From ChatGPT to Gemini and even X’s Grok, there’s certainly not a shortage of AI-powered chatbots on the scene right now.
So where does Claude come into things? Should you use Claude over other chatbots depending on what you need information on?
We explain everything you need to know about Claude including what it’s used for, how it differs from other AI assistants and whether it’s free to use.
What is Claude AI?
Claude AI, also known as Claude.ai and Claude, is an AI chatbot that was created and released by Anthropic back in March 2023. Hailed as being “the AI for problem solvers”, Claude promises to help with a variety of tasks including “analysis, writing, coding and general question-answering”.
You can use Claude to process information, perform complex cognitive tasks and even transcribe and analyse images, including handwritten notes and photos. It can also create websites in HTML and CSS and debug code bases.
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Claude is made up of three large language models (LLMs) that offer different levels of speed and performance. There’s Haiku which is the fastest of the three that’s hailed by Anthropic as being a “lightweight version of the most powerful AI”, designed for quick answers.
In the middle sits Sonnet, which is designed for everyday work problems and claims to be the smartest of the three.
Finally, for maximum reasoning power to solve complex problems and deep research, Opus sits at the top.
Is Claude AI free to use?
Claude currently offers three pricing plans to choose between: Free, Pro and Max. The Free plan is, unsurprisingly, the most basic version and allows you to interact with Claude either on the web, iOS, Android and on your desktop. Alongside access to Haiku and Sonnet, the Free plan allows you to:
- Generate code
- Create and edit content
- Analyse text and images
- Search the web
However, do keep in mind that there is a usage limit with the Free plan.
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For £15 / $17 a month, Claude Pro includes everything found in the Free plan alongside access to Opus and a higher usage limit. In addition, Pro includes:
- The ability to create files and execute code
- Access to Research
- Google Workspace integration, including Gmail, Calendar and Docs
- Integration with any context or tool through connectors with remote MCP
Last but not least there’s the Max plan which will set you back from £90 / $100 a month. Max includes everything found in Pro, alongside:
- Either 5x or 20x more usage than Pro (you’ll pay the difference)
- Higher output limits
- Memory across conversations
- Priority access at high traffic times
- Early access to advanced tools
How is Claude different from ChatGPT?
As there are so many AI chatbots available, it can be difficult to understand why you should use one over another. The main reason why you would opt for Claude over ChatGPT is depending on your needs. For example, Claude is designed to generate code and deal with more complex tasks whereas ChatGPT can be used for everyday tasks.
Plus ChatGPT can offer cross-chat memory, which means it’ll remember key context based on your previous conversations. This is an optional feature, which you’ll need to manually enable in your OpenAI’s settings. While Claude does offer this feature, you will have to pay for the privilege by paying for the Max plan.
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For a more in depth comparison, make sure you visit our dedicated Claude vs ChatGPT guide.
