MagicSchool is 80+ forms wrapped around models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, the same labs whose chatbots you could use directly. What you are paying for is the form, the privacy paperwork, and never having to write a prompt.
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Pick MagicSchool AI if you need the teacher down the hall to use it on a Tuesday with no training, and you need a compliance answer ready the first time a parent asks what happened to their kid's data.
Pick ChatGPT if you already prompt well, and the thing you need does not exist as a form, or the task is too specific to your class to fit one.
Pick neither if your district has not decided what is allowed yet, because the fastest way to turn a time saving tool into an incident is to type student names into an account nobody approved.
prices checked 2026-10-13 · by dan scutaru
| MagicSchool AI | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| price | free tier · from $12.99/mo | free tier · from $8/mo |
| free tier | Free forever plan with 80+ teacher tools, the Raina chatbot, quizzes and class writing feedback, but capped generations and output history. | Unlimited text chats with GPT-6 Luna (subject to abuse guardrails), with limited uploads, image generation, voice, deep research, memory and Codex access. |
| runs on | web | web, ios, android, mac, windows |
| Models | OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, picked per tool. Adobe Firefly for images | OpenAI only. GPT-6 Luna on Free, GPT-6 reasoning models from Plus |
| Free plan for teachers | Free forever plan, generations capped (number not published) | ChatGPT for Teachers: free for verified US K-12 staff through June 2027 (help center now says June 2028) |
| Student-facing tools | 50+ on Plus and Enterprise, with student activity visible to the teacher | None. ChatGPT for Teachers is not for students |
| Student data paperwork | Says FERPA and COPPA compliant, signs district DPAs, zero data retention attested by OpenAI and Anthropic | Teachers plan: FERPA-aligned protections, student data privacy agreement, no training by default. Free, Go, Plus: trains on chats unless you opt out |
| School systems | Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, Microsoft. Sign-in with Clever and ClassLink | Teachers plan: SSO, role-based access, domain claiming, admin analytics |
If you teach in a US K-12 school, the ChatGPT to compare is not the consumer app. It is ChatGPT for Teachers, a separate workspace that is free for verified K-12 staff and that you unlock at chatgpt.com/k12-verification with your school or district email. OpenAI's pricing page says it is free through June 2027. Its help center, updated on 13 October, says June 2028.
You get the full assistant: file uploads, voice, image generation, memory and custom GPTs, plus SSO and admin roles for the district, FERPA-aligned protections and a student data privacy agreement. What you do not get is forms or a student side, because OpenAI says the plan is not for students. Those two things are most of what MagicSchool still sells.
MagicSchool is a web app, with a Chrome extension, of 80+ teacher tools, each one a form: grade, standard, topic, generate. Underneath, it sends each tool to a model from OpenAI, Anthropic or Google, and uses Adobe Firefly for images. You are not choosing a model, you are choosing a form.
The part ChatGPT has no answer to is the student side. Plus and Enterprise add 50+ student tools, and MagicSchool stores the student interactions so the teacher can review them. ChatGPT for Teachers stops at the staffroom door. If you want students using AI where you can see what they did with it, that alone decides it.
The one published head-to-head we found is a peer-reviewed study from 2026 that graded both on the same A2-level English lesson. Both produced a usable plan in seconds. MagicSchool's followed Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction without being asked. ChatGPT's split the lesson over two sessions, with tighter internal logic and more specific resources.
Both were weak on the same three things: differentiation, digital media, and how long each step really takes. That is the part of a lesson plan you know and the model does not, so it is the part you rewrite with either tool. One lesson in one subject is a small sample. Treat it as a hint, not a ranking.
Yes. The free plan is permanent and includes all 80+ teacher tools, the Raina chatbot, quizzes and class writing feedback. It caps generations, but MagicSchool does not publish the number: its FAQ calls them standard generation limits, and your dashboard shows what is left.
Plus removes the cap and adds unlimited output history, editing and the 50+ student tools. ChatGPT's free plan has the opposite shape: unlimited text chats with GPT-6 Luna, but limited uploads, image creation and deep research, which are the features you need to plan around your own materials.
Yes, for teachers, staff, school leaders and district administrators at accredited US K-12 schools who verify with a school email. OpenAI's pricing page says free through June 2027, and its help center, updated on 13 October, says June 2028. After that OpenAI says it may introduce pricing, with advance notice. Students and schools outside the US are not eligible.
A web platform of 80+ AI tools for teachers, each a form for one job such as a lesson plan, a rubric, an IEP draft or a parent email, plus 50+ student tools on paid plans. It runs on models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google rather than its own. There is a free plan, and Plus and district Enterprise plans remove the limits.
Not the plans most people use. On Free, Go and Plus your chats can train OpenAI's models unless you opt out, and OpenAI lists FERPA-aligned protections and a student data privacy agreement as what ChatGPT for Teachers adds over Plus. MagicSchool says it is FERPA and COPPA compliant and signs district DPAs. Either way, what protects student data is the agreement your district signs, not the label.
Yes. Anyone gets unlimited text chats with GPT-6 Luna, with limits on uploads, images, voice and deep research, and the paid plans start with Go. The full answer →