Format Magic vs Claude
Plans, free access, limits and intended use side by side, taken from each vendor’s own pages. No score and no winner: the facts show where the two differ.
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Budget characters, not pages, before picking a plan
From an idea to a draft you can actually edit.
- Free access
- Format Magic: Free access
- Claude: Free access
- Paid from
- Format Magic: USD 9.95 per month
- Claude: USD 17 per month
- Plans listed
- Format Magic: 4
- Claude: 7
- Public API
- Format Magic: Not confirmed
- Claude: Yes
Where Format Magic and Claude differ
- Pricing checkPrices confirmed for Format Magic; pricing review due for Claude.
- PlansFormat Magic lists 4 plans and Claude lists 7.
Head to head
Each value from the tool’s profile and the vendor’s own pages
| Format Magic | Fact | Claude |
|---|---|---|
| Access and price | ||
| Free access availableFree · USD 0 per month | Free accessSame | Free access availableFree |
| USD 9.95 per monthBasic | Lowest listed paid plan | USD 17 per monthPro · billed yearly as USD 200 · USD 20 billed monthly |
| Free about 35 pages/month; paid from $9.95/month | Pricing model | Free + paid |
| 4 | Plans listedDiffers | 7 |
| Not confirmed | Public API | Yes |
| Not confirmed | Card to start | Not confirmed |
| Not confirmed | Open source | No |
| What it is for | ||
| Turning plain or AI-drafted text into templated Word and PDF documents | Built for | Drafting, document work and coding |
| Writing & content | CategorySame | Writing & content |
| Platforms |
|
| Works with |
|
| How current | ||
| Profile sources checked | ||
| Prices confirmed · Sep 29, 2026 | Pricing checkDiffers | Pricing review due · Sep 24, 2026 |
Official source check for both tools. No hands-on testing and no score: “Differs” marks a documented difference, not a better tool.
Plans and prices
Format Magic
Prices confirmed · Sep 29, 2026- FreeUSD 0 per monthno credit card
- BasicUSD 9.95 per month
- ProUSD 14.95 per month
- PremiumUSD 19.95 per month
Claude
Pricing review due · Sep 24, 2026- FreeFree
- ProUSD 17 per monthbilled yearly as USD 200 · USD 20 billed monthly
- Max 5xUSD 100 per month
- Max 20xUSD 200 per month
- Team (Standard seat)USD 20 per seat per monthbilled annually · USD 25 billed monthly
Show 2 more plans
- Team (Premium seat)USD 100 per seat per monthbilled annually · USD 125 billed monthly
- EnterpriseUSD 20 per seat per monthbilled annually, plus usage at API rates
Strengths and limits
Format Magic
Strengths
- Free plan without a card: About 35 pages a month can be formatted after a free sign-up.
- Short retention for one-off jobs: The privacy policy says unsaved input and output are deleted within 12 hours.
- Commercial use of your documents: The terms allow personal and business use of documents you create.
Limits to plan around
- Character limits, not pages: Allowances are counted in characters, so page estimates vary with tables and images.
- Text goes to third-party AI: Content is processed by providers such as Google Gemini and OpenAI.
- Branding needs higher tiers: Template customization starts on Pro, and your own Word templates need Premium.
Claude
Strengths
- A broad free plan: Web search, file creation, code execution, Artifacts, memory and up to five projects cost nothing.
- Chat and coding on one subscription: Pro and Max cover Claude Code in the terminal and in IDEs alongside the chat apps.
- Four usage levels: Free, Pro, Max 5x and Max 20x let one person scale usage without a team plan.
Limits to plan around
- Limits on every tier: Even Max 20x has a five-hour session allowance and a weekly cap; it raises the ceiling rather than removing it.
- A steep step to Max: Max starts at five times the monthly Pro price and cannot be paid annually.
- Tax comes on top: Listed prices exclude applicable tax, and app-store prices for Max can differ from the web price.
See both products
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Comparing tools from different categories is fine, and often useful — a writing assistant and a research tool solve different halves of the same job. The table will show you exactly where they diverge.
Questions about comparing tools
How does the comparison work?
Add two tools to the comparison tray from any tool card, then open this page. The table pulls each tool's verified plan details, platforms, strengths and limits from its profile, so both columns carry the same kind of evidence, with a separate source-check date for each tool.
Do you declare a winner?
No. The table sets two tools against each other on documented facts, not on a score. Which one wins depends on your task, your budget and your usage volume — three things we cannot see from here.
Why are some cells empty or marked unverified?
Because we could not confirm that detail on the vendor's own pages. Rather than filling the gap with a figure from elsewhere, we mark it and say why on the tool's profile.
Can I compare more than two tools?
Not at once. Two columns keep the differences readable and force a real decision. Remove either selected tool to replace it, or clear both to start a new pair.
Every figure in the table above comes from the linked profile, where the source and the verification date are listed. Browse all tools or read the editorial policy.