Revise Blog - Building a post-AI word processor
Gemini vs Claude for writing
Drafting tools, document handling, limits, and price, from Google’s and Anthropic’s own pages and our proofreading benchmark
Artur Sapek, Founder of Revise7 min read
The choice mostly depends on how you work. That might mean Google Workspace, downloadable Word files, drafting together with the AI, or the lowest paid price. Gemini comes bundled with Google storage and Google’s apps. Claude creates downloadable Word files, and on paid plans it offers Claude Docs, a shared document workspace.
I have spent the past year building Revise, a word processor whose AI agent runs both model families, so we see how each one behaves on real documents. Plan details below come from each vendor’s own pages, and the proofreading figures come from our public benchmark.
Gemini vs Claude at a glance
| Gemini | Claude | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes (32K-token context, standard usage limits) | Yes (Sonnet and Haiku models, no Claude Docs or Microsoft 365 add-ins) |
| Paid from | $4.99/mo (Google AI Plus) | $20/mo (Claude Pro) |
| AI models | Gemini | Claude |
| AI capabilities | Canvas docs you edit directly or through prompts, exports to Google Docs | Artifacts and Claude Docs for drafting, reads and creates DOCX and PDF files, Word add-in edits as tracked changes |
| Document workspace | Canvas, on every plan | Artifacts, Claude Docs (beta) on Pro and up |
| Word files | Reads uploads, exports responses to Google Docs, returning an edited .docx not documented | Reads, creates, and exports .docx |
To try a model on your own writing, paste a draft below and ask for an edit. It opens in Revise in your browser without an account. The free plan includes GPT-6 Luna, subject to a daily AI limit, and Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash come with Plus.
Key differences for writers
These are the six areas that matter for writing. Each one ends with the product that has the edge based on the evidence we have, or says that neither does.
Proofreading accuracy
ErrataBench runs models through one find-and-replace harness on 99,000 words of text containing seeded errors. On it, Claude Opus 5 with low reasoning fixed 95.7%. Claude Opus 5.5 with high reasoning fixed 94.7% and had a 0.4% bad-fix rate, which was the lowest of any model above 90%. Gemini 3.1 Pro with low reasoning fixed 92.1% for about $0.37 per run, and Gemini 3.7 Flash with medium reasoning fixed 91.4% for about $0.12 (full results).
The benchmark calls models through their APIs, not the Gemini or Claude apps, and Claude’s free plan offers Sonnet and Haiku rather than Opus. It does not measure drafting voice or creativity.
Edge in this benchmark: The Claude Opus configurations we tested (Opus 5 low, Opus 5.5 high) scored higher than the Gemini ones, but Gemini 3.7 Flash costs less per run. This result does not tell you which app is better.
Context and upload limits
Claude’s pricing page lists context of up to 1M tokens, varying by model, starting on the Free plan. Claude takes up to 20 files per chat at 500 MB each and reads PDFs of up to 1,000 pages, analyzing visuals on up to 100 of them. Google lists 32K tokens without a plan, 128K on Google AI Plus, and 1M on AI Pro and Ultra, with up to 10 files per prompt at 100 MB each. AI Pro allows up to 1,500 pages of file uploads.
These are published maximums. They don’t measure how well either model reads a long draft.
Edge: Claude publishes the larger maximum context on its Free plan. The upload limits are mixed, because Claude allows more and larger files but Google AI Pro advertises the higher page limit.
Drafting workspace
Gemini Canvas is available on every plan, subject to usage limits. You edit the text directly or ask Gemini, rework a selection, and convert a draft into slides, an Audio Overview, a quiz, an infographic, or a web page. Claude Docs (beta, Pro and up) is a rich-text document where Claude drafts, asks clarifying questions, leaves comments explaining its choices, and co-edits with you in real time. It has no version history yet. Free Claude users draft in artifacts.
Edge: Claude Docs is better if you have Pro or higher and want to draft together with explained edits. Gemini is better if you want Canvas on the Free plan, subject to its usage limits.
Drafting quality and voice
We have no controlled test of drafting quality, voice, or creativity for either product. Both let you shape their output. Gemini has Gems, which are custom assistants available on the Free plan. Claude has account-wide instructions, projects, and skills that can apply patterns from your own writing. Neither feature shows that one product writes better than the other.
Edge: We don’t have evidence for either, so give both the same brief and compare the results.
Word files and Google Docs
Claude can create .docx, PDF, and other files on every plan, including Free, subject to usage limits, and Claude Docs exports to Word, PDF, Markdown, and Google Docs. In our August 2026 document review test, Claude asked clarifying questions first, then took more than 11 minutes to return a valid .docx with thoughtful comments and tracked changes. The Claude for Word add-in works inside Word on Pro or higher and applies its edits as native tracked changes when Track Changes is on.
Gemini exports responses to Google Docs and Gmail, and Gemini inside Google Docs starts with Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month) for individuals. In the same test, Gemini in Docs needed some nudging. After that it left comments under the user’s name and made its edits as Google Docs suggestions.
Edge: Claude is better for creating downloadable Word files and, on Pro and up, for editing inside Word. Gemini is better for exporting to Google Docs and, on Google AI Pro, for working inside Docs.
Price
Google AI Plus is $4.99 a month, and Google AI Pro is $19.99 a month with 5 TB of storage. Claude Pro is $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually ($200 a year), and Max starts at $100 a month.
Edge: Gemini, because it has the lower entry price and includes storage. For the document features compared here, Google AI Pro ($19.99) and Claude Pro ($20, or $17 billed annually) cost about the same.
Which should you choose?
Choose Gemini if
- you work in Google Docs, Gmail, and Drive
- you want the cheapest entry-level paid plan
- you turn drafts into slides, quizzes, or audio overviews
Choose Claude if
- you need downloadable .docx files, including on the Free plan within its usage limits
- you want Claude Docs (Pro and up) to explain its edits in comments
- you want the Claude Opus configurations that outscored the tested Gemini ones in our proofreading test (Opus 5 low and Opus 5.5 high reasoning)
What each costs
| Tool | Cheapest paid plan | Monthly | Per year | AI on that plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini | Google AI Plus (per month) | $4.99/mo | $59.88 | 2x Free usage and 128K context, Gemini in Docs and 1M context start with AI Pro ($19.99/mo) |
| Claude | Claude Pro (or $17/mo billed annually) | $20/mo | $200 | More usage, Opus models, Claude Docs (beta), and Claude in Microsoft 365 |
Using both in one editor
Revise, the word processor we build, runs Claude and Gemini models in one browser editor. Its agent proposes text and formatting edits as tracked changes, and header, footer, and page-layout changes apply directly. It is a separate editor rather than an add-in, and its Claude Sonnet and Gemini models require a paid plan.
The bottom line
Gemini is the better choice if price and Google Docs matter most to you. Claude is the better choice if you need Word files back or, on Pro, a shared document with explained edits.
Sources
Prices and plan details were checked against each vendor’s own pages on October 4, 2026. Prices are in US dollars as each vendor lists them, and some include local tax. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on the linked page before you buy.
