Tools We Tested: Claude vs. ChatGPT vs. Specialized AI

Meta Description: We tested 12 AI tools over 90 days, spent $847/month. Here’s what we use for what, cost/benefit analysis, and why Claude wins for coding.

Everyone asks: “Which AI tool should I use?”

Wrong question.

The right question: “Which tool for which task?”

We tested 12 AI tools over 90 days. Spent $847/month on subscriptions. Ran 132 tasks across different tools to find what works for what.

Here’s the data, cost analysis, and our daily tool stack.

The Tools We Tested

General-Purpose LLMs

1. Claude (Sonnet 4.5) - $20/month (Pro)
2. Claude Code (VSCode) - Included with Pro
3. ChatGPT (GPT-4) - $20/month (Plus)
4. ChatGPT (o1) - Included with Plus
5. Gemini Advanced - $20/month

Specialized AI Tools

6. GitHub Copilot - $10/month
7. Cursor - $20/month (Pro)
8. Grammarly - $12/month (Premium)
9. Jasper - $49/month (trial, cancelled)
10. Copy.ai - $49/month (trial, cancelled)

Free/Open Source

11. LM Studio (local Llama models) - Free
12. Ollama (local models) - Free

Total monthly cost: $847 during testing, $142 after optimization

The Data: What We Use for What

After 90 days and 132 tasks:

Tool	Tasks	Time Saved	Cost/Month	Cost per Hour Saved
Claude Code	89	112 hours	$20	$0.18
ChatGPT (GPT-4)	23	28 hours	$20	$0.71
GitHub Copilot	47	15 hours	$10	$0.67
Grammarly	12	6 hours	$12	$2.00
ChatGPT (o1)	4	3 hours	Included	$0
Gemini Advanced	3	2 hours	$0 (cancelled)	N/A
Cursor	2	1 hour	$0 (cancelled)	N/A
Jasper	1	0.5 hours	$0 (cancelled)	N/A
Total	181	167.5 hours	$62	$0.37/hr

Key insights:

• Claude Code did 80% of the work (89/181 tasks, 112/167.5 hours saved)
• ROI: $0.37 per hour saved = 150x return if you value your time at $50/hour
• Specialized tools (Jasper, Copy.ai) had negative ROI - cancelled after trials

Tool-by-Tool Breakdown

1. Claude Code (VSCode Extension) - The Daily Driver

Cost: $20/month (Claude Pro subscription) Tasks: 89 (code dev, security testing, refactoring, docs) Time saved: 112 hours (67% of total)

Why we chose it:

• Context-aware coding - Reads entire codebase before suggesting changes
• Multi-file refactoring - Can refactor 20 files consistently
• Built-in tools - Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep without copy-paste
• Skills system - Reusable workflows with guardrails

Best for: ✅ Code development and refactoring ✅ Security testing and code review ✅ Documentation generation ✅ Multi-step workflows

Struggles with: ❌ Tasks requiring web search (no internet access) ❌ Image generation ❌ Real-time collaboration (single user)

Real example:

• Task: Refactor auth across 8 files
• Time: 20 minutes (vs. 3 hours manual)
• Quality: Better (caught 2 edge cases we missed)
• Cost: $0.36 (assuming $20/month ÷ 112 hours saved)

Verdict: Best tool for code-heavy work. 80% of our AI usage.

2. ChatGPT (GPT-4) - The Research Assistant

Cost: $20/month (ChatGPT Plus) Tasks: 23 (research, brainstorming, web search) Time saved: 28 hours (17% of total)

Why we use it:

• Web search - Can search the web for current info
• Image generation - DALL-E integration for mockups
• Fast responses - Quicker than Claude for simple queries
• Plugins - Browsing, Wolfram Alpha, code interpreter

Best for: ✅ Research requiring web search ✅ Brainstorming and idea generation ✅ Image/mockup generation ✅ Quick questions and lookups

Struggles with: ❌ Long-form code refactoring (gets context confused) ❌ Multi-file code changes ❌ Following complex workflows

Real example:

• Task: Research competitor pricing models
• Time: 15 minutes (vs. 2 hours manual)
• Quality: Good (found 12 competitors, pricing tiers)
• Cost: $0.71 per hour saved

Verdict: Best for research and web-connected tasks. Use when Claude can’t access web.

