Claude is a large language model accessible via web interface that handles text generation, analysis, and reasoning tasks at roughly the same capability level as GPT-4. It's positioned as the more safety-conscious alternative to OpenAI's offerings, with a stated focus on reducing hallucinations and harmful outputs. Pricing starts at free (limited Claude 3.5 Sonnet access) with Claude Pro at $20/month for higher usage limits. The main trade-off: Claude's context window and real-world adoption lag slightly behind its closest competitors, though for most writing and support tasks the difference remains marginal.