AI plans
The main AI subscriptions for small teams, ranked on value — what you pay per seat, which models you get, where your data goes, and who each one really suits.
- ChatGPT Business is the safe default — broadest model menu, lowest published per-seat entry, 2-seat minimum.
- Pick by your existing stack: Claude Team for writing, Google or Microsoft if you live in their suites, Perplexity for research.
- Data matters: every business tier here keeps your data out of training by default — the solo $20 plans fall under consumer terms, where you must opt out.
- Five solo $20 plans are the cheapest start for a tiny team with no IT; the trade-off is no SSO, no central billing, and consumer data terms.
- Prices are list prices, re-checked daily; they vary by region and billing term.
The honest truth is there's no single best AI plan — only the best fit for how your team already works. Price per seat matters less than which tools the AI lives inside, and whether your data is used to train the model. Here's the practical ranking for a small UK team, side by side.
The ranking
The broadest model menu and the lowest published per-seat entry — the safe default for a mixed team.
Best for writing-heavy work — long context and careful prose; a 5-seat minimum is the catch.
Hard to beat if you already run on Google — Gemini lives inside Docs, Gmail and Sheets.
Copilot across Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook — the obvious pick for a Microsoft shop.
The research workhorse — sourced answers across the live web; the dearest of the five-seat totals.
Five individual plans, stood up in an afternoon — no SSO, no central billing, consumer data terms.
Side by side
| Tool | Score | From / seat | Min seats | Models | Your data | Admin/SSO | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Business ↗ | 4.4 | ~$25/mo | 2 | GPT-5.x family | Not used for training | Yes | Generalist office |
| Claude Team ↗ | 4.3 | ~$30/mo | 5 | Claude (Opus/Sonnet/Fable) | Not used for training | Yes | Writing-heavy firm |
| Google Workspace + Gemini ↗ | 4.0 | ~$20+/mo | 1 | Gemini | Stays in tenant; not trained on | Yes | Google-shop office |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot ↗ | 3.8 | ~$30/mo | 1 | OpenAI via Microsoft | Stays in tenant; not trained on | Yes | Microsoft-shop office |
| Perplexity Enterprise Pro ↗ | 3.7 | ~$40/mo | 1 | Multi-model | Not used for training | Yes | Research outfit |
| Solo $20 plans (ChatGPT Plus / Claude Pro) ↗ | 3.4 | ~$20/mo | 1 | GPT-5.x / Claude | Consumer terms — opt out | No | No-IT crowd |
In detail
ChatGPT Business · 4.4/5
The broadest model line-up and the lowest published per-seat price, with admin controls and a 2-seat minimum that leaves room to grow. Your prompts and outputs aren't used to train OpenAI's models by default. For a team doing a bit of everything, it's the lowest-regret default.
From / seat: ~$25/mo · Min seats: 2 · Models: GPT-5.x family · Your data: Not used for training · Admin/SSO: Yes · Best for: Generalist office · visit ↗
Claude Team · 4.3/5
Best for writing-heavy work — a long context window and careful, controllable prose. Team and commercial tiers keep your data out of training by default (unlike the consumer Pro plan). The catch is the 5-seat minimum, which makes it a bigger first commitment than the others.
From / seat: ~$30/mo · Min seats: 5 · Models: Claude (Opus/Sonnet/Fable) · Your data: Not used for training · Admin/SSO: Yes · Best for: Writing-heavy firm · visit ↗
Google Workspace + Gemini · 4.0/5
If you already run on Google, Gemini inside Docs, Gmail and Sheets is hard to beat for everyday work — the AI is where the work already happens, with no extra app to adopt. Your content stays within your tenant and isn't used to train the foundation models.
From / seat: ~$20+/mo · Min seats: 1 · Models: Gemini · Your data: Stays in tenant; not trained on · Admin/SSO: Yes · Best for: Google-shop office · visit ↗
Microsoft 365 Copilot · 3.8/5
Copilot across Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook — the obvious pick if you're a Microsoft shop, priced per seat. Your prompts and organisational data stay inside your Microsoft 365 tenant and aren't used to train the underlying models. Strongest where your team already lives in Office.
From / seat: ~$30/mo · Min seats: 1 · Models: OpenAI via Microsoft · Your data: Stays in tenant; not trained on · Admin/SSO: Yes · Best for: Microsoft-shop office · visit ↗
Perplexity Enterprise Pro · 3.7/5
The research workhorse — sourced, up-to-date answers across the live web, with enterprise data handling that keeps your queries out of training. It's the dearest five-seat total here, but unmatched for desk research and fact-finding.
From / seat: ~$40/mo · Min seats: 1 · Models: Multi-model · Your data: Not used for training · Admin/SSO: Yes · Best for: Research outfit · visit ↗
Solo $20 plans (ChatGPT Plus / Claude Pro) · 3.4/5
Five individual ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro seats, stood up in an afternoon. No single sign-on or central billing, so it doesn't scale cleanly — and these are consumer plans, where your chats can be used for training unless you opt out. The cheapest way for a tiny team to start today, with the data trade-off to match.
From / seat: ~$20/mo · Min seats: 1 · Models: GPT-5.x / Claude · Your data: Consumer terms — opt out · Admin/SSO: No · Best for: No-IT crowd · visit ↗