Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini: which one should you actually use?

Key takeaways

Claude excels at coding and writing - builds complete apps, captures your writing style perfectly, but hits usage limits fastest at 45 messages every 5 hours
ChatGPT is the feature-rich all-rounder - memory feature is magical, great for creative tasks, has DALL-E 3 for images, but can lose your saved work and overuses corporate speak
Gemini dominates research and factual tasks - million token context window, fastest response times at 370 tokens per second, integrated with Google Workspace, but worst at coding
Most people need multiple AIs - free tiers are generous enough for most users, the multi-AI approach works best, pick based on specific task not benchmarks

Three AIs walk into a bar. The bartender asks what they want. ChatGPT writes a 500-word essay about the historical significance of bars. Claude lectures about responsible drinking. Gemini gives you the bar’s Google reviews.

Welcome to the reality of AI assistants in 2025.

What each AI is genuinely brilliant at

Let me tell you what happened when Reddit user felichen4 switched to Claude yesterday. Built an entire phone app. 1000 lines of code. Four continues. Done.

That’s Claude in a nutshell - the thoughtful coder who actually listens.

Claude shines when you need: Real coding work. I watched it build a gorgeous Tetris game with scores, next-piece preview, and controls that actually work. ChatGPT’s O3 version? Basic clone, no features. The difference was embarrassing.

Writing that sounds like you wrote it. Claude nailed my conversation style after seeing three examples. Captured the format, the tone, everything. ChatGPT cut too much and lost important details. Gemini’s version felt like corporate gibberish.

Deep work with massive context. That 200K token window means Claude remembers our entire conversation. Building something complex? It keeps track of every variable, every function, every decision we made an hour ago. Though don’t expect it to browse websites like the Computer Use feature - that’s a different beast entirely.

ChatGPT - the one that remembers you exist

Here’s what floored me about ChatGPT: Memory.

Tell it you’re planning a France trip in January. Three weeks later, ask about restaurants. It remembers. No other AI does this. Users are frankly surprised Claude and Gemini still don’t have memory in 2025.

ChatGPT fixed code issues Claude couldn’t solve. Reddit user Low_Jelly_7126 shared how ChatGPT fixed in 3 lines what Claude couldn’t solve at all.

Image generation with DALL-E 3 crushes everything else. Voice mode with camera integration. Custom GPTs in their store. Canvas for collaborative editing. ChatGPT throws features at you like confetti.

Gemini - the researcher who reads everything

Gemini fixed broken apps that Claude created. Reddit_Bot9999 watched as Gemini easily fixed a broken app made by Claude. Doubled the code length but made it work.

That million token context window is no joke. Feed it your entire codebase. Your whole documentation. Every email from last year. Gemini handles it.

In testing, Gemini crushed 7 out of 10 prompts, especially anything factual or contextual. Clean, well-documented Python functions every time. Plus 370 tokens per second generation speed - substantially faster than GPT-4o or Claude.

Where each AI fails miserably (with proof)

They all failed the ARC-AGI v2 test spectacularly.

Humans score 60%. All three AIs? Around 1%.

One percent.

These are the same AIs supposedly approaching human intelligence. They can’t solve puzzles a 10-year-old could figure out. No wonder AI projects fail so spectacularly when we expect them to think like humans.

Claude’s spectacular failures

No memory feature. Zero. You close the chat, it forgets you exist.

Hit limits fastest - 45 messages every 5 hours if you pay. Free tier? Good luck getting through 20 messages before hitting the wall.

Gets math wrong despite using the correct formula. Creates fictional content when you explicitly tell it not to. Overly cautious to the point of annoyance. “Would you prefer balanced feedback?” Just answer the question, Claude.

ChatGPT’s embarrassing moments

Lost 90% of saved work users thought was safe. Gone. Poof. No recovery.

Can’t shop on Amazon. TechRadar tried getting ChatGPT Agent to buy dog treats. Result? 503 error with a picture of a dog. Every single time.

Overuses corporate speak like it’s getting paid per buzzword. Creates basic Tetris without features while claiming excellence. Aggressive bullet point formatting that makes everything look like a PowerPoint deck.

