I Cancelled One. Gemini Advanced vs. ChatGPT-4o (My 30-Day "Lab" Test)
⚡ Key Takeaways:
The Cost: Paying for both Gemini Advanced (
20)andChatGPTPlus(20)andChatGPTPlus(20) is redundant.
The "Killer App": Gemini's 1 Million Token Context Window allows you to analyze entire books or codebases. ChatGPT cannot do this.
The Verdict: If you are a pure Coder, keep ChatGPT. If you are a "Creative Generalist" building a business, Gemini Advanced is the superior ecosystem.
For the last six months, I have been committing a financial sin.
I have been paying $40 a month for AI.
I had a subscription to ChatGPT Plus (for the GPT-4o and o1 models) and a subscription to Gemini Advanced (for the 1.5 Pro model and 1M token context window).
At first, I told myself it was "research." But last Tuesday, as I audited my expenses for the Infomly Lab, I realized something: I was using one of them 90% of the time, and the other one was just sitting there as a backup.
As a "Creative Generalist"—someone trying to build a business with limited resources—I value leverage above all else. I don't care which model has higher benchmarks on a leaderboard. I care about which one saves me an hour on a Tuesday morning.
So, I ran a 30-Day Death Match.
I forced myself to alternate days.
Day A: Only ChatGPT.
Day B: Only Gemini.
By Day 30, the winner was obvious. I cancelled the loser.
Here is the full breakdown of the test, covering Coding, Writing, and the most important metric of all: Context.
The "Tale of the Tape" (Specs vs. Reality)
Before we get to the tests, let’s look at what you are actually buying. Most reviews list "Benchmarks," but benchmarks don't pay the bills. Here is the "Solo Capitalist" comparison.
Table: The Hardware Comparison
FeatureChatGPT Plus (OpenAI)Gemini Advanced (Google)Price$20/mo$20/mo (Includes 2TB Storage)Top ModelGPT-4o / o1-previewGemini 1.5 ProContext Window~128k Tokens1 Million+ Tokens (Massive)EcosystemIsolated (Works alone)Integrated (Docs/Drive/Gmail)Web SearchBing SearchGoogle Search
The "Hidden" Value:
Right off the bat, Gemini has a pricing advantage for a Bootstrapper. The $20/mo includes 2TB of Google One storage. If you are already paying for Dropbox or Google Drive storage, switching to Gemini makes the AI effectively free. ChatGPT is a pure expense.
But we don't make decisions based on $10 savings. We make decisions based on Capability.
Test 1: The "Solo Capitalist" Coding Test
The Challenge:
I am not a professional developer. I am a Strategist who hacks things together. I needed to build a "Google Ads ROI Calculator" for this website.
I gave both models the exact same prompt:
"Act as a Front-End Developer. Write a clean, modern ROI Calculator in a single HTML file with embedded CSS/JS. Use a card design with a blue button."
ChatGPT Results:
Speed: Instant.
Quality: It used modern CSS (Flexbox), added a hover effect on the button, and the math was perfect.
Error Rate: Zero. It worked on the first copy-paste.
Gemini Results:
Speed: Fast.
Quality: It worked, but the design felt a bit dated (using standard HTML buttons instead of styled divs).
Error Rate: Minor. It forgot to close a </div> tag, which I had to fix manually.
Winner: ChatGPT.
If your primary job is writing complex Python scripts or debugging code, ChatGPT’s "o1" reasoning model is still the king of logic. It hallucinates less when doing math. However, Gemini is "Good Enough" for simple tools, but ChatGPT is "Great."
[INSERT SCREENSHOT: Side-by-Side of the Calculator Code]
Test 2: The "Million Token" Context Test (The Game Changer)
This is where the battle shifted completely. This is the feature most people ignore, but it is the single most powerful tool for a Generalist.
What is Context Window?
It’s how much information the AI can "hold" in its brain at once before it starts forgetting things.
ChatGPT (~128k Tokens): Can read a long PDF, but forgets the beginning if the conversation gets too long.
Gemini (1 Million Tokens): Can read 10 books at once.
The Lab Experiment:
I am building a strategy for 2026. I downloaded 15 PDF reports from Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Google regarding "The Future of AI." It was about 800 pages of text.
ChatGPT:
I tried to upload all 15 PDFs. It choked. It gave me a "File too large" or "Too many tokens" error. I had to feed it one PDF at a time, which ruined the ability to spot patterns across the reports.
Gemini:
I dragged and dropped all 15 PDFs into the chat.
It swallowed them instantly.
Then I asked: "Find the common trend regarding 'Energy Consumption' across all 15 reports."
It gave me a perfect synthesis, citing Report #1 against Report #14.
Winner: Gemini (By a landslide).
