Base vs ChatGPT Projects
ChatGPT Projects keep your chats, files and instructions together, and you can invite other ChatGPT users into a project. Base is for sending documents to people who may not use ChatGPT at all: a reader opens a Base in a browser, or from the AI they already use, ChatGPT included, and every fact quotes the file it came from. Use a project to work in ChatGPT with collaborators; use Base to hand a finished set of documents to someone else.
Updated October 7, 2026
At a glance
| Base | ChatGPT Projects | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Sharing documents with people and their AI | Working in ChatGPT, alone or with invited collaborators |
| Who can open it | Anyone with the link, only the people you invite, or buyers if you sell access | People you invite, or anyone with the link, but every collaborator has to be logged in to ChatGPT |
| How many people | Anyone with the link, or the people you name in invite mode | 5 collaborators on Free, 10 on Plus and Go, 100 on Pro, set by the owner's plan |
| How many files | 1 GB of storage on Free and 100 GB on Pro, up to 50 MB per file | 5 files per project on Free, 25 on Plus and Go, 40 on Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu |
| Downloads | You decide; downloads can be turned off | Every member can view and download the project's files |
| Works in other AI apps | Yes: Claude, ChatGPT and any app that takes an MCP connector | No, a project lives in ChatGPT |
| Price | Free for 2 Bases with 500 credits; Pro is $29 a month | Sharing is available on every ChatGPT plan, including Free |
When ChatGPT Projects are the better choice
- You and your collaborators all use ChatGPT and want to keep working in it together.
- The point is the conversation: drafting, iterating and keeping project instructions and memory in one place.
- The files are few and everyone invited may see and download all of them.
When Base is the better choice
- The reader is a client, an investor or a partner who should not have to log in to ChatGPT to read what you sent.
- The reader uses Claude or another assistant, or nothing but a browser.
- There are more documents than a project holds, or some of them should not be downloadable.
- Readers need to check answers against the source. Base keeps a verbatim quote and its file behind every fact, and drops a fact when the quote cannot be found.
- You want the material read-only for most people, with contributions switched on only where you choose.
Using both
ChatGPT can open a Base. Paste a share link into a chat, or add Base as a connector with the URL https://createbases.com/api/mcp and ChatGPT can search every Base you own or were sent. Step-by-step setup is on the connect page.
Questions
Can I share a ChatGPT project with someone who does not use ChatGPT?
No. OpenAI's help center says anyone joining a shared project, including through a link, must be logged in to ChatGPT. A Base opens in any browser, and in link mode needs no account at all.
Can ChatGPT read a Base?
Yes. Paste the share link into a chat, or connect Base once as a connector so ChatGPT can search your Bases directly and read the source behind each answer.
Does a Base have a file limit?
Base limits storage rather than the number of files: 1 GB on Free and 100 GB on Pro, with each file up to 50 MB.
Sources checked on October 7, 2026
Try it with your own documents
Free for your first Bases, no card. Every new account starts with a Base that explains Base, so there is a cited answer to inspect right away.