Gemini’s consistent problems

Worst at coding. University-level at best. Copies sentences word-for-word from sources without attribution. Too restrictive - won’t even discuss gambling.

Basic math errors that make you question everything. Forces rhymes in creative writing that sound like a kindergarten poem. Gemini Advanced users report being switched to Flash after 15-20 messages despite paying.

The money question nobody explains clearly

Here’s what you actually get for free:

Claude Free gives you around 20-30 messages before hitting limits, depending on length. Context window stays at 100K tokens. Projects and document analysis included. Resets every 5 hours. Most consistent free tier if you space out usage.

ChatGPT Free varies wildly. Sometimes 10 messages, sometimes 60 with GPT-4o within five hours. Nobody knows the exact formula. But - and this is huge - memory feature included. Web search works. File uploads work. Even get 2-3 DALL-E images daily. After limits? Switches to GPT-4o mini.

Gemini Free hits caps fastest. Limited to Gemini 2.5 Flash (lighter model). Basic Workspace integration. 500 requests per day sounds generous until you realize each conversation eats through them fast. Good for quick tasks only.

Is paying worth it?

Claude Pro costs $20/month. Gets you 5x more usage, Claude Opus access, priority during high traffic.

ChatGPT Plus also $20/month. 160 messages per 3 hours with GPT-5, Sora video generation coming, advanced voice mode.

Gemini Advanced shows as $10-20/month depending on region. Full model access, 2TB storage bundled, deep Workspace integration.

Real answer? Try all three free tiers for a week. You’ll know which limit annoys you most. That’s the one to pay for.

Which AI for which job

Writing tasks: Blog posts and articles? Claude. Natural style, less formulaic. Social media? ChatGPT. More personality, better hooks. Research papers? Gemini. Proper citations, academic tone. Emails? Honestly, any of them work fine.

Coding projects: Complex apps? Claude every time. It just gets it. For enterprise teams, the Claude Code vs Cursor debate adds another layer to consider. Quick fixes? ChatGPT often surprises you. Learning to code? Claude explains better. Want to level up your prompting skills? Claude responds best to clear, specific instructions. Debugging? Try both Claude and ChatGPT - different perspectives help.

Creative work: Images? ChatGPT with DALL-E 3. Not even close. Stories? Claude writes less formulaic fiction. Poetry or songs? ChatGPT has more creative flair. Brainstorming? Use all three, compare results.

Research and analysis: Large documents? Gemini’s million token context wins. Data analysis? Gemini or Claude both handle it well. Web research? ChatGPT or Gemini have better search integration. Academic work? Gemini provides better citations.

Daily tasks: Personal assistant? ChatGPT because memory changes everything. Quick questions? Whichever free tier has capacity. Google ecosystem user? Gemini integrates natively. Professional writing? Claude sounds most natural.

The selection strategy that actually works

Stop looking for the “best” AI. There isn’t one. Those AI readiness assessments that promise perfect solutions? They’re selling you a fantasy.

Start here:

Install all three free versions
Use each for a day on real tasks
Notice which limits frustrate you most
Pay for that one, keep others free

The multi-AI approach most people actually use:

Claude for serious coding work when it matters
ChatGPT for creative tasks and daily assistance
Gemini for research and Google integration
Free tiers of all three because why not

Red flags that tell you which to upgrade:

Constantly hitting Claude’s 45 message limit? You code a lot.
Need ChatGPT’s memory to remember project details? That’s your winner.
Deep in Google’s ecosystem already? Gemini makes sense.

The uncomfortable truth nobody wants to admit:

You’ll end up using multiple AIs because none of them do everything well.

Claude can’t generate images. ChatGPT can’t handle massive documents. Gemini can’t code properly.

And that’s fine.

The free tiers are generous enough for most people. Test them all. Find your mix. Stop chasing the perfect AI that doesn’t exist.

They’re tools. Pick the right one for each job.

Just like those three AIs in that bar - sometimes you want the essay, sometimes the safety lecture, sometimes just the damn reviews.