Verdict
Tom's Guide named Claude its best chatbot of 2026, mainly because it pushes back instead of agreeing with everything. The free plan gives roughly 15 to 40 messages every five hours by Engadget's estimate, and Claude still cannot make pictures, which sends some people back to ChatGPT. Pro costs $20 a month, the same as its main rivals.
Best for
Writing, editing and thinking through a problem with a second opinion
Skip if
Image generation is needed, or heavy daily use on the free plan
Key facts
- Category
- Everyday AI assistants
- Made by
- Anthropic
- Based in
- United States
- Launched
- 2023
- Works on
- iPhone, Android, Web, Windows, Mac
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- $20 a month
- Free plan
- Free chat on web, desktop and mobile with web search, file creation, memory and connectors; usage capped (Engadget estimates about 15-40 messages per five hours)
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Pro (billed monthly) | $20 | month |
| Pro (annual) | $200 | year |
| Max | $100 | month |
| Team Standard seat (billed monthly) | $25 | month |
| Team Standard seat (billed annually) | $20 | month |
| Team Premium seat (billed monthly) | $125 | month |
| Team Premium seat (billed annually) | $100 | month |
What it does
- chats on web, desktop and mobile, including voice
- searches the web, writes and edits files and runs code
- remembers details across conversations
- connects to other apps and tools
- creates interactive artifacts, slides and documents
- writes and builds software with Claude Code
Ratings
What people say
individual reviewers who moved from ChatGPT praise the writing quality and say the free version beats free ChatGPT, while complaints centre on usage limits, no image generation and confident mistakes. Store ratings (4.66 UK App Store, 4.55 Google Play) sit far above Trustpilot's 1.5 from 2,049 reviews, most of which are 1-star, a big gap.
“Yeah I started with chatgpt and used that for a couple of years before switching to Claude a few months ago. If you're someone who is pretty deliberate in your usage, it is way better than chatgpt.”
Individual user review, 3 July 2026 · source
“Free claude is better than free chatgpt. Free claude and $8 are close with chatgpt being slightly better. $20 ChatGPT is better than all the others put together.”
Individual user review, 3 July 2026 · source
“Claude not being able to create images is a big issue. I want to switch over but it's a huge barrier.”
Individual user review, 3 July 2026 · source
“Claude recommends moves that are illegal and tells me I won games that I clearly lost/resigned. I can’t trust Claude’s feedback”
Individual user review, 3 July 2026 · source
“Claude: I’m ready to build your app. Just say go. Me: Go. Claude: Daily limit reached.”
Post on X, 22 April 2026 · source
Press reviews
- Tom's Guide 2026-09-16
Best AI chatbot of the Tom's Guide Awards 2026; feels like a smart colleague and points out holes in the user's logic.
- Engadget 2026-06-03
Usage limits feel ill-defined; most people get about 15 to 40 messages every five hours on the free plan, and some products need a subscription.
- TechRadar 2026-05-01
Independent tests show Claude still leads on writing quality and tone but is not the strongest at logic puzzles.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- only if the user allows it; since the 28 Aug 2025 consumer terms update, Free, Pro and Max users choose whether chats are used to improve models (the help page does not state a default)
- Opt-out
- yes; 'Model Improvement' toggle in Privacy Settings (claude.ai/settings/data-privacy-controls); incognito chats are never used
- Retention
- 30 days if training is off; up to five years if training is on; thumbs up/down feedback kept up to five years de-linked from the user ID
- Incidents
- No consumer data breach or privacy fine found in news searches (2025-2026). Billing class actions filed in the US in June and July 2026 over Max plan usage limits. user reviews sued Anthropic over scraping user reviews content for training (date not confirmed).
- Age limit
- 18+ (consumer terms effective 8 Oct 2025)
In court
Lawsuits and regulator actions involving Anthropic. Claims are the claimant's allegations unless a court or regulator has ruled. The privacy score above was reviewed against this record. Who runs Anthropic: Dario Amodei.
- Bartz v. Anthropic PBCSettled
Authors alleged Anthropic copied and kept pirated books to train Claude without permission.
N.D. Cal. · 4:24-cv-05417 · 20 Jul 2026: court approved the class settlement and entered final judgment.
Music publishers allege Claude can reproduce copyrighted lyrics and Anthropic infringed their works.
N.D. Cal. · 5:24-cv-03811 · 9 Oct 2026: latest CourtListener filing; the copyright action remains pending.
Subscribers allege Anthropic misleadingly advertised Claude Max plans’ relative usage limits.
N.D. Cal. · 3:26-cv-05763 · 8 Sep 2026: consolidated complaint filed; no outcome verified.
The CMA examined whether Amazon’s partnership with Anthropic created a UK merger situation.
UK Competition and Markets Authority · CMA merger inquiry · 27 Sep 2024: CMA decided the partnership did not qualify for merger investigation.
ICO says Anthropic made or committed to data-protection changes after scrutiny; its enquiries continue.
UK Information Commissioner's Office · ICO supervision programme · 8 Oct 2026: ICO said its agent-testing enquiries remain ongoing.
The FTC is investigating potential consumer risks from Anthropic and other AI companies, AP reported.
US Federal Trade Commission · FTC investigation · 30 Sep 2026: FTC investigation publicly confirmed; no outcome announced.
Official videos
- Introducing Claude Fable 5 2026-06-09
- Your tools are now interactive in Claude 2026-01-26
FAQ
Is Claude free?
Yes, with a usage cap. Engadget estimates about 15 to 40 messages every five hours on the free plan. Pro costs $20 a month.
Can Claude make images?
No. Claude can write, analyse files and build documents, but individual reviewers switching from ChatGPT name the lack of image generation as the main gap.
Does Claude use my chats for training?
Only if the setting is on. Since late 2025 consumer users choose under Privacy Settings, and chats are kept up to five years if they allow it or 30 days if they don't.
Claude vs ChatGPT?
Tom's Guide picked Claude as its best chatbot of 2026 for writing and honest feedback. ChatGPT has more features, including image generation, and a looser free plan.
Is Claude available in the UK?
Yes. Claude launched in the US and UK together in July 2023 and is on the UK App Store and Google Play. Users must be 18 or over.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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