It's a fair question. ChatGPT is brilliant for many things. But when you need a vCISO assessment, you don't want a generalist—you want an expert. Here's the honest comparison.
| Capability | ChatGPT / Copilot | Hextant |
|---|---|---|
| Domain Expertise | General knowledge, broad but shallow | Purpose-built for vCIO, vCISO, vCFO, vCMO, vCOO, vCTO |
| Framework Knowledge | Knows about NIST, won't apply consistently | Pre-configured frameworks (NIST, CIS, SOC 2, HIPAA) |
| Your Data | May train on your inputs | Your data stays yours. Never used for training. |
| Multi-Tenant Security | Shared environment | Complete data isolation between clients |
| Model Lock-In | Tied to OpenAI/Microsoft | Model-agnostic. Switch providers anytime. |
| Consistency | Different answers to same question | Standardized outputs across organization |
| Integration | Copy/paste workflows | Native integrations with PSA, RMM, docs |
| Audit Trail | Limited history | Full audit logging for compliance |
| Pricing | $20-30/user/month + Enterprise fees | Flat monthly fee, unlimited users |
Why purpose-built beats general-purpose for business-critical functions.
ChatGPT is a brilliant generalist. Ask it to write a poem, debug code, or explain quantum physics—it's great at all of them.
But when you need a vCISO assessment, you don't want a generalist. You want an AI that:
Hextant's virtual executives are trained specifically for their roles. The vCISO doesn't try to be a poet—it focuses on security.
When you use ChatGPT, your prompts may be used to improve OpenAI's models. For business strategy and security assessments, that's a problem.
With Hextant:
Built custom GPTs in ChatGPT? Great—until OpenAI changes pricing, deprecates features, or a better model comes along.
Hextant is model-agnostic. We can run on:
When the next breakthrough happens, you're not stuck. We migrate your workflows to the best available model.
Ask ChatGPT the same question twice, you'll get different answers. That's fine for creative work—terrible for compliance.
MSPs delivering vCIO services need:
Hextant delivers the same quality output whether it's client #1 or client #100.
ChatGPT lives in a browser tab. Hextant lives in your workflow:
No more copy-paste. No more "let me check the AI and get back to you."
"But ChatGPT is $20/month..." True. And for personal productivity, it's incredible value.
But let's do the math for business use:
If your senior consultant saves 4 hours per client per quarter on QBR prep, and you have 50 clients, that's 800 hours/year. At $150/hour loaded cost, that's $120,000 in recovered capacity. The tool cost is noise. The productivity gain is the point.
We're not here to trash ChatGPT—it's genuinely great for:
Use ChatGPT for exploration. Use Hextant for execution.
See how Hextant delivers consistent, scalable vCIO/vCISO services with AI built specifically for executive functions.