ChatGPT or Claude? How to Pick the Right AI Subscription

ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro both cost $20 a month. But according to new measurements from SemiAnalysis, the amount of AI each plan actually gives you is very different. Priced at API rates, Claude Pro is worth about $1,178 of Opus 5.5 per month, while ChatGPT Plus is worth about $211 of GPT-6.1 Sol. That’s roughly 5.6 times more. In this video, we break down how those numbers were measured, why the gap exists, where it disappears, and what it means for the plan you’re paying for. You’ll learn: How SemiAnalysis measured the hidden usage meters behind each plan What “API-equivalent value” means, and its limits Why cached tokens and each lab’s meter ratios create the gap How the $20, $100 and $200 tiers compare Why the flagship models (GPT-6 Astra vs Claude Fable 5.1) are much closer OpenAI’s recent changes: the Pro 200 usage cut and the new $500 plan Why these plans are heavily subsidized, and why limits keep changing Which plan makes sense for heavy coding vs. casual use ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 Same $20, very different value 0:35 How the limits were measured 1:21 The $20 plans: $211 vs $1,178 2:00 Why the gap: meters and cached tokens 2:39 $100 and $200 plans compared 3:19 The flagships flip: Astra vs Fable 4:00 OpenAI’s Pro 200 cut and new $500 plan 4:30 Who pays for your subscription? 5:05 The verdict 5:39 Recap 📚 Sources SemiAnalysis, “Anthropic Subscriptions Offer 5x+ More Value Than OpenAI” (Oct 5, 2026): https://newsletter.semianalysis.com/p... ChatGPT pricing: https://chatgpt.com/pricing Claude pricing: https://claude.com/pricing Note: all values are SemiAnalysis estimates for an agentic, coding-style workload, priced at API list rates. They don’t measure model quality, features or token efficiency. Plans and limits change often, so check the official pricing pages before you subscribe. This video is for educational purposes and is not sponsored. 💬 Which plan do you use, and have you hit its limits? Tell me in the comments! 📩 More ML explained simply: https://mlpills.substack.com #ChatGPT #Claude #AI 💊 Subscribe for bite-sized explanations that help the concepts stick. 📩 Get more AI and ML insights in the newsletter: https://mlpills.substack.com