Dexto vs ChatGPT: Differences, and How to Use Both

You ask ChatGPT to research five competitors and build a spreadsheet. The answer is good. Next Monday you want the same thing again, with the file updated, using a cheaper model for the routine parts, and you would rather not have to be at your desk when it happens.

That is where the two products split. ChatGPT is an AI assistant built around OpenAI's models. Dexto is a cloud workspace for agents: it works with models from many providers, gives the agent its own persistent cloud computer, and runs recurring work on a schedule. You also do not have to choose. Dexto has an MCP server, so ChatGPT can use the Dexto cloud directly.

Dexto vs ChatGPT at a glance

The ChatGPT column is based on OpenAI's own pages: ChatGPT pricing, the ChatGPT agent and scheduled tasks help articles, the Codex cloud docs, and the developer mode guide. Plans and limits change often, so check those pages before you decide.

What is the difference between Dexto and ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is OpenAI's assistant, built around OpenAI's models. Dexto is a model-agnostic workspace where agents do work on a persistent cloud computer, with connections, skills, approvals, and schedules around them.

In practice the difference shows up after the first answer. In ChatGPT, the conversation is the center. In Dexto, the work is the center: the files the agent produced, the project they belong to, the run history, and the next scheduled run. The model is one part you can swap. Our introduction to harness engineering explains why everything around the model matters as much as the model.

Which models does Dexto support?

Dexto supports 400+ language models, including GPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok families, plus image, video, and audio generation models, all billed through one credit system. You are not tied to a single provider.

That matters for three reasons. A cheap, fast model is often the right choice for routine steps, and a stronger one for the hard step. When a provider ships a better model, you can switch without moving your files, connections, or schedules. And if one provider has a bad day, your work is not blocked.

OpenAI models are part of that list. You can also bring your own access: the models documentation lists OpenAI (API key or ChatGPT login), Anthropic (API key), and Cursor (API key) as supported connections. So a ChatGPT subscription is something you can use inside Dexto, not something you give up. For help picking, see choosing a model.

Can I use my ChatGPT subscription or OpenAI API key in Dexto?

Yes. In Model settings you can sign in with your ChatGPT login or add an OpenAI API key, and Dexto uses that for OpenAI models instead of Dexto credits. You can also add an Anthropic or Cursor API key the same way. The models documentation lists the supported options.

This means the subscription you already pay for keeps working. ChatGPT remains your chat app, and the same plan powers agents that run on a cloud computer, on a schedule, with your connections and skills. For any task where another provider's model is a better fit, you switch models without changing anything else.

Can ChatGPT run agents in the cloud?

Yes, in specific forms. OpenAI documents agent mode on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans, scheduled tasks that can repeat daily, weekly, or monthly, and Codex cloud, which runs coding tasks in the background in isolated cloud environments.

The limits are worth knowing. OpenAI's help center lists a cap on active scheduled tasks that depends on the plan: 3 on Free and Go, 5 on Plus, 10 on Business and Edu, and 15 on Pro and Enterprise. Codex cloud is built for code repositories: you describe a change, review the diff, and open a pull request. And all of it runs on OpenAI's models.

What are serverless agents, and how does Dexto run them?

A serverless agent is an agent that runs in the cloud without you keeping a laptop or browser tab open and without you managing a server. In Dexto, the agent has its own persistent cloud computer where it stores files, runs code, opens browsers, and runs apps, so it can keep working when your laptop is closed.

Two pieces make this useful. The computer is persistent, so last week's files are still there this week. And Loops let an agent repeat a task: start it yourself, run it once at a chosen time, or put it on a schedule, then check what happened after each run.

Take the competitor example. You could set up a Loop like this:

Every Monday at 8am:
1. Check the pricing and changelog pages for these five competitors.
2. Update competitors.xlsx in this project with anything that changed.
3. Write a five-line summary of the changes.
4. Ask for my approval before posting the summary to Slack.

