# ChatGPT Projects vs Custom GPTs: which to use

**Author:** John Morabito (Founder, /winston)
**Published:** June 14, 2026
**Reading time:** 11 minutes
**Canonical:** https://www.winstondigitalmarketing.com/playbooks/chatgpt-projects-vs-custom-gpts/

ChatGPT Projects and Custom GPTs are both features inside ChatGPT, but they answer different questions. A Custom GPT is a reusable, shareable assistant: you configure instructions, knowledge, and optional Actions once, then reuse it or publish it for other people to open and chat with. A ChatGPT Project is a private workspace that groups related chats with shared files and instructions, so one ongoing effort stays organized in a single place. Use a Custom GPT to package a repeatable assistant you can hand off. Use a Project to keep your own related conversations and reference files together.

## What a Custom GPT is

A Custom GPT is a configured version of ChatGPT that you set up once and reuse. You give it a name, a set of standing instructions (the persona and rules it should follow), optional knowledge files it can draw on, and a choice of built-in capabilities like web browsing, image generation, and the code tool. You can also add Actions, which let the GPT call an external API through an OpenAPI schema so it can do things like look up a record or post to another system.

The defining trait is that a Custom GPT is a distributable object. You can keep it private, share it by link, or publish it to the GPT Store for anyone to open. That makes it the right shape when you want a repeatable assistant that behaves the same way every time and that other people, not just you, will use.

## What a ChatGPT Project is

A ChatGPT Project is a workspace that groups related chats together under one roof. You create a Project, give it standing instructions and upload reference files, and every chat you start inside that Project inherits those instructions and can draw on those files. The chats stay grouped, so a body of work (a research effort, a client account, a book you are writing) lives in one organized place instead of scattered across your history.

The defining trait here is that a Project is private and organizational, not distributable. It is your workspace, scoped to you or your workspace. There is nothing to publish to a store and no standalone assistant to hand someone. The value is continuity: shared context across many related conversations, without rebuilding it in each new chat.

## The core differences that decide it

Strip away the naming and the two features differ on a handful of axes that actually change your decision.

- **Shareability and distribution.** A Custom GPT can be shared by link or published to the GPT Store. A Project is a private workspace with no distribution surface. This is the single biggest fork: are you building something for others to open, or organizing work for yourself.
- **Actions and external tools.** Custom GPTs support Actions (API calls via an OpenAPI schema). Projects do not. If the assistant needs to reach an outside service, that is a Custom GPT job.
- **Persistence and grouping.** A Project keeps many related chats together with shared context. A Custom GPT is a configuration you invoke; each conversation with it starts fresh (beyond ChatGPT's own memory features), and there is no built-in grouping of a body of work.
- **Knowledge handling.** Both let you attach files. In a Custom GPT the knowledge is baked into the assistant for everyone who uses it. In a Project the files are context for your chats inside that Project.
- **Who it is for.** A Custom GPT is aimed at repeatable, often shared use. A Project is aimed at one person or workspace running an ongoing effort.

## Side-by-side comparison

| Dimension | Custom GPT | ChatGPT Project |
|---|---|---|
| Core job | Reusable, shareable assistant | Private workspace for related chats |
| Shareable / publishable | Yes (link or GPT Store) | No, private to you or your workspace |
| Actions / external API | Yes (OpenAPI schema) | No |
| Standing instructions | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledge files | Baked into the assistant | Shared across chats in the Project |
| Groups a body of work | No built-in grouping | Yes, that is the point |
| Best when | Others will use it, or you need Actions | You run an ongoing effort solo or in a team space |

## When to use which

The decision usually settles on one question: is the output a thing other people open, or a place your own work lives?

Reach for a Custom GPT when you want a repeatable assistant that behaves consistently and that teammates, clients, or the public will use. Support triage, a brand-voice drafting helper, an onboarding guide, anything you want to configure once and let others invoke. Also reach for a Custom GPT the moment you need Actions, because a Project cannot call an external API.

Reach for a Project when you are running an ongoing effort and want its chats and reference files in one organized place with shared instructions. Writing a report over weeks, managing a single client account, researching a topic across many sessions. The Project keeps the context so you are not re-pasting it into every new chat. It is the fastest way to say "keep all of this together and apply these instructions to all of it."

