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Published Oct 14, 2026. Prices, plans and specs last checked Nov 5, 2026.
Quick verdict
Cheapest paid entry: Google AI Plus at $4.99/month. Most common $20 tier: ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and Google AI Pro ($19.99) are all about $20. Best bundle: Google AI Pro includes 5 TB of storage. Heavy users: all four now have $100 and $200 tiers, and ChatGPT adds a $500 Pro tier. This is a feature and price comparison, not a quality test.
Disclosure: some links on this page may be affiliate or shop links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This does not change our picks.
All plans at a glance
| Tier | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini (Google AI) | Grok (xAI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Entry paid | Go $8/mo | - | AI Plus $4.99/mo | Plus $8/mo |
| Standard paid | Plus $20/mo | Pro $20/mo ($17/mo billed annually) | AI Pro $19.99/mo | Premium $30/mo |
| Power user | Pro $100, $200 or $500/mo | Max $100/mo; Ultra $200/mo | AI Ultra from $99.99/mo; $199.99/mo tier | Super $100/mo; Ultra $200/mo |
| Teams | Business $25/user/mo ($20 annual) | Team $25/seat/mo ($20 annual) | Gemini Enterprise Business from $21/seat/mo | Teams plan (price not listed on page) |
US prices. Claude, Gemini and Grok prices are from their official pricing pages checked on Nov 5, 2026. ChatGPT prices are from 9to5AI's Oct 13, 2026 comparison, which cites OpenAI's pages; OpenAI's own pricing page did not show prices when we loaded it, so treat these as secondary. Taxes are extra.
ChatGPT
9to5AI lists eight price points as of October 12, 2026: Free, Go ($8), Plus ($20), Pro at $100, $200 or $500, and Business at $25 per user monthly or $20 billed annually, with Enterprise and Edu through sales. It reports that Free and Go use GPT-6 Luna in the Chat tab, paid plans use GPT-6 Sol, and GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra are in Work and Codex. Go may show ads. Context windows listed: 256K tokens for reasoning on Go and Plus, 400K on Pro. OpenAI offers ChatGPT for Teachers free to verified US K-12 educators through June 2027.
Claude
Anthropic's pricing page lists Free ($0), Pro ($20 monthly, or $17/month with $200 billed annually), Max ($100/month, 5x Pro usage, $100 a month in API credits) and Ultra ($200/month, 10x Pro usage weekly, no 5-hour limit for verified accounts, $200 a month in API credits). Claude Code is included from Pro up. Team seats are $25 monthly or $20 annually; Premium seats with 5x usage are $125 monthly or $100 annually.
Gemini (Google AI plans)
Google lists Free ($0, 15 GB storage), Google AI Plus ($4.99/month, 2x usage, 400 GB), Google AI Pro ($19.99/month, 4x usage, Gemini 4 Argon, 5 TB storage, YouTube Premium Lite and Google Home Premium Standard) and Google AI Ultra from $99.99/month (5x AI Pro usage) or $199.99/month (20x). For business, Gemini Enterprise Business edition starts at $21 per seat per month.
Grok (xAI)
xAI's pricing page lists Free ($0), Plus ($8/month, with Grok Chat, Voice, Imagine and Build, Grok API access and X Premium features), Premium ($30/month, 4x Plus usage, latest Grok models, image and video creation, ad-free scrolling on most X surfaces), Super ($100/month, 15x Plus usage, 1080p 15-second videos) and Ultra ($200/month, 50x Plus usage). Usage refreshes weekly. Grok's feature page highlights live search of the web and X, multi-agent mode and 30+ languages.
Which one is best value?
| You want | Best fit on price and features |
|---|---|
| The cheapest paid plan | Google AI Plus ($4.99) |
| Storage plus AI | Google AI Pro (5 TB) |
| Coding tools in a $20 plan | Claude Pro (Claude Code) or ChatGPT Plus (Codex) |
| Live news and X integration | Grok |
| An X subscription too | xAI Plus or Premium |
| API credits bundled | Claude Max or Ultra |
| The highest individual tier | ChatGPT Pro 500 ($500) |
How to choose an AI plan without overpaying
- Start free. Every one of the big four has a free tier. Use it for a week on your real tasks before paying.
