ChatGPT Pro vs Claude Max, and the plans around them
| Tool | What it is | Pricing (official) | Subscriptions or keys it can use | Runs in background |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Pro | OpenAI's top personal plan, with Codex | $100, $200 or $500 a month; monthly only | ChatGPT sign-in in Codex, opencode, Amp or Reason | Yes: Codex cloud |
| Claude Max | 5x Pro's usage every five hours and every week, $100 a month in API credits | $100 a month; monthly only | Claude sign-in in Claude Code or Reason | Yes: Claude Code cloud sessions |
| Claude Ultra | Formerly Max 20x: 10x Pro's weekly usage, no five-hour limit for verified accounts | $200 a month; monthly only | Claude sign-in in Claude Code or Reason | Yes: Claude Code cloud sessions |
| GitHub Copilot | GitHub's coding assistant: IDE, Copilot CLI, Copilot app and cloud agent | Free; Pro $10; $39 plan; Max $100 a month; Business $19 per seat | A Copilot plan, billed in AI credits; Copilot CLI also takes your own provider keys | Yes: cloud agent; sessions on GitHub Actions run at most 59 minutes |
| Reason | Always-on teammate and coding agent: its own cloud computer per Session, memory, Loops and Slack | Pro $50 and Max $200 a month; no free plan | ChatGPT, Claude, SuperGrok or X Premium+ and GitHub Copilot sign-ins, or your own API keys | Yes: Sessions run on Reason's cloud computers with your laptop closed |
Prices and plans from each vendor's official pricing page or docs, checked Nov 5, 2026; US list prices. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Use both plans in one coding agent
Open Reason on the web or the Mac app
Sign in at reasonmachines.com, or download the Reason app for macOS from reasonmachines.com/download. Both open the same Sessions. Sending work to Reason needs a Pro or Max plan.
Connect ChatGPT and Claude
In Settings › Models, under Subscriptions, choose Sign in with ChatGPT and sign in with your Pro plan, then Connect Claude and sign in with your Max plan.
Pick the model per task
In the composer, choose the model for each Session: a smaller model for routine fixes, a larger one for hard changes. Each Session shows the model and account it ran on.
Keep going at a limit
When the account a turn runs on hits its limit, Reason moves the turn to your other connected accounts for that provider, then to Reason credits if your workspace can pay, and says so in the conversation.
ChatGPT Pro and Claude Max side by side
| ChatGPT Pro | Claude Max | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $100, $200 or $500 a month, billed monthly | $100 a month |
| Coding agent | Codex: web, CLI, IDE extension, desktop and iOS | Claude Code: terminal, IDE, desktop and web |
| Five-hour limit | None today | Yes, at 5x Pro usage, shared across Claude and Claude Code |
| Weekly limit | May apply; the dashboard shows reset times | Yes, resetting at a fixed time assigned to your account |
| Past the limit | Buy credits, valid for 12 months | Usage credits billed at API rates |
| Higher tier | Pro 500 adds Ultrafast | Ultra, $200: 10x Pro weekly, no five-hour limit once verified |
| Coding Agent Index v2.0 | Codex on GPT-6 Astra: 55 | Claude Code on Opus 5.5: 62 |
From OpenAI's Codex pricing page and Pro article, Anthropic's pricing page and plan articles, and Artificial Analysis, checked Nov 2, 2026. OpenAI says Pro 100 and Pro 500 now include twice their previous Work and Codex allowance.
Which to choose for coding
Claude Max if you want Claude models in Claude Code and your work fits five-hour windows; Claude Code scores higher on the current index. ChatGPT Pro if you work in long bursts that would hit a five-hour limit, want the open-source Codex CLI, or need more than one price point.
Many people who code all day keep both, so a limit on one doesn't stop the work.
What people on Reddit say
In an r/Anthropic thread from August 2026 comparing the two $100 plans, the most common view, the top reply included, is that ChatGPT Pro gives noticeably more coding usage through Codex. The next reply finds Claude somewhat better on quality but with less of it, several people plan with Claude and implement with Codex, and one long reply measured the opposite: Claude got more done per token on their work.
Reason: all your AI subscriptions in one coding agent
Use the subscriptions you already pay for (ChatGPT, Claude, SuperGrok/X Premium+, Copilot) or your own API keys in one coding agent. Hit your limit and Reason keeps going on your other connected accounts or Reason credits.
Reason isn't the lowest-priced agent on this page: Pro is $50 a month with 1,250 credits a week, and Max is $200 with 5,000; a credit is $0.04. Work on your own connected subscriptions or API keys is billed by that provider, not in Reason credits, so you don't pay twice for a plan you already have.
On cost: in Reason's published benchmark on GPT-6 Astra at xhigh effort, with the same tasks and graders, Reason 1.1 scored 65.1 against Codex's 62.5 on Coding Agent Index v1.5, at 22% lower cost per solved task. That's Reason's benchmark of its own harness, with the runner published to reproduce it.
Sources (checked Nov 2, 2026; table and FAQs checked Nov 5, 2026)
- OpenAI: Codex pricing
- OpenAI Help: about ChatGPT Pro plans
- OpenAI Help: Codex credits
- Anthropic: Claude plans and pricing
- Anthropic: what is the Max plan?
- Anthropic: what is the Ultra plan?
- Anthropic: how do usage and length limits work?
- Artificial Analysis: Claude Code vs Codex
- Reason: Reason 1.1 Coding Agent Index results (Oct 10, 2026)
- Reason docs: plans
- GitHub Docs: Copilot plans
- GitHub Docs: about Copilot cloud agent
- r/Anthropic: ChatGPT Pro ($100) vs Claude Max ($100) (Aug 2026)
Questions
Is ChatGPT Pro or Claude Max better for coding?
Claude Code on Opus 5.5 scores higher on Artificial Analysis's Coding Agent Index v2.0 (62 against Codex's 55 on GPT-6 Astra). ChatGPT Pro has no five-hour limit today, which suits long sessions.
Which has higher usage limits?
They're measured differently. Claude Max gives 5x Pro usage every five hours and every week; ChatGPT Pro has no five-hour limit today, but weekly limits may apply and OpenAI shows reset times in the dashboard.
Does ChatGPT Pro include Codex?
Yes: Codex on the web, in the CLI, in the IDE extension, in the desktop app and on iOS.
Does Claude Max include Claude Code?
Yes. Max's usage covers Claude and Claude Code, and the limits are shared between them.
What happens when I hit the limit?
On ChatGPT Pro you can buy credits, valid for 12 months. On Claude Max you can turn on usage credits, billed at API rates. In Reason, a turn moves to your other connected accounts for that provider, then to Reason credits.
Is Reason affiliated with these vendors?
No. Reason is built by Reason Machines and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic, OpenAI, GitHub, Anysphere, Google, Cognition or xAI. Prices and limits come from their own pages, linked under Sources.
Do ChatGPT Pro and Claude Max have usage limits?
Both do. OpenAI applies abuse guardrails to Pro and says Codex weekly limits may apply; Claude Max has a five-hour and a weekly limit.
Does chatting use up my coding allowance?
On Claude, yes: claude.ai, Claude Code and the desktop app share one limit. On ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex share usage, while Pro chat message limits are separate.
Can I pay annually?
Not for these plans: ChatGPT Pro is billed monthly, and Anthropic sells Max and Ultra as monthly subscriptions only.