Free tool · Table
AI Subscription Comparison (2026)
Which AI subscription is worth it? For most people, one of the mainstream $20/month plans (ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro or Google AI Pro), because that is where the flagship features are and the cheaper tiers mostly buy more messages. Pay more only if you hit that plan's limits every day, and stay on a free tier if you only meet a cap now and then.
ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok in 2026, at each price: Of the four, Google AI Plus at $4.99 is the cheapest way in; ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini each sell a plan at about $20 and Grok publishes no price there (nearest: SuperGrok $30); and the highest published prices run from $100 (Grok) to $500 (ChatGPT).
- Entry plan
- Google AI Plus $4.99 · ChatGPT Go $8 · Claude Pro $20 · SuperGrok $30
- About $20
- Google AI Pro $19.99 · ChatGPT Plus $20 · Claude Pro $20 · Grok: no published price (nearest SuperGrok $30)
- Top plan
- SuperGrok Plus $100 · Google AI Ultra $199.99 (from $99.99) · Claude Max 20× $200 · ChatGPT Pro $500
Cheapest first, US dollars per month. Prices as published by OpenAI, Anthropic and Google (read 23 October 2026) and xAI (read 7 October 2026). Top plan is the highest price each one publishes for an individual plan.
Compare every major consumer AI subscription in one table: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Grok, with pricing, the models and features each plan includes, and the usage limits behind them. Filter by provider or price to see only the subscriptions you would actually consider. Prices read between 12 September 2026 and 23 October 2026 (and the market moved a lot this year).
All, Any price. 22 of 22 plans listed.
- Anthropic ClaudeFreeFree
Claude Sonnet and Haiku on web/iOS/Android/desktop; writing, coding, vision, web search, memory, Claude Design
- Limits: Rolling five-hour session limits (no published message count)
- Best for: Quality-seekers on a budget
Top-tier writing/coding quality, free
- Google GeminiFreeFree
Flash-Lite model; image generation and editing, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas, Gems, limited Google Flow; 15 GB storage
- Limits: Limits refresh every 5 hours, up to a weekly limit
- Best for: Google-ecosystem users
Free Deep Research + Gemini Live in your Google account
- OpenAI ChatGPTFreeFree
Codex on quick coding tasks with GPT-6 Luna at standard speed in the desktop app (rolling out)
- Limits: Rolling usage caps (no published Free figure)
- Best for: Casual free use
The most-used free AI assistant
- PerplexityFreeFree
Practically unlimited basic search, auto model selection, limited file uploads
- Limits: 3 Pro Searches/day (Perplexity's help-centre plan table) · no model picker
- Best for: Sourced answers, free
Best free answer-engine with real citations
- xAI GrokFreeFree
Grok Fast mode, real-time X + web search, basic Grok Imagine, limited voice
- Limits: ~10 prompts / 2 hrs
- Best for: X users wanting live context
Real-time access to X posts + Grok's personality
- Google GeminiGoogle AI Plus$4.99/mo
Flash model, 2× Gemini usage, video generation, Daily Brief, 200 Google Flow credits, Gemini in Gmail/Vids, 400 GB storage
- Limits: ~2× free-tier usage
- Best for: Light paid users wanting Gmail/Docs AI
Cheapest paid major-provider tier
- OpenAI ChatGPTGo$8/mo
Codex for lightweight coding with GPT-6 Luna at standard speed in the desktop app (rolling out)
- Limits: Rolling usage caps (no published Go figure)
- Best for: Budget users past the Free cap
Cheapest paid OpenAI tier
- Google GeminiGoogle AI Pro$19.99/mo
Gemini 4 Argon and 3.1 Pro in the Gemini app and Search, 4× usage, 1,000 Flow credits, Jules + Antigravity access, Gemini Notebook 5× audio overviews, 5 TB storage, YouTube Premium Lite
- Limits: ~4× free-tier usage
- Best for: Mainstream value pick
Bundles 5 TB storage + YouTube perks
- Anthropic ClaudePro$20/mo$200/yr
Opus, Sonnet and Haiku (Fable via usage credits), Claude Code, Design, Science, Research, Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365
- Limits: Weekly + rolling five-hour usage limits · paid plans can turn on usage credits to keep going at API rates