## Do ChatGPT Projects replace Custom GPTs?

No, and framing it as a replacement misses the point. They are complementary. A Project organizes a body of work; a Custom GPT packages a reusable assistant. The two overlap only in that both let you set standing instructions and attach files, which is why the comparison keeps coming up. Everywhere else they diverge: distribution, Actions, and whether the thing groups your conversations.

In practice, plenty of people run both at once. You might keep a Project for the client account you work in daily, and separately build a Custom GPT for a repeatable deliverable your whole team produces. Picking one for a given job does not lock you out of the other for the next one.

The honest framing: if you are choosing between a Project and a Custom GPT, you are usually not really choosing at all. Ask whether the result needs to be handed to someone else (Custom GPT) or kept together for yourself (Project). The confusion is worse across platforms, where "Claude Projects vs Custom GPT" gets thrown into the same search. That is a different comparison, and we untangle it here: https://www.winstondigitalmarketing.com/playbooks/claude-custom-gpt-equivalent/

## Where this fits

Custom GPTs and Projects are the ChatGPT-native answers to "make this reusable" and "keep this together." The bigger question most teams end up asking is which platform to build on at all. If you are weighing the OpenAI packaging format against Anthropic's, the full feature-by-feature breakdown is here: https://www.winstondigitalmarketing.com/playbooks/custom-gpts-vs-claude-skills/ And the Claude-side mapping (Projects, Skills, and what actually competes with a Custom GPT) is here: https://www.winstondigitalmarketing.com/playbooks/claude-custom-gpt-equivalent/ When you want help scoping and building the right one for a specific workflow, that is our Custom GPTs and Skills service: https://www.winstondigitalmarketing.com/services/ai-marketing/custom-gpts-and-skills/

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the difference between ChatGPT Projects and Custom GPTs?**
Both live inside ChatGPT, but they solve different jobs. A Custom GPT is a reusable, shareable assistant you configure once with instructions, knowledge files, and optional Actions, then reuse or publish for other people to open and chat with. A ChatGPT Project is a private workspace that groups related chats together with shared instructions and uploaded files, so one ongoing effort stays in a single place. Put simply, a Custom GPT is a configured assistant you can hand to other people, and a Project is a folder for your own related conversations.

**Should I use a Project or a Custom GPT?**
Use a Project when you want to keep an ongoing body of work organized in one place: a set of related chats, a few reference files, and standing instructions that apply to all of them, private to you or your workspace. Use a Custom GPT when you want a reusable assistant that behaves the same way every time and that other people can open, or when you need Actions that call an external API. If the goal is organizing your own thinking, pick a Project. If the goal is packaging a repeatable assistant to share, pick a Custom GPT.

**Can you share a ChatGPT Project?**
A ChatGPT Project is built as a private workspace rather than a distributable assistant. Inside a Team or Enterprise workspace you can collaborate in shared spaces, but a Project is not published to the GPT Store or handed out as a standalone assistant the way a Custom GPT is. If your goal is to give other people something they can open and use, build a Custom GPT, which supports link sharing and GPT Store publishing. If your goal is to keep your own related chats and files together, use a Project.

**Do ChatGPT Projects replace Custom GPTs?**
No. They are complementary features, not a replacement. Projects organize related chats and files around an ongoing effort and stay private to you. Custom GPTs package a reusable, shareable assistant with its own instructions, knowledge, and optional Actions. Many people use both: a Project to run a body of work day to day, and a Custom GPT for a repeatable task they or their team invoke over and over. Choosing one does not rule out the other.

**Can a ChatGPT Project call Actions or an API?**
No. Actions, which let an assistant call an external API through an OpenAPI schema, are a Custom GPT capability, not a Project feature. A Project holds instructions, chats, and uploaded files, but it does not expose the Actions builder. If your workflow needs the assistant to reach an external service (look up an order, post to a CRM, query a database), that points to a Custom GPT with Actions, or to a different tool entirely.

**Do I need ChatGPT Plus for Projects and Custom GPTs?**
Both features live on ChatGPT's paid tiers rather than the free tier, and the exact availability shifts as OpenAI updates its plans, so check your own account for what is enabled. Creating a Custom GPT has historically required a paid plan such as Plus, Team, or Enterprise, and Projects rolled out to paid tiers as well. Because OpenAI moves these boundaries over time, treat plan availability as something to verify in the product rather than a fixed rule to quote.

Service: https://www.winstondigitalmarketing.com/services/ai-marketing/custom-gpts-and-skills/
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