Comparisons · AI tools
ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude: which one really suits you
What each one costs in Spain, what you get for free, what each is best at and a 15-minute test to choose using your own tasks.
Text drafted with artificial intelligence. The topic, the angle and the final review are Ibrahin's. How AI is used here
What has happened
In Spain, interest in Gemini on Google has quadrupled in a year and interest in Claude has grown tenfold, while ChatGPT is losing ground. Many people are wondering whether they've stuck with the wrong tool.
How to read it: Google Trends measures how much each word is searched, and “gemini” is also a star sign, so the curve doesn't only measure interest in the AI.
Why it matters to you
Because all three are free to start and the difference is in the paid tiers. Gemini has the cheapest first tier; Claude is the only one without a cheap middle plan:
| Plan | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | €0 | €0 | €0 |
| First paid plan | Go: €8/month | Google AI Plus: €4.99/month | None |
| Plan for daily use | Plus: €23/month | Google AI Pro: €21.99/month | Pro: in the US, $20/month ($17 billed annually), plus tax* |
| Plan for heavy use | Pro: from €103/month | Google AI Ultra: €99.99 to €219.99/month | Max: from $100/month, plus tax* |
Gemini and Claude prices come from their official pages (Gemini plans and Claude plans, both in Spanish). We weren't able to read ChatGPT’s on its official page, so they come from Inteligencias (in Spanish), which checked it from Spain on 29 September. The Claude page we were able to check gives prices in dollars and warns that they don't include tax; we couldn't check the euro price from Spain, so check it there before paying.
And this is what they give you for free, according to their official pages:
- Gemini free: its Flash-Lite model, image creation and editing, Deep Research (long searches that give you back a report), voice conversation with Gemini Live and 15 GB of storage across Gmail, Drive and Photos.
- Claude free: chat on the web, desktop and mobile, web search, file creation and running code, memory across conversations, connections to other apps and up to 5 projects. It does not include research mode or Claude Code, its programming tool.
- ChatGPT free: chat, images, voice and research, with lower limits than the paid plans. Since 24 August 2026, OpenAI shows ads in Spain and 30 other European countries, only on the Free and Go plans; Plus and Pro have none.
All three have usage limits, paid plans included. When you run out, you either wait for them to reset or upgrade.
What you can do
1. Start with the one that fits what you already use
None of them wins at everything: the race between them is moving so fast (in Spanish) that choosing is especially hard. What you can see is what each one is betting on.
- Gemini, if you already use Google. It lives inside Gmail, Drive, Photos and your Android phone. Its first paid plan, at €4.99 a month, doubles usage and gives 400 GB of storage. Use it to summarise emails, search your Drive documents or do long research with Deep Research without paying.
- ChatGPT, the best known. It's the most searched in Spain according to Google Trends and the best known, which makes it easier to find tutorials when you get stuck. Its Go plan, at €8 a month, is the middle step, but it also has ads. Use it for creating images, talking by voice and everyday tasks.
- Claude, for writing and building. The one whose searches have grown most in Spain this year. Its free plan already creates files and works with documents, and the paid plan includes Claude Code, which people without a technical background are using to build their own apps. Its weak point: no cheap middle plan.
Two things they don’t tell you:
- The models change every few weeks. What one does best today, another matches tomorrow. Look at what surrounds the model, such as the integration with your apps or the price, because that changes less.
- What you give them, they use. AI agents ask for access to your data to do tasks for you, and Apple has announced that it will only let you give an app full access to your Mac's disk through a very explicit step, because AI agents are becoming more capable. Before you connect your email or your files, think about what you are letting them see.
2. Decide in a minute
3. Check it yourself in 15 minutes
The best comparison is the one you do with your own tasks. Open the three free versions in three tabs (chatgpt.com, gemini.google.com and claude.ai) and paste exactly the same thing into each.
Test 1. Summarise something long. Copy an article, a contract or a long email and write:
Summarise this text for me in 5 points, in plain language, and tell me at the end the one thing I should do after reading it.
Test 2. Write something difficult. Think of a message you find hard to write:
I need to tell [person] that [what you have to say]. I want to be clear without sounding rude. Write the message for me and then give me a shorter version.
Test 3. Plan something of your own. Ask for help with something real from your week:
This week I have to [what you have to do]. I have [time available]. Make me a day-by-day plan and tell me what you would leave out if I run out of time.
In each test, give a point to the one that best meets each of these:
- it understood what I asked without me repeating it;
- I can use the answer as it is, without much editing;
- it sounds like the way I’d talk;
- it didn’t make anything up (check a fact if it gives one).
4. Check privacy separately
Which plan you have and whether it's personal or business, what happens when you turn off model improvement, how long chats and files are kept, whether there's human review, which connections you can switch off and how you export or delete your data. “Not used for training” is not the same as “nobody can ever access it”.
The recommendation
Don't look for “the best AI”: stick with the one that handles your most frequent task well enough, at a cost you understand and with data controls you can explain. If two tie, choose the one that lets you leave easily with your documents. And don't pay on day one: use the free version for a week; if you often hit the limit, then paying makes sense. Always keep your important texts in your own files.
Sources
- Gemini plans in Spain, official Google page (in Spanish)
- Claude plans, official Anthropic page (in Spanish)
- What is the Pro plan and how much it costs, Anthropic help
- ChatGPT prices in Spain, Inteligencias (in Spanish)
- ChatGPT ads expands across Europe, OpenAI
- Keeping up with AI in 2026 is impossible, Xataka (in Spanish)
- Updates to Full Disk Access in macOS, Apple
- Google Trends, search interest in Spain for “chatgpt”, “gemini” and “claude”, from September 2025 to the first week of October 2026.
Related
Review
Responsible for publication: Ibrahin. Date: 2026-10-07. Last checked: 2026-10-16. Gemini and Claude prices checked on 16 October 2026 on their official pages; ChatGPT's, according to Inteligencias (29 September 2026). Search interest taken from Google Trends for Spain, from September 2025 to the first week of October 2026.