- Pay for limits, not logos. Paid plans mostly buy you higher usage limits and access to stronger models. If you rarely hit the free limit, you may not need to pay.
- Check what's bundled. Google AI plans include cloud storage; xAI's plans include X features; Claude's higher tiers include API credits. A bundle you already pay for elsewhere can make one plan much cheaper.
- Use monthly billing first. Switch to annual billing only once you know you'll keep it. Claude's Pro plan, for example, is $17/month billed annually vs $20 monthly.
- Avoid stacking. Many people pay for two or three AI subscriptions that overlap. Pick one main assistant and use free tiers for the rest.
Privacy and work data
Before you paste client data, contracts or code into any AI tool, read its data and training settings. Business and enterprise plans generally add admin controls and stronger data commitments than personal plans, which is one reason companies pay more per seat. If you handle sensitive data, ask your company which tools are approved.
AI plan terms, explained
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Usage limit | How much you can use a tool before it slows you down or asks you to wait; often reset every few hours or weekly |
| Context window | How much text the model can consider at once, measured in tokens (roughly three-quarters of a word each) |
| Tokens | The small chunks of text AI models read and write |
| Agent | An AI that carries out multi-step tasks, such as browsing or editing files, rather than only answering |
| API credits | Prepaid money for developers to call a model from their own apps |
| Seat | One paid user on a team plan |
| Annual billing | Paying for a year up front, usually at a lower monthly rate |
How we keep this comparison fair
We don't accept payment from AI companies for placement, and we don't rank tools on output quality unless we have actually run a documented test. Every price and feature in this article comes from a page we opened on the date shown at the top, and we link each one in the sources list so you can check it yourself. AI plans change quickly: new models arrive every few months, limits change and prices move. When they do, we update the tables and the date. If you see something out of date, tell us in the comments.
Bottom line
At the $20 level, the four services are now priced almost identically, so the decision comes down to what's bundled and where you already work. Google adds storage and YouTube, xAI adds X features, Anthropic adds Claude Code and annual savings, and OpenAI adds Codex and the widest range of tiers.
Before you subscribe: cancellation and billing tips
Set a calendar reminder a few days before any renewal date, especially after a free trial or a discounted first month. Cancellation rules differ by company; xAI, for example, says you should cancel at least 24 hours before renewal to avoid another charge. If you pay through an app store, you usually cancel there, not on the company's website. Keep receipts in one email folder so you can see what you pay for at a glance. Prices on most official pages exclude sales tax or VAT, so your card statement may show a slightly higher amount than the list price. If you travel or live outside the US, the price at checkout in your country is the one that applies; OpenAI, for example, bills in US dollars in many countries with local-currency billing only in some.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Every service has a usable free tier
- $20 plans are now close in price
- Power tiers give 5x to 50x more usage
Cons
- Usage limits are vague on most plans
- Prices and models change often
- Overlapping subscriptions add up fast
Working with AI all day on a phone or laptop drains batteries fast. A fast charger and a good power bank help. Browse cases, chargers and screen protectors at the BriskNest shop.
FAQ
Which AI subscription is cheapest?
Google AI Plus at $4.99/month among these four; ChatGPT Go and xAI Plus are $8.
Is ChatGPT Plus still $20?
Yes, per 9to5AI's October 2026 comparison citing OpenAI.
What does Claude Max cost?
$100/month, with 5x Pro usage and $100 a month in API credits.
Did you test which AI is smartest?
No. This compares plans and features from official pages.
How we researched this
This is a feature and pricing comparison built from each company's official pricing and product pages, checked on Nov 5, 2026, plus the third-party sources named below. We did not run scored hands-on tests for this article, so we do not rank output quality. Plans, limits and prices change often; confirm on the vendor's site before you subscribe.
Sources
- OpenAI: ChatGPT plans and pricing
- 9to5AI: ChatGPT plans compared (October 2026)
- Anthropic: Claude pricing
- Google: Google AI plans (Gemini subscriptions)
- xAI: Pricing, compare plans
- xAI: Grok features
Published Oct 14, 2026. Sources last checked Nov 5, 2026.