3. ChatGPT (o1) - The Deep Thinker

Cost: Included with ChatGPT Plus Tasks: 4 (complex algorithm design, optimization problems) Time saved: 3 hours

Why we use it:

• Advanced reasoning - Thinks longer before responding
• Complex problem solving - Better at novel algorithmic challenges
• Math and logic - Stronger on optimization problems

Best for: ✅ Algorithm design ✅ Complex optimization problems ✅ Mathematical proofs ✅ Novel architecture decisions

Struggles with: ❌ Speed (slower than GPT-4) ❌ Simple tasks (overkill) ❌ Code generation (not its strength)

Real example:

• Task: Design caching strategy for multi-tenant SaaS
• Time: 45 minutes (vs. 4 hours research + design)
• Quality: Excellent (proposed hybrid approach we hadn’t considered)

Verdict: Use for complex problems requiring deep reasoning. Overkill for most tasks.

4. GitHub Copilot - The Autocomplete

Cost: $10/month Tasks: 47 (inline code suggestions, function completion) Time saved: 15 hours (9% of total)

Why we use it:

• Inline suggestions - Autocomplete on steroids
• Fast - Suggests code as you type
• IDE integration - Works in VSCode, JetBrains, etc.

Best for: ✅ Boilerplate code (loops, error handling) ✅ Function implementations from comments ✅ Test generation ✅ Repetitive code patterns

Struggles with: ❌ Architecture decisions ❌ Multi-file refactoring ❌ Complex context (only sees current file)

Real example:

• Task: Write 15 similar API endpoint handlers
• Time: 30 minutes (vs. 2 hours manual)
• Quality: Good (needed minor tweaks)

Verdict: Great for boilerplate, not architecture. Complements Claude Code well.

5. Grammarly - The Copy Editor

Cost: $12/month (Premium) Tasks: 12 (blog posts, docs, emails) Time saved: 6 hours (4% of total)

Why we use it:

• Real-time grammar/style checking - Catches typos as you write
• Tone detection - Ensures professional tone
• Plagiarism detection - Verifies originality

Best for: ✅ Final editing pass on blog posts ✅ Professional emails ✅ Client-facing docs

Struggles with: ❌ Technical writing (flags correct technical terms) ❌ Code snippets (gets confused by syntax)

Verdict: Good for non-technical content editing. Not essential but useful.

6-10. Tools We Cancelled

Gemini Advanced ($20/month) - Cancelled

• Why we tried it: Google’s flagship LLM
• Why we cancelled: Worse than Claude and ChatGPT for our use cases
• Tasks completed: 3 (research, brainstorming)
• Verdict: Not worth $20 when we have Claude and ChatGPT

Cursor ($20/month) - Cancelled

• Why we tried it: AI-first code editor
• Why we cancelled: Claude Code does everything Cursor does, integrated into VSCode
• Tasks completed: 2 (code refactoring)
• Verdict: Good tool, but redundant with Claude Code

Jasper ($49/month) - Cancelled after trial

• Why we tried it: Specialized content writing
• Why we cancelled: Not better than ChatGPT + editing. Too expensive.
• Tasks completed: 1 (blog post draft)
• Verdict: Generic AI content isn’t worth $49/month

Copy.ai ($49/month) - Cancelled after trial

• Why we tried it: Marketing copy generation
• Why we cancelled: Same reason as Jasper. ChatGPT + editing is better.
• Tasks completed: 0 (trial only)
• Verdict: Overpriced wrapper around generic LLM

LM Studio / Ollama (Free, local models)

• Why we tried them: Privacy, no API costs
• Why we don’t use them: Too slow, quality not comparable to Claude/ChatGPT
• Tasks completed: 0 (testing only)
• Verdict: Not production-ready for our needs

Our Daily Tool Stack (Post-Optimization)

After 90 days of testing, here’s what we actually use:

Primary Tools ($62/month)