For a Strategist, this is a superpower. You can upload your entire website's code, your entire year's tax returns, or your entire competitor's blog archive, and Gemini can analyze it holistically. ChatGPT cannot do this yet.
Test 3: The "Solar System" Workflow
In my previous post, I explained my "Solar System Strategy": I bet 90% on Google because it holds the gravity of the internet.
As a business owner, my life lives in Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Gmail.
The Challenge:
I needed to turn the summary of those 15 PDFs into an email to my team.
ChatGPT:
I had to copy the summary text.
Open Gmail.
Paste it.
Format it.
Gemini:
I typed: "Draft an email based on this summary."
It generated the text.
I clicked the "Export to Gmail" button.
It opened a draft in my actual Gmail tab, ready to send.
Winner: Gemini.
For a Creative Generalist, context switching is the enemy. Every time you switch tabs, you lose flow. Gemini lives inside the apps I use. ChatGPT is an island I have to travel to.
Test 4: The "Multimodal" Vision Test
We often forget that AI isn't just text anymore. It's vision.
The Challenge:
I took a screenshot of a competitor's pricing table. It was complex, with different tiers, checkmarks, and "X" marks.
I asked: "Turn this image into a CSV file."
ChatGPT:
It identified the text, but it struggled with the layout. It missed a few checkmarks and formatted the CSV poorly.
Gemini:
Gemini is built as a "Native Multimodal" model (it was trained on video and images from Day 1). It read the screenshot perfectly, including the nuanced difference between a "Checkmark" and a "Checkmark with a Star."
Winner: Gemini.
If you work with visual data, screenshots, or need to analyze video (Gemini can watch YouTube videos and summarize them), Google has the edge here.
The "Anti-AI" Writing Test
The biggest risk with using AI is sounding like a robot. AdSense hates "Generic AI Content."
The Challenge:
I asked both models to write the introduction for a blog post about "Failure."
ChatGPT Output:
"In the fast-paced world of digital entrepreneurship, failure is often seen as a stepping stone to success. However, navigating the complexities of resilience is crucial for..."
(Verdict: Generic, passive voice, boring).
Gemini Output:
"I lost $500 last week. It hurt. But that loss taught me more about business than three years of reading success stories..."
(Verdict: Better. Not perfect, but it mimicked the "First Person" prompt much better).
Winner: Gemini.
Why? Because Google has been training its models on YouTube transcripts and Search Intent. It seems to understand "Human Hooks" slightly better than ChatGPT, which often defaults to "Corporate Speak."
The "Decision Engine": Which One Should YOU Buy?
I promised you a decision, not a "It depends."
After 30 days, I cancelled ChatGPT Plus.
Why? Because as a Creative Generalist, my bottleneck isn't "Code Logic"—it is Workflow Speed.
The ability to upload massive files (1M Context Window) and the ability to export directly to Docs/Gmail saves me about 5 hours a week. That is worth way more than the $20 fee.
However, your needs might be different. Use this Matrix to decide.
Table: The Decision Matrix
If you are...Choose ThisWhy?A Coder / DeveloperChatGPT PlusThe "o1" reasoning model is unbeatable for complex debugging.A Writer / StrategistGemini AdvancedBetter writing tone, larger context window for research.A "Google Power User"Gemini AdvancedThe integration with Docs/Drive/Gmail is seamless.A Data AnalystGemini AdvancedYou can upload massive spreadsheets/PDFs that crash ChatGPT.A "Prompt Engineer"ChatGPT PlusIt follows complex, multi-step logic instructions slightly better.
Final Thoughts: It’s Not About the Tool
Remember the "Infomly Protocol": The tool is just leverage.
Cancelling ChatGPT didn't make me smarter. It just streamlined my "Solar System." I realized that since I am optimizing for Google Search (The Sun), using Google's Brain (Gemini) to write the content gives me a subtle alignment advantage.
I am now 100% in the Google Ecosystem.
My search strategy targets Google.
My AI assistant is Google.
My analytics are Google.
The Sun is shining. I’m just using its energy.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is Gemini Advanced free?
No, Gemini has a free version (Gemini Flash), but the "Advanced" version with the 1 Million Token window costs $20/month. However, it includes 2TB of Google One storage, which helps offset the cost.
Can ChatGPT analyze Google Docs?
Not directly. You have to download your Doc as a PDF or Word file and re-upload it to ChatGPT. Gemini can read the file directly from your Drive if you give it permission, which is much faster.
Which one is better for coding?
For pure coding logic, ChatGPT (specifically the o1 model) is currently superior. It handles complex logic chains better. But for simple HTML/CSS tools for a blog, Gemini is more than capable.
Does Gemini use my data to train its model?
If you use the consumer version, Google may use anonymized data. However, if you are on a Workspace (Business) plan, your data is private and not used for training. Always check your privacy settings.