Manus vs ChatGPT Agent: Which is Higher?

OpenAI lastly dropped their agent, chasing Sam Altman’s AGI imaginative and prescient from earlier this yr. However they’re late to the celebration. Normal-purpose brokers are already in every single place, doubling as private assistants. I’ve been utilizing Manus for quiet a while for duties like sorting knowledge, crafting shows, simplifying course content material, taking notes, and extra. It has streamlined my work like a dream. Naturally, I used to be curious to see how OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Agent stacks up, so I put it head-to-head with Manus. Right here’s a no-nonsense breakdown of how they carried out.

Manus vs ChatGPT Agent: Pricing

ChatGPT Plus, at $20/month, offers prolonged (although not limitless) entry to the ChatGPT Agent, together with GPT-4.1 mini, net looking, and superior voice capabilities. Alternatively, Manus affords a Free Beta plan with 300 every day refresh credit and 1 concurrent job, sufficient for mild experimentation, however simple to exhaust. The Manus Fundamental Beta plan, priced at $16/month, will increase the restrict to 1,900 credit and a couple of concurrent duties. Whereas it’s barely cheaper than ChatGPT Plus, heavy workflows can devour credit shortly, which could restrict lengthy classes or complicated agent duties.

Manus AI

ChatGPT Agent

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Now that the associated fee half is sorted, let’s check each the fashions on identical prompts and see which one performs higher. For this, I’m utilizing the free plan of Manus and ChatGPT plus account.

Job 1: Making a PPT

Immediate: “Create a concise, data-driven PowerPoint presentation (10-12 slides) on “Profession and Wage Development in Generative AI” for professionals coming into or advancing within the area, overlaying – a title slide (“Profession and Wage Development in Generative AI,” subtitle: Alternatives & Tendencies, title, date); an intro defining Generative AI, its tech (LLMs, GANs, Diffusion Fashions), and purposes (ChatGPT, Midjourney); market progress ($50B+ by 2025), adoption (tech, healthcare, finance), and AI startup funding; key roles (AI Analysis Scientist, ML Engineer, NLP Engineer, Immediate Engineer, AI Product Supervisor) with abilities; wage tendencies (2024-2025, e.g., $80K-$300K US, ₹20L-₹80L India) vs. conventional AI roles; high employers (Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, healthcare/gaming); important abilities (Python, PyTorch, creativity, certifications); future tendencies (AI ethics, distant work); challenges (evolving tech, competitors) with options; and a roadmap (studying, portfolio, networking). Use a contemporary template (darkish/mild, AI visuals), charts (salaries/market), icons, infographics, minimal textual content, and bullet factors for readability.”

ChatGPT Agent:

Manus:

Commentary:

Manus delivered a extra detailed and visually interesting presentation, whereas the ChatGPT Agent fell brief in each content material and design, making Manus the clear winner for this job.

Job 2: Knowledge Evaluation and Reporting

Immediate: “Acquire dependable datasets on world warming, together with key metrics comparable to:

• World temperature anomalies (yearly averages)
• Atmospheric CO2 ranges (ppm)
• Sea stage rise (mm/yr)
• Arctic ice extent (month-to-month averages)

Use respected sources like NASA (https://local weather.nasa.gov), NOAA (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov), or the IPCC. Clear and preprocess the information if wanted. Then, generate visualizations to focus on tendencies, comparable to:

• A line graph exhibiting world temperature modifications over time (e.g., 1880–current).
• A dual-axis plot evaluating CO2 ranges and temperature anomalies.
• A bar or line chart exhibiting Arctic ice soften over a long time.
• A map-based visualization of regional temperature variations.”

ChatGPT Agent:

Checkout full output right here.

Manus:

Checkout full output right here.

Commentary:

Manus offered solely the graphs, with none clarification of what every graph represents or what insights to derive from them. In distinction, the ChatGPT Agent included an summary for every plot—explaining what it reveals, the insights it affords, and the information getting used.

For this job, the ChatGPT Agent clearly takes the win!

Job 3: Make my DHS Session Schedule

Immediate: “I’m attending DataHack Summit 2025 and need assistance choosing one of the best classes for my ability stage. I’m a GenAI fanatic with fundamental data – I exploit AI instruments every day and perceive Vibe coding, MCP, and no-code ideas. May you evaluate the summit schedule right here and counsel 10 must-attend classes? I’m on the lookout for: beginner-to-intermediate GenAI content material (like immediate engineering or mannequin fine-tuning), no-code/low-code demos, real-world case research, rising tendencies (multimodal AI, agentic workflows), and ideally some hands-on workshops. For every suggestion, please embody why it’s related to me. Thanks!”

ChatGPT Agent:

Discover full output right here.

Manus:

Discover full output right here.

Commentary:

Each instruments had been capable of scan the web site, however their approaches differed considerably. Manus organized the classes by speaker fairly than specializing in the hack classes themselves, an unhelpful strategy, because the precedence ought to have been the classes, not the audio system.

In the meantime, the ChatGPT Agent did record the hack classes, however the output was underwhelming. Many classes had been technical and didn’t align properly with the immediate I offered.

Ultimately, neither mannequin succeeded in making a workable plan for me.

Immediate: “I wish to purchase the brand new iPad Air (M3 mannequin) in India and need assistance discovering one of the best deal. My supply pincode is 201301. Please verify main platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Apple India Retailer, Croma, Vijay Gross sales, and Reliance Digital for the bottom worth. Embrace any ongoing financial institution reductions, cashback affords, or change offers within the comparability. Additionally confirm vendor authenticity and guarantee protection. Concentrate on discovering the most affordable dependable choice with quick supply to my location. Let me know when you want some other particulars.“

ChatGPT Agent:

Manus:

Discover full output right here.

Commentary:

Each Manus and the ChatGPT Agent offered correct responses with right mannequin specs, pricing, and buy hyperlinks. Nevertheless, Manus delivered a cleaner output with a single, clear hyperlink, whereas the ChatGPT Agent included a number of hyperlinks, making it more durable to determine the right one for putting an order. Moreover, among the hyperlinks from the ChatGPT Agent weren’t functioning correctly.

So for this job, Manus is a transparent winner.

Closing Verdict

Conclusion

On this head-to-head comparability, Manus comes out because the extra dependable agent for dealing with general-purpose duties, particularly when you take the time to customise your prompts properly. It constantly delivers cleaner outputs, is less complicated to navigate, and has been round lengthy sufficient to iron out among the tough edges that also present in OpenAI’s newly launched ChatGPT Agent. Whereas the ChatGPT Agent reveals promise, significantly in reasoning and contextual understanding, it lacks polish in execution and nonetheless feels early-stage by way of usability. That stated, OpenAI is more likely to iterate shortly, and future updates might considerably enhance its efficiency. For now, when you’re on the lookout for a extra mature, sensible agent to assist with on a regular basis workflows, Manus has the sting. You may as well checkout my earlier articles on Manus:

Do attempt these brokers by yourself and let me know your ideas within the remark part under.