What it is
Claude is the AI assistant from Anthropic, a company founded by former OpenAI researchers. Its reputation rests on two strengths: writing quality that feels natural and restrained, and coding ability anchored by Claude Code, the benchmark terminal-based coding agent. The open Skills standard lets Claude load specialized capability packs on demand.
Who it is for
Writers, researchers and developers. Choose it for long-form writing without the AI aftertaste, for analyzing long PDFs and contracts, and for a best-in-class coding agent experience in the terminal.
How to use
Chat on the web or app and upload documents directly. Developers should install Claude Code for terminal use and add Skills to teach it team conventions. Projects keep long-running work and reference material together.
Pricing
The free tier has fairly tight daily limits. Pro is a monthly subscription with higher limits and Claude Code access. API usage is billed per token with Sonnet and Opus tiers.
FAQ
Claude or ChatGPT? Pick Claude for writing, coding and long documents; pick ChatGPT for image generation, voice and the broadest ecosystem. Many people subscribe to both.
Does it support Chinese? Yes, and its Chinese writing quality ranks among the best.