1. Claude Code ($20/month) - 80% of AI work
2. ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) - Research, web search, images
3. GitHub Copilot ($10/month) - Inline code completion
4. Grammarly ($12/month) - Content editing

When We Use Each:

Morning planning (Claude Code):

• Review GitHub issues
• Plan day’s work
• Generate task lists

Coding (Claude Code + Copilot):

• Claude for architecture and multi-file refactoring
• Copilot for inline autocomplete and boilerplate

Research (ChatGPT):

• Competitor analysis
• Technology comparisons
• Current events / recent developments

Documentation (Claude Code):

• API docs
• README files
• Code comments

Content creation (ChatGPT + Grammarly):

• ChatGPT for initial draft
• Claude for refining technical content
• Grammarly for final editing

Security testing (Claude Code):

• Jailbreak test generation
• Vulnerability scanning
• Code review

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Investment: $62/month ($744/year)

Time saved: 167.5 hours in 90 days = ~670 hours/year

ROI calculation:

Conservative estimate ($50/hour):

• 670 hours × $50 = $33,500/year value
• ROI: 4,500%

Realistic estimate ($100/hour for senior dev):

• 670 hours × $100 = $67,000/year value
• ROI: 9,000%

Even if AI only saves 50% as much in future quarters:

• 335 hours × $50 = $16,750/year
• ROI: 2,250%

The math is clear: AI tools pay for themselves within the first week.

What We Got Wrong (Expensive Lessons)

Mistake 1: Trying Too Many Specialized Tools

What we did: Subscribed to 10 tools simultaneously Cost: $847/month during testing Lesson: General-purpose LLMs (Claude, ChatGPT) handle 95% of tasks. Specialized tools rarely justify their cost.

Mistake 2: Assuming Expensive = Better

What we did: Tried $49/month content tools (Jasper, Copy.ai) Result: No better than ChatGPT + manual editing Lesson: Price doesn’t correlate with quality for AI tools

Mistake 3: Not Testing Tools on Real Work

What we did: Evaluated tools on sample tasks Result: Tools that looked good in demos failed on real work Lesson: Test on actual production tasks, not demos

Mistake 4: Ignoring Integration Friction

What we did: Chose “best-in-class” tools for each task Result: Constant context switching, copy-paste between tools Lesson: Integrated tools (Claude Code in VSCode) beat slightly better standalone tools

Decision Framework: Which Tool for Which Task?

Task requires coding in VSCode?
├─ YES → Claude Code
└─ NO → Continue

Task requires web search or current info?
├─ YES → ChatGPT (web browsing)
└─ NO → Continue

Task requires deep reasoning or complex problem solving?
├─ YES → ChatGPT o1
└─ NO → Continue

Task is simple boilerplate code?
├─ YES → GitHub Copilot
└─ NO → Continue

Task is final content editing?
├─ YES → Grammarly
└─ NO → Use Claude Code (default)

The Bottom Line

We tested 12 AI tools. Spent $847/month during testing. Optimized down to $62/month.

What we learned:

1. General-purpose LLMs beat specialized tools for 95% of tasks
2. Claude Code dominates code-heavy work (80% of our AI usage)
3. ChatGPT complements Claude for research and web-connected tasks
4. Specialized tools (Jasper, Copy.ai) aren’t worth it - cancelled all of them
5. ROI is massive - $62/month investment, $33,500+/year value

The tool stack that actually works:

• Claude Code (primary)
• ChatGPT (research, web search)
• GitHub Copilot (boilerplate)
• Grammarly (content editing)

Everything else is noise.

The question isn’t “Which AI tool is best?”

It’s: “Are you using the right tool for each specific task?”

Most people overpay for tools they don’t need while underutilizing the ones that matter.

Our recommendation: Start with Claude Code and ChatGPT Plus ($40/month). That covers 95% of use cases. Add specialized tools only when you have a specific gap.

---

Next in this series: Post 9 (final post) covers frameworks for AI-augmented work—decision trees for when to use AI, prompt engineering patterns, quality gates, and building repeatable workflows.

Try this: Audit your current AI subscriptions. Cancel anything you haven’t used in 30 days. Start with Claude + ChatGPT. Add tools only when you hit specific limitations.