Compare two offers side by side

Offers are written to be hard to compare: one quotes a monthly price, another a yearly one, a third hides a setup fee. Paste the details of each into AI and ask for the same information in the same order, plus the total cost over the period you care about.

The questions are the valuable part. AI will often notice that one offer leaves out a price after the first year or a cancellation fee. It works from what you paste, so check the final numbers against the provider’s own documents before you sign.

Why offers are hard to compare

Two offers almost never describe themselves in the same terms. One phone plan advertises a low monthly price with a set-up fee. The other includes the handset and runs for a longer contract. One insurer has a lower premium and a higher excess. Companies know that a like-for-like comparison would make the choice obvious, so the details are arranged to make it hard. Laying both offers out in one table, with the same rows, is how you take that advantage back.

What to paste in

1. 1

   The full details of each offer

   Copy the text from the website or the quote: price, contract length, what is included, fees and conditions. The small print matters most.

2. 2

   What matters to you

   Lowest total cost, flexibility to leave, quality, speed, service. Say which comes first.

3. 3

   How you will use it

   How much data, how many miles, how many people, how long you expect to keep it. The best offer depends on your use, not on the average customer.

A worked example

Two mobile plans. Offer A is 18 a month for 24 months with 20 gigabytes of data and no upfront cost, with a price rise each spring. Offer B is 22 a month on a one-month rolling contract with unlimited data and a one-off 10 set-up fee.

The table shows the total over 24 months: A costs at least 432 before price rises, and B costs 538. A is cheaper on paper. But the table also has a row for flexibility, and you mentioned that you might move abroad next year. If you leave after ten months, B has cost 230 and you can simply stop, while A may charge for the remaining months. The cheaper offer is the more expensive one for your situation. That is what a proper comparison reveals, and why the question “which is better?” has to include “for whom?”.

Rows worth asking for

• Total cost over the full period, including fees, delivery and set-up.
• Cost per month and per year, on the same basis for both.
• What is included, and what is extra.
• Contract length, notice period and the cost of leaving early.
• Price changes: is the price fixed, or can it rise during the contract?
• Limits and exclusions: data caps, mileage limits, what the insurance does not cover.
• Warranty, returns and customer support.
• Anything stated in one offer and missing from the other.

Follow-up prompts

• “What is the break-even point: after how many months does the more expensive option become better value?”
• “List the questions I should ask each company before deciding, based on what is unclear in these offers.”
• “Which costs or conditions in these offers are easy to overlook?”
• “Score each offer from 1 to 5 on these criteria, weighted like this: [criteria and weights]. Show the working.”
• “Rewrite both offers in plain language, one short paragraph each.”
• “Add a third option: keeping what I have now, which costs [amount].”

Use it for bigger decisions too

The same method works well beyond phone plans. Two flats: rent, bills, commute time and cost, deposit, contract terms. Two job offers: salary, pension, holiday, hours, travel, flexibility and prospects. Two cars: price, insurance group, fuel, servicing, expected resale value. Two quotes from builders: what is included, materials, timescale, payment schedule and guarantee. In each case, ask AI to build the table and then to list what you would need to find out to fill the empty cells. The gaps are often the most valuable part.

What AI cannot verify

It only knows what you paste. It cannot check whether a company’s claims are true, whether the price is still valid or how good the customer service is. It may also fill gaps with assumptions that sound factual. Tell it explicitly to write “not stated” where information is missing, and never to guess. Check the final details on the provider’s own documents before you sign anything.

For financial products, such as loans, mortgages, investments and insurance, a comparison table is a way to organise your thinking, not advice. The right choice can depend on things a table does not show. Use official comparison tools where your country has them, and speak to a qualified adviser for significant decisions.

Do not ignore your gut

A table makes costs visible. It does not capture everything. If one flat is cheaper but you felt uneasy in the street, or one employer pays more but the interview left you cold, that is information too. Add a row called “how I feel about it” and write an honest sentence in each column. Decisions made with both the numbers and the feeling tend to hold up better than those made with only one.

Common mistakes

• Comparing monthly prices and ignoring the total.
• Leaving out fees, delivery, set-up and exit costs.
• Assuming that something included in one offer is included in the other.
• Deciding on a headline feature you will never use.
• Forgetting the third option: not buying, or keeping what you have.

Quick questions

1. 1

   Can I compare more than two offers?

   Yes. Three or four columns work well. Beyond that the table gets hard to read.

2. 2

   What if the offers are in different currencies or units?

   Ask for both to be converted to the same basis and give the exchange rate yourself.

3. 3

   Will AI tell me which to choose?

   It will if you ask, but its recommendation is only as good as your stated priorities. Treat it as a second opinion.