighter model loses track halfway through. Examples: refactoring a module without breaking its interfaces, going through a contract clause by clause, or planning a migration and then writing the scripts for it.

It accepts files and up to 20 images per request. You can attach a spec, a few UI screenshots and a log file in one go.

Where it's limited: it doesn't accept audio or video. At 20 tokens per run, it costs four times as much as Haiku.

When not to use it: a quick rewrite, a one-line answer or a short email. You'd be paying for depth you don't use. Start with a lighter model and move up only when the answer falls short.

Claude Sonnet 5 and Claude Haiku 4.5: everyday writing and fast drafts

Claude Sonnet 5

Who it's for: people who write every day, such as marketers, support leads, product managers and editors.

Sonnet is the middle tier. It handles blog drafts, briefs, meeting summaries and document reviews for less than Opus costs. At 10 tokens per run it costs the same as ChatGPT 6 Sol, so the two make a fair head-to-head for writing.

Where it's limited: for long chains of reasoning or large codebases, Opus is the better choice. It doesn't accept audio or video.

When not to use it: when you need to process dozens of short, repetitive items. Haiku does that for half the tokens.

Claude Haiku 4.5

Who it's for: anyone who produces a lot of short text, such as product descriptions, subject lines, reply templates and first drafts you'll edit anyway.

Haiku is Anthropic's compact tier and the cheapest Claude model here, at 5 tokens per run. It accepts the same inputs as the larger models: files and up to 20 images.

Where it's limited: it isn't built for hard reasoning. If a draft needs a real argument or a tricky logical step, the output will show it.

When not to use it: code reviews, legal or financial documents, or any task where a small mistake is costly.

ChatGPT-5.5: when you need to feed it audio, video and files

Who it's for: people whose source material isn't only text: a recorded call, a screen capture of a bug, a product demo, a folder of PDFs.

ChatGPT-5.5 accepts images, files, audio and video. That's its biggest advantage over every other model in this comparison. You can attach a call recording and ask for a summary with action items. You can also upload a short video and ask where a process goes wrong. Try ChatGPT online with one of your own recordings.

Where it's limited: it takes up to 10 images per request, half of Claude's limit. At 28 tokens per run, it costs more than Claude Opus 5.5.

When not to use it: text-only work. For pasted text or an attached document, Sonnet 5 or ChatGPT 6 Sol does everyday work for 10 tokens.

ChatGPT 6 Astra, Sol and Luna: picking the right tier for the task

All three accept files and up to 10 images. None of them accepts audio or video. The difference the catalog shows is the cost per run. The practical rule: start with the cheapest tier and move up only when the answer isn't good enough.

ChatGPT 6 Luna

At 1 token per run, Luna is for high volume: tagging, short rewrites, pulling fields out of text, quick questions. Give it a narrow task with a clear output format. For anything that takes several reasoning steps, move up a tier.

ChatGPT 6 Sol

Sol is the everyday tier, at 10 tokens per run. Use it for code snippets, explanations, email drafts and document summaries. If you pick ChatGPT, most of your work will probably run here.

ChatGPT 6 Astra

Astra is the top tier, at 48 tokens per run. It's the most expensive text model in this comparison. Save it for tasks Sol has already failed. If you're considering it for long reasoning or code, try Claude Opus 5.5 first. Opus is built for that work and costs less than half as much.

Moleculs: Claude and ChatGPT under one subscription

Who it's for: people who want both model families but not two subscriptions.

Moleculs.ai is an aggregator. It gives you one interface and one subscription for text, image, video and audio models from different vendors, including every model above. Each run uses tokens from one balance. The cost of a run is shown next to the model, and your token quota resets every billing period. See the pricing page for current plans.

Where it's limited:

• Moleculs doesn't make its own models. It gives you access to Claude, ChatGPT and models from other vendors.
• It isn't a copy of the vendor apps. Some settings and features from the official Claude and ChatGPT apps aren't available.
• You can't compare models side by side in one window. To compare two models, run the same prompt twice.
• There's no Moleculs mobile app.

When not to use it: if you only use one model and rely on features of its official app, subscribe to that vendor directly.

Which one is better for writing: one prompt, two answers

Don't rely on anyone else's verdict on writing style, including ours. Test it yourself: send one prompt to Claude Sonnet 5 and to ChatGPT 6 Sol. Both cost 10 tokens, so the test is fair. Here's a prompt you can run right now:

Write a 150-word product update email announcing a price change, then rewrite it in a warmer tone and list what you changed.

Switch models and send it again. Then check five things:

1. Length. Is the first email close to 150 words, or is it much longer or shorter?
2. The hard part. Does the email state the new price and the date clearly, or hide them under reassurance?
3. Tone shift. Is the second version actually warmer, or did the model just add "we're excited" and an exclamation mark?
4. Change list. Does the list match what actually changed? Check it line by line.
5. Edits needed. How many sentences would you rewrite before sending? This is the number that matters most.

Choose the model whose drafts of your kind of text need fewer edits. Then repeat the test with a real brief from your work, because results on a sample prompt don't always hold for real work.

Pick by situation

• You write lots of short texts: Claude Haiku 4.5 or ChatGPT 6 Luna.
• You write every day and want one reliable model: Claude Sonnet 5 or ChatGPT 6 Sol. Run the test above and keep the one that wins.
• You write code or work on long, multi-step tasks: Claude Opus 5.5.
• Your sources are calls, videos or screen recordings: ChatGPT-5.5.
• You attach lots of screenshots or scans to each request: Claude, which takes up to 20 images per request against ChatGPT's 10.
• Sol isn't enough and you want to stay with ChatGPT: ChatGPT 6 Astra, but compare it with Opus first.
• You want both families on one bill: Moleculs. It gives you access to the models, not the vendors' apps.