- Best for: Devs, writers, analysts
Bundles Claude Code (terminal coding agent)
- OpenAI ChatGPTPlus$20/mo
GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna in Codex (web, CLI, IDE, iOS), cloud code review and Slack integration, ChatGPT credits to extend usage
- Limits: Local Codex messages per five-hour period, plus weekly limits · ChatGPT credits extend it
- Best for: Most paying individuals
Full frontier feature set at the mainstream price
- PerplexityPro$20/mo
Model picker (GPT-6.1 Sol, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Grok 4.7, Kimi K3, GLM 5.3, Nemotron 3.5 Super VL); Deep Research; Comet
- Limits: 300+ Pro Searches/day · ~20 Deep Research/mo
- Best for: Researchers wanting model choice
Switch the underlying model per query
- OpenAI ChatGPTBusiness (Standard seat)$25/mo$240/yr
All ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex features; connectors for Google Workspace, Slack, GitHub and Microsoft 365
- Limits: Everyday-work seat, inside a 5-hour usage window
- Best for: Small teams
No training on your business data by default, with SAML SSO, MFA and central billing
- xAI GrokSuperGrok$30/mo
Grok 4.7 (Expert mode), Grok Imagine, AI agents
- Limits: Much higher limits than Free
- Best for: Daily Grok users
Grok 4.7 Expert mode + agents
- Google GeminiGoogle AI Ultra$99.99/mo
Highest access to Gemini 4 Argon, Pro and Flash models, 5× Pro usage, 10,000 Flow credits, Project Genie, from 20 TB storage, full YouTube Premium
- Limits: 5× Pro usage at $99.99; the $199.99 tier gives 20× vs Pro and 25,000 Flow credits
- Best for: Advanced creators/devs
Highest Gemini 4 Argon access + YouTube Premium
- Anthropic ClaudeMax 5×$100/mo
All models (Fable up to 50% of weekly limits), 5× Pro usage, Claude Code, $100/month in API credits
- Limits: 5× Pro usage · higher output limits · priority access at busy times
- Best for: Occasional power users
Priority access + 5× headroom
- OpenAI ChatGPTPro ($100)$100/mo
Everything in Plus, with Pro-level usage
- Limits: No five-hour limit on Pro plans (OpenAI's pricing docs)
- Best for: Heavy users below the $200 tier
The entry Pro tier for people who keep hitting Plus caps
- xAI GrokSuperGrok Plus$100/mo
Everything in SuperGrok, plus 1080p video creation
- Limits: Significantly higher usage across Chat, Imagine, Voice and Build; priority access at peak times
- Best for: Heavy Grok users who want 1080p video
Lightning-fast replies and early access to new features
- OpenAI ChatGPTBusiness (Premium seat)$125/mo$1200/yr
Everything in the standard seat, with 5× the usage
- Limits: 5× standard usage and no 5-hour window
- Best for: Heavy users in a business workspace
The heavy-use seat, mixed with standard seats in one workspace
- Anthropic ClaudeMax 20×$200/mo
All models (Fable up to 50% of weekly limits), 20× Pro usage, Claude Code, $200/month in API credits
- Limits: 20× Pro usage · higher output limits · early access to advanced Claude features
- Best for: All-day Claude (esp. coding)
Most headroom Anthropic sells to individuals
- OpenAI ChatGPTPro ($200)$200/mo
Everything in Plus, with more Pro usage than the $100 tier
- Limits: No five-hour limit on Pro plans (OpenAI's pricing docs)
- Best for: All-day power users
The middle Pro tier
- PerplexityMax$200/mo$2000/yr
Everything in Pro plus GPT-6 Astra, Gemini 4 Argon, Claude Opus 5.5 and Claude Fable 5.1, and Model Council
- Limits: Highest usage limits and memory · 10,000 monthly credits · 35,000 bonus credits
- Best for: Heavy, sustained research work
Expert-level research with maximum Computer usage and priority access to new features
- OpenAI ChatGPTPro ($500)$500/mo
Everything in Plus, the highest Pro usage, and Ultrafast mode
- Limits: No five-hour limit on Pro plans (OpenAI's pricing docs)
- Best for: People who need the fastest responses all day
The only consumer tier with Ultrafast mode
US prices, verified 2026-09-12. AI plans change fast and vary by region. Usage limits (messages/window, Deep Research/month) move frequently and several vendors don't publish exact caps, so treat them as approximate. Microsoft retired standalone Copilot Pro (now Microsoft 365 Premium, $19.99/mo); the legacy add-on ended 1 August 2026.Confirm on the vendor's page before subscribing.
ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok pricing, side by side
Google AI Plus at $4.99 and ChatGPT Go at $8 are cheaper than the mainstream $20 plans; Claude and Perplexity start at the mainstream price; Grok starts above it, with SuperGrok at $30. Every individual plan in our table, cheapest first, in US dollars per month, prices read between 12 September 2026 and 23 October 2026. Business seats are in the table above.
- ChatGPT
- Free free · Go $8 · Plus $20 · Pro $100 · Pro $200 · Pro $500
- Claude
- Free free · Pro $20 · Max 5× $100 · Max 20× $200
- Gemini
- Free free · Google AI Plus $4.99 · Google AI Pro $19.99 · Google AI Ultra $99.99
- Perplexity
- Free free · Pro $20 · Max $200
- Grok
- Free free · SuperGrok $30 · SuperGrok Plus $100
ChatGPT pricing: every tier compared, cheapest first
How much does ChatGPT cost depends on which ceiling you keep hitting, because OpenAI sells 8 tiers rather than one. Prices are US dollars per month, read between 12 September 2026 and 23 October 2026.
- Free
- ChatGPT Free Rolling usage caps (no published Free figure)
- $8/mo
- ChatGPT Go Rolling usage caps (no published Go figure)
- $20/mo
- ChatGPT Plus Local Codex messages per five-hour period, plus weekly limits · ChatGPT credits extend it
- $25/mo
- ChatGPT Business (Standard seat) Everyday-work seat, inside a 5-hour usage window
- $100/mo
- ChatGPT Pro ($100) No five-hour limit on Pro plans (OpenAI's pricing docs)
- $125/mo
- ChatGPT Business (Premium seat) 5× standard usage and no 5-hour window
- $200/mo
- ChatGPT Pro ($200) No five-hour limit on Pro plans (OpenAI's pricing docs)
- $500/mo
- ChatGPT Pro ($500) No five-hour limit on Pro plans (OpenAI's pricing docs)
The one worth knowing before you pay: the jump from ChatGPT Free to ChatGPT Go at $8 buys roughly ten times the messages, which is a different purchase from the $20 tier, where you are buying features rather than headroom.
Is ChatGPT free?
Yes, and it stays free with no card and no trial clock. What you actually run into is a cap: Rolling usage caps (no published Free figure). Nothing stops working when you hit it. You keep talking to a smaller model until the window resets, which is why so many people describe ChatGPT as having quietly got worse when what changed was the tier they were being served.
The best free AI chatbot depends on which ceiling you hit first
All 5 major providers give away a usable tier, so the question is never which one is free. It is which limit you meet on a normal Tuesday, and that is where they stop being comparable.
ChatGPT Free
The most-used free AI assistant
- The cap
- Rolling usage caps (no published Free figure)
Claude Free
Top-tier writing/coding quality, free
- The cap
- Rolling five-hour session limits (no published message count)
Gemini Free
Free Deep Research + Gemini Live in your Google account
- The cap
- Limits refresh every 5 hours, up to a weekly limit
Perplexity Free
Best free answer-engine with real citations
- The cap
- 3 Pro Searches/day (Perplexity's help-centre plan table) · no model picker
Grok Free
Real-time access to X posts + Grok's personality
- The cap
- ~10 prompts / 2 hrs
We are not going to rank these, and the reason is the useful part. One counts searches, one counts prompts, one refreshes every five hours under a weekly limit, and OpenAI and Anthropic publish no number at all. Any list that puts the best free AI at number one has picked a unit and hidden the choice. Read the caps instead: if you write in long sessions, an unpublished limit that resets every five hours is a worse deal than a small published one, and if you mostly look things up, the search allowance is the only line that matters.
Want the verdict, not just the table?
The table lays out every plan; these head-to-heads add the opinionated pick, which to choose, and when.
Frequently asked
Which AI subscription is worth it in 2026?
