# 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. Canonical page: https://createbases.com/compare/chatgpt-projects

## 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](https://createbases.com/connect).

## 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

- [OpenAI Help Center: Projects in ChatGPT](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10169521-projects-in-chatgpt)