Guide
ChatGPT skills vs Claude skills: the same format, different reach
ChatGPT skills and Claude skills use the same open format: a folder with a SKILL.md file that starts with a name and a description, then the instructions. One file can work in both. The differences are where each product runs skills, which plans have them, and how each shares them: Claude runs them in chats on every plan and shares them inside one Team or Enterprise organization; ChatGPT shares them inside Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu workspaces, and runs standalone skills in its desktop app and Codex. Neither product's sharing reaches the other's users.
Short answer
- Format: the same; write once.
- Claude: every plan, in chats; shared within a Team or Enterprise organization.
- ChatGPT: shared within Business-type workspaces; standalone skills in the desktop app and Codex.
- Across both: the same file in each, or one library both connect to.
Side by side
| ChatGPT | Claude | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Folder with SKILL.md: name, description, instructions | The same |
| Where skills run | Workspace chats on Business-type plans; standalone skills in the desktop app, Codex CLI and IDE extension; skills in plugins in chats | Chats on web, desktop and mobile; Claude Code; Cowork |
| Plans | Help article: Business, Enterprise, Healthcare, Edu. Pricing page also lists Free, Go, Plus, Pro | Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, Enterprise (code execution on) |
| Team sharing | People, groups or the workspace | Owners deploy to the organization; members share |
| How it's picked | By its description | By its description (up to 200 characters in claude.ai) |
From OpenAI's and Anthropic's docs, help and pricing pages, read 5 November 2026. OpenAI's own pages differ on plans; both are listed.
A worked example: one skill, two products
Illustration: a made-up business. A 10-person product studio splits down the middle: designers on Claude Pro, developers and the founder on ChatGPT Business. Both groups write the same client status report every Friday.
They write one client-status-report skill: a description ("Use when writing the Friday status report for a client"), six steps, and one past report. The founder shares it in the ChatGPT Business workspace; the designers each upload the same file in Claude. It works in both. The catch arrives in week three: the founder edits the ChatGPT copy to add a budget line, and the Claude copies don't have it. Two products, two copies again.
They fix it by keeping the skill in one place both products connect to, so an edit reaches everyone.
Write one skill that works in both
- Keep the description under 200 characters, the claude.ai limit, and lead with when to use it.
- Use plain Markdown steps; avoid features only one product has.
- Keep examples inside the file or in plain files beside it.
- Test the same request in both and compare the results.
- Keep one copy both products read, or edits will split it again.
Next step: one copy for both
The format is shared; the copies aren't. Using the same skills in Claude and ChatGPT walks through keeping one set, and the cheapest way to share AI prompts and skills compares the cost. Coming from custom GPTs? See custom GPT vs Claude skills.
Skills for this
- AI practiceTurn a prompt into a skillTurns a prompt that works into a skill the whole team can reuse, with a valid name, a when-to-use description, steps, an output template, an example, and checks.
- AI practiceContext brief for an AI assistantWrites instructions for an AI assistant or agent: role, audience, can and can't, sources of truth, tools, format, examples, edge cases, and handoff.
- AI practiceEval set for an AI taskBuilds a 20-to-50-case eval set for an AI task: normal, edge, and adversarial cases, expected results or rubrics, pass criteria, and a re-run routine.
Questions
Are ChatGPT skills and Claude skills the same thing?
Nearly. Both use the open Agent Skills format: a folder with a SKILL.md file that starts with a name and a description. The same file can work in both. They differ in where each product runs skills, which plans have them, and how each shares them.
Which ChatGPT plans have skills?
OpenAI's Skills help article lists Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu, with workspace sharing. Its pricing page, read on 5 November 2026, also lists Skills on Free, Go, Plus and Pro, and its docs place standalone skills in the desktop app and Codex, and skills bundled in plugins in chats.
Can I share one skill between Claude and ChatGPT users?
Yes, as the same file uploaded to each, or from one skill library both connect to over MCP. Each product's own sharing reaches only its own users.
AI skill
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Sources
- ChatGPT docs: Build skills — a folder with SKILL.md (name, description); standalone skills in the desktop app, Codex CLI and IDE extension; skills in plugins in chats (read 2026-11-05)
- OpenAI Help: Skills in ChatGPT — Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu; shared in the workspace (read 2026-11-05)
- ChatGPT pricing (plan comparison) — lists Skills on Free, Go, Plus and Pro too (read 2026-11-05)
- Claude Help Center: Using skills in Claude — Free to Enterprise with code execution on; Team and Enterprise owners deploy to the organization (read 2026-11-05)
- Claude Help Center: How to create custom skills — description up to 200 characters in claude.ai (read 2026-11-05)
- Agent Skills specification (read 2026-11-05)