Claude or ChatGPT: choosing an AI provider for your advice firm

Sooner or later, every firm that starts using AI properly has the same conversation: should we standardise on Claude or ChatGPT? Someone in the office prefers one, someone else has a personal account with the other, and the compliance manager wants to know which one the firm has actually assessed.

We are not going to tell you which model is better. Both are capable, the models change often, and preferences differ from person to person. IFA Tools apps work with either, chosen in setup. What we can do is set out the practical questions that should decide the choice for an advice firm, because most of them have little to do with the model and a lot to do with the account around it.

Claude or ChatGPT: the real decision

When a firm chooses an AI provider, it is choosing four things at once:

• A contract. The provider's terms for the specific plan, including how it handles the data you send.
• A set of settings. Most importantly, whether your content can be used to train models, and who in the firm can change that.
• An administration model. Who owns the account, who adds and removes users, and who sees the bills.
• A line in your DPIA. A named organisation processing client personal data, with a documented role and lawful basis.

Those four points carry the regulatory weight. The FCA has said, in its June 2026 blog, that it will "rely on existing frameworks, including the Consumer Duty, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), and our expectations on governance and controls." Governance and controls attach to accounts and settings, so that is where the comparison should start.

Start with what the firm already uses

Before comparing anything, find out what is already in use. In many firms the honest answer is a mixture: a firm account here, a personal account there, and a free plan someone signed up for to tidy an email.

That inventory matters for three reasons:

1. Personal accounts are hard to supervise. The firm cannot see the settings, cannot remove access when someone leaves, and cannot show what terms applied.
2. Familiarity is worth something. If the team already works well with one provider, that is a fair reason to standardise on it, provided the plan and settings pass your checks.
3. It shapes the clean-up. Whatever you choose, the policy should move work onto a firm-controlled account and stop client data going into personal ones.

Compare the plan, not just the brand

Each provider offers several plans, and the differences between plans from the same provider can matter more than the differences between providers. Consumer plans and business plans can have different defaults and different administration tools.

Here is what we have confirmed for Claude. On Anthropic's pricing page, seen on 7 October 2026 and priced in US dollars, Claude Pro was $20 monthly ($17 a month billed annually) and Team Standard was $25 per seat monthly ($20 billed annually). The same page says the Team plan has "No model training on your content by default". On consumer plans, model training is opt-out.

We have not confirmed ChatGPT's business plan prices or training defaults, so we do not state them here. OpenAI publishes its own plan information; read its current pages for the plan you are considering and apply the same questions. All provider prices and terms may change, so record the date you checked.

A comparison sheet to fill in for each provider

Fill it in from the provider's own published documents, keep a copy of what you relied on, and attach it to the decision record.

Data protection is the same work either way

Whichever provider you choose, the Information Commission (formerly the ICO) expects the same steps. Its guidance on AI and data protection says that "In the vast majority of cases, the use of AI will involve a type of processing likely to result in a high risk… and will therefore trigger the legal requirement for you to undertake a DPIA." It also says "it is your responsibility to decide which lawful basis applies", and firms must decide and document whether the AI provider acts as a controller or a processor.

For the DPIA, the choice of provider changes the entries, not the structure. Record the provider's name, the plan, the training setting, the retention terms, the role you have assigned and the date you checked. If you later switch provider, the DPIA needs updating before client data goes to the new one. We set out the wider steps in AI data protection for advice firms.

How the choice works in IFA Tools

Choosing the AI is the first step of the guided setup in every IFA Tools app. The firm:

1. chooses Claude (Anthropic) or ChatGPT (OpenAI);
2. lets the app install the AI tool it needs, Claude Code or Codex;
3. signs in with a subscription in the browser, or pastes an API key, which is checked straight away and stored in the computer's own keychain (macOS Keychain or Windows Credential Manager);
4. lets the app install its skills for the AI.

IFA Tools does not resell AI or sit between the firm and the provider. Documents are read on the firm's computer and sent to the provider the firm chose, under the firm's own account, so the provider's terms are the ones that apply. IFA Tools does not hold the firm's client data. Settings lets the firm change any part of the setup later, so the choice is not permanent.

One cost point to be clear about: IFA Tools users also pay separately for their own Claude or ChatGPT account. Our app prices are published per adviser per month, excluding VAT (Carbon, for example, is £69), and the AI plan sits on top. We explain why we chose that design in why IFA Tools runs on your own AI account.

A five-step way to decide

1. Inventory current use. List every AI account in use for work, firm or personal.
2. Shortlist plans. Pick the specific plan you would use from each provider and complete the comparison sheet.
3. Trial on non-client material. Use published documents, internal process notes or a fictional case. Ask the team which they find easier to work with.
4. Decide and record. Note the provider, plan, reasons, settings and the date. Update the DPIA and your AI policy.
5. Set a review date. Check terms, prices and settings again at least annually, and whenever the provider announces changes.

Frequently asked questions

Is Claude or ChatGPT better for financial advisers?

We do not rank them. Both are capable, the models change regularly, and the decision for a firm rests more on plan terms, training settings and administration than on the model itself. IFA Tools apps work with either.

Do we need a business plan rather than a personal one?

That is the firm's decision, but a firm-controlled account is much easier to supervise. Compare the training default and the user administration on each plan before deciding.

Can we switch provider later?

In IFA Tools, yes: Settings lets the firm change any part of the setup, including the AI connection. Update your DPIA and decision record before client data goes to the new provider.

To see a meeting turned into a finished, branded client document on either provider, look at Carbon or book a demo: twenty minutes on Microsoft Teams with Adam Booth, run live on a demo firm with nothing for you to prepare.