ChatGPT vs Manus
ChatGPT scores 8.8 to Manus's 7.6 among the AI assistants we rate, and is the better pick for 2 of the 4 kinds of buyer below.
ChatGPT wins, 8.8 to 7.6
Manus's Wide Research runs parallel multi-agent research across many items at once for full reports; ChatGPT's deep research is limited on Free and Go, and only opens up fully from Plus. Manus's cheapest paid plan is $20 a month, its AI agent already included in full, with plans differing only by credit allowance; ChatGPT's $8 a month Go plan is cheaper but mainly raises usage limits instead. Both give teams a shared workspace, and Manus holds SOC 2 and GDPR compliance.
Pick ChatGPT if you want the cheaper monthly plan and don't need parallel research.
Pick Manus if you want parallel multi-agent research across many items at once.
Best for
Who each one suits, decided on the criteria that matter to that buyer and the checked facts where the two differ.
- Voice conversation: ChatGPT yes, Manus does not say
- Remembers you across chats: ChatGPT yes, Manus does not say
- Cheapest paid plan, monthly: $8 against $20
- But Manus leads on full use on the cheapest paid plan: Included against Limited
- Does not train AI on your data: ChatGPT Unless you opt out, Manus not published
How they score
Both are scored the same way, against the other AI assistants we rate, from facts on each vendor's own pages. ChatGPT leads on 2 of 4 criteria.
Where they differ
Every point where the two vendors' published facts disagree, with a link to where each fact was read. "Not published" means the vendor does not say either way.
Published by only one of them
Where they match (8)
Pricing, plan by plan
Every plan each vendor publishes, monthly and yearly where both are offered.
ChatGPT
Manus
Pros and cons
From each tool's full review, written from the same checked facts.
ChatGPT
- The Free plan includes unlimited text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna, subject to abuse guardrails.
- Web search is included on every individual plan, including Free.
- Projects are included on every individual plan, including Free.
- ChatGPT connects to Google Workspace, Google Drive, Slack, GitHub and Microsoft 365.
- Go, the cheapest paid plan, still does not unlock GPT-6 Astra, GPT-5.6 Sol or GPT-5.6 Sol Pro, and may include ads.
- Single sign-on and SOC 2 Type 2 compliance are only on the Business and Enterprise plans.
- New sign-ups to the $200 a month Pro 20x tier are currently paused.
Manus
- A free plan with limited monthly credits covers the core features.
- Each task runs in a cloud sandbox with internet access, a file system and code execution.
- Wide Research runs parallel research across many items and returns full reports and datasets.
- Manus holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certification.
- Tasks use credits according to their complexity, so the cost of a task is not fixed.
- Manus chooses the model for each task; you cannot pick one.
- Shared team spaces and single sign-on need the Team plan, which is sold through sales.
ChatGPT vs Manus: common questions
Which is better, ChatGPT or Manus?
ChatGPT scores 8.8 and Manus 7.6 out of 10 among the AI assistants we rate. ChatGPT is ahead on what it can do and pricing.
Is ChatGPT or Manus cheaper?
ChatGPT's cheapest paid plan is $8/mo (Go) and Manus's is $20/mo (Standard monthly usage). Compare what each plan includes below before going on price alone.
