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Comparison
Claude vs Microsoft 365 Copilot
An AI assistant that is good with long documents, careful writing and summaries. AI built into Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams for businesses on Microsoft 365.
| Claude | Microsoft 365 Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan: $0. Pro: $20 a month or $200 a year. Max: $100 or $200 a month. | Microsoft 365 Copilot Business: from £13.80 per user a month (offer; normally from £16.10), paid yearly. Business Standard with Copilot: £18.10. Business Premium with Copilot: £24.60. Prices exclude VAT. |
| Free plan | Yes. Chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, file creation, code, memory and Artifacts. Usage limits reset on a rolling five-hour window, with no fixed message count. | No. No free business plan; a free trial is offered. |
| Best for | Reading contracts, tenders and policies and turning them into plain-English summaries; longer written drafts. | Businesses that already live in Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams. |
| Watch out for | Free usage can run out during a heavy session; it resets after five hours. | Annual subscriptions auto-renew. The lower Copilot Business price was shown as an offer when we checked. |
| UK notes | Prices are in US dollars. | UK prices in pounds, excluding VAT. |
| Made by | Anthropic | Microsoft |
| Checked | 2026-10-14 | 2026-10-14 |
Our verdict
For most small UK businesses starting out, Claude is the easier first pick because it has a free plan. Pick Microsoft 365 Copilot instead if this sounds like you: businesses that already live in Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams.
UK price difference
Cheapest paid plans: Claude $20 (Pro, per month); Microsoft 365 Copilot £13.80 (Copilot Business, per user a month, paid yearly, excl. VAT (offer)). Microsoft 365 Copilot prices in pounds, so a UK business knows exactly what it will pay. Claude prices in US dollars, so the cost in pounds moves with the exchange rate and your card may add a foreign transaction fee. Check on the provider page whether VAT is included before you buy.
Who should pick which?
- Choose Claude for: reading contracts, tenders and policies and turning them into plain-English summaries; longer written drafts.
- Choose Microsoft 365 Copilot for: businesses that already live in Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams.
Only Claude has a free plan, so you can try it first at no cost. Prices change, so check the provider's page before buying.
Other ai assistants to consider
ChatGPT
A general AI assistant for drafting emails, quotes, policies and posts, summarising documents and answering questions.
Gemini (Google AI plans)
Google's AI assistant, in its own app and built into Gmail, Docs and other Google apps on paid plans.
Perplexity
An AI search tool that answers questions with links to the sources it used.
Full details
Claude tool page · Microsoft 365 Copilot tool page · How we check prices
Sources
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