The spreadsheet lives on the cloud computer, so each run updates the same file. Slack is a connection. The approval step keeps a person in charge of what gets posted. You do not provision anything, and you pay for usage through credits.

Can I use Dexto with ChatGPT?

Yes. Dexto exposes a remote MCP server at https://app.dexto.ai/mcp with OAuth sign-in. Add it to ChatGPT and ChatGPT can search your Dexto workspace, use its cloud computer, and hand work to Dexto agents and automations.

This is the best-of-both setup: you keep ChatGPT's app and voice as the front end, and Dexto becomes the place where files persist and long or recurring work runs. The Dexto MCP setup guide gives these steps for ChatGPT and Codex:

1. Copy the Dexto connector URL: https://app.dexto.ai/mcp.
2. In the ChatGPT desktop app, open Plugins, click the settings icon, select MCPs, then click Add server.
3. Choose custom MCP. Name it Dexto, select Streamable HTTP, paste the URL, and save.
4. Complete the Dexto sign-in, and make sure Dexto is enabled.

On the web, OpenAI's developer mode guide describes the equivalent path: turn on Developer mode under Settings, Security and login, then add the server from the Plugins page. OpenAI lists developer mode as available to Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education accounts, and workspace admins may need to allow it first. There is no API key to paste. Access is granted through OAuth, and Dexto rechecks authorization, approvals, and billing each time a tool is called.

Once it is connected, try prompts like these from inside ChatGPT:

• “Search Dexto for the best way to connect my GitHub work.”
• “Find an Agent or AutoBot that can own a competitor research brief.”
• “Find or create a weekly project status automation.”

Asking ChatGPT to search Dexto first is the recommended start. Dexto returns a short ranked list of routes available to your account, such as capabilities, skills, agents, connections, and automations, instead of loading a full tool catalog into the conversation. Shell and file operations on the workspace computer appear as dexto_computer_* tools. A visual desktop is a separate tool that appears only when it is available to your account. Dexto MCP does not expose raw connection secrets.

If you are comparing other servers to add alongside it, see our best MCP servers guide. For how connected tools differ from reusable procedures, see Agent Skills vs MCP.

What is ChatGPT better at?

ChatGPT is the more polished consumer product. It has mature web, desktop, and mobile apps, a voice mode, built-in image generation, and it gets OpenAI's newest models and features first. For coding against a repository, Codex is included with ChatGPT plans and integrates with GitHub, GitLab, Linear, and Slack.

If most of your use is conversation, such as questions, drafts, learning, and brainstorming, a flat ChatGPT subscription is simple and predictable. Dexto's usage credits suit work that varies from week to week, but a subscription is easier to reason about for daily chat.

Is Dexto a ChatGPT alternative?

Partly. Dexto can replace ChatGPT for chat and agent work if you want a choice of models and a persistent cloud workspace. It is not a copy of the ChatGPT consumer app, and many people will get more from using the two together.

Which should you use?

Pick ChatGPT if you mainly want a conversational assistant, you use voice or the mobile app a lot, and OpenAI's models cover your needs.

Pick Dexto if you want to choose models per task, keep files and projects on a computer the agent can return to, run work on a schedule with approvals, or connect many services in one place.

Use both if ChatGPT is already your habit. Keep asking there, and let Dexto hold the files, connections, and recurring work behind it.

Does Dexto use OpenAI models?

Yes. OpenAI models are available in Dexto alongside models from other providers, and you can connect your own OpenAI API key or ChatGPT login in Model settings.

Is Dexto free?

Dexto has a free plan with a one-time $5 usage credit. After that you buy credits, starting at $5, which are spent on models, cloud computers, media, and connections. See pricing for details.

What about Claude?

The same questions come up for Anthropic's apps, with different answers on models, cloud agents, and setup. We cover those in Dexto vs Claude.

Get started

Create a free workspace at app.dexto.ai, then either give Dexto a task directly or add https://app.dexto.ai/mcp to ChatGPT and start from the chat you already use.