Product comparison · Updated March 2026

Which Claude product
do you actually need?

Chat, Cowork, and Claude Code share the same foundation — but each serves a different kind of work. Here's where they overlap, and where each one wins.

💬
Claude
claude.ai · web · mobile · desktop
ConversationalFree tierZero setupMobile native
🖥
Cowork
desktop agent · macOS · windows
AgenticScheduledPluginsNo terminal
⌨️
Claude Code
CLI · web · iOS · Android · desktop
Full repoPluginsWeb + mobileGitHub
Feature
Claude Chat
Cowork
Claude Code
⚙ Access & Setup
—
—
—
🖥
Primary interface
Web, desktop & mobile app
Desktop app tab (macOS & Windows)
Terminal / CLI — plus web & desktop app
📱
Mobile (iOS & Android)
✓ Native Claude app Full featured
— desktop only, no mobile support
✓ Remote Control (research preview, Pro/Max) Feb 2026
🌐
Web interface (cloud-hosted)
✓ claude.ai — full experience
— desktop app only, no web version
✓ claude.ai/code — GitHub integration, cloud runs Unique
⚡
Setup time
Instant — zero install Easiest
~5 min — download & install desktop app
~2 min — npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
💳
Pricing / how to access
Free · Pro $20/mo · Max $100–200/mo · Team · Enterprise
Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise (no free tier)
Free (own API key) · Pro · Max · Team · Enterprise
👤
Ideal user
Anyone — writers, strategists, researchers
Knowledge workers, non-devs, founders
Developers, vibe coders, SaaS builders
🤖 Files & Agents
—
—
—
📂
Local file access
— copy/paste only
✓ Reads & writes folders you grant
✓ Full codebase read & write
🤖
Multi-step agentic tasks
— single-turn only
✓ Plan → execute → report
✓ Plan → execute → report
⏰
Scheduled / recurring tasks
— not available
✓ Daily, weekly, on-demand Only here
— requires external cron / n8n
⚡
Parallel sub-agents
— not available
— single agent per task
✓ Spawn multiple agents simultaneously Only here
⚙️
Code execution
— output only, no execution
✓ Runs in isolated VM sandbox
✓ Full shell + test execution
📄
Native office file creation (docx/xlsx/pdf)
— text output only
✓ Built-in skills — creates real formatted files Only here
— needs manual scripting
🏗
Full codebase dev work
— no repo context
— not optimised for coding tasks
✓ Read, write, test, PR, deploy Only here
🔀
GitHub / git integration
— not available
— not available
✓ Clone, PR, review diffs, auto-merge Only here
🔌 Integrations
—
—
—
🔗
External connectors (Slack, Notion, Gmail…)
✓ Read context in conversation
✓ Read + write + save output to disk Best
✓ Via MCP — bidirectional access
🧩
Plugins (slash commands, agents, hooks, MCP)
— not available
✓ Bundle skills + connectors + sub-agents Full plugin system
✓ Marketplace at claude.com/plugins Public beta
🌐
Browser / web automation
— not available
✓ Claude in Chrome pairing Only Cowork
— via MCP (Playwright plugin) only
🔧
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
✓ Read-only connectors in chat
✓ Read + write via desktop connectors
✓ Full native MCP — deepest integration Best
📋
CLAUDE.md project memory
— not available
— not available
✓ Auto-loaded project context per repo Only here
🔒 Data & Privacy
—
—
—
💾
Conversation storage
Anthropic servers (searchable history)
Local device only — not sent to Anthropic Most private
Local + Anthropic API for model calls
🛡
Execution environment
Anthropic cloud
Local VM sandbox on your machine
Your machine (or Anthropic cloud via web version)
💬
Chat wins at…
✓
Zero friction — no install, just open
✓
Free tier accessible to everyone
✓
Native mobile app (iOS & Android)
✓
Strategy, writing, research, Q&A
✓
Top of funnel for your community
🖥
Cowork wins at…
✓
Scheduled recurring automation
✓
Connector read + write to local disk
✓
Native office files (docx, xlsx, pdf)
✓
Browser tasks via Claude in Chrome
✓
Founder ops — zero scripting needed
⌨️
Claude Code wins at…
✓
Full repo: read, write, test, PR, deploy
✓
Plugin marketplace — extend & share
✓
Web + mobile via Remote Control (new)
✓
Deep MCP — Supabase, GitHub, Linear…
✓
The core Build With Luke tool
TL;DR
Right tool, right job
Claude Chat
Think & draft
Cowork
Automate ops
Claude Code
Build product
Chat exclusive
Cowork exclusive
Code exclusive
Shared