For most people, one of the mainstream $20/month plans: ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro or Google AI Pro. That is the tier where the flagship features are; the cheaper tiers (Google AI Plus at $4.99, ChatGPT Go at $8) mostly buy more room. In one line each: ChatGPT Plus: full frontier feature set at the mainstream price; Claude Pro: bundles Claude Code (terminal coding agent); Google AI Pro: bundles 5 TB storage + YouTube perks. Pay more only if you hit that plan's limits every day, and stay on a free tier if you only meet a cap now and then.
How does ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok pricing compare in 2026?
Of the four, Google AI Plus at $4.99 is the cheapest way in; ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini each sell a plan at about $20 and Grok publishes no price there (nearest: SuperGrok $30); and the highest published prices run from $100 (Grok) to $500 (ChatGPT). Entry plan, cheapest first: Google AI Plus $4.99, ChatGPT Go $8, Claude Pro $20, SuperGrok $30. About $20, cheapest first: Google AI Pro $19.99, ChatGPT Plus $20, Claude Pro $20, Grok: no published price (nearest SuperGrok $30). Top plan, cheapest first: SuperGrok Plus $100, Google AI Ultra $199.99 (from $99.99), Claude Max 20× $200, ChatGPT Pro $500. Prices as published by OpenAI, Anthropic and Google (read 23 October 2026) and xAI (read 7 October 2026), in US dollars per month. Perplexity and the business seats are in the full table.
Can one subscription get you ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok models together?
Every ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok plan in our table names only its maker's own models. In our table, Perplexity Pro at $20/month (Perplexity, read 25 September 2026) and Perplexity Max at $200/month (Perplexity, read 23 October 2026) are the plans whose model lists span all four: model picker (GPT-6.1 Sol, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Grok 4.7, Kimi K3, GLM 5.3, Nemotron 3.5 Super VL); Deep Research; Comet; everything in Pro plus GPT-6 Astra, Gemini 4 Argon, Claude Opus 5.5 and Claude Fable 5.1, and Model Council. You use those models inside Perplexity, not in the four makers' own apps or plan features.
What does an AI subscription get you over the free tier?
All five major providers offer a free tier, so a subscription buys headroom and features rather than access. ChatGPT Free comes with rolling usage caps (no published Free figure); ChatGPT Plus adds GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna in Codex (web, CLI, IDE, iOS), cloud code review and Slack integration, ChatGPT credits to extend usage. Usage caps change often and Anthropic and Google publish no exact numbers, so treat every limit as approximate.
What's the cheapest way to get a paid AI chatbot in 2026?
Google AI Plus at $4.99/month is currently the cheapest paid tier from a major provider, followed by ChatGPT Go at $8/month. Both sit between the free tier and the flagship $20 plans. At the other end, the most expensive individual plan in our table is ChatGPT Pro at $500/month. Prices are US-based and change frequently.
Which $20/month plan should a normal person pick?
The mainstream $20 plans are ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, and Google AI Pro (Perplexity Pro is also $20 but it's an answer-engine, not a general chatbot). Pick ChatGPT Plus if you want Codex across the web, CLI, IDE and iOS, Claude Pro if you write and code a lot and want the Claude Code tool included, and Google AI Pro if you want Gemini in Gmail/Docs plus 5 TB storage and YouTube Premium Lite in the same subscription.
Why does ChatGPT sell three 'Pro' plans ($100, $200 and $500)?
OpenAI sells Pro at $100, $200 and $500 a month and presents them as one plan at different usage levels ("Choose the Pro plan that fits your usage"), which is why each of them is labelled 'Pro'. OpenAI's pricing docs say Pro plans currently have no five-hour limit. Only the $500 tier includes Ultrafast mode. If you regularly hit Plus limits, start at $100 and move up only if you run out of that tier's usage.
Is Microsoft Copilot Pro still available for $20/month?
Not for new individual consumers. Microsoft retired standalone Copilot Pro in late 2025 and replaced it with Microsoft 365 Premium ($19.99/month), which bundles the Copilot assistant with the Office apps and storage. Standalone Copilot Pro survived only as a $20/month add-on for existing Microsoft 365 subscribers, and that ended on 1 August 2026.
How accurate are these prices and limits?
Per-plan dollar prices were read from each vendor's own pages between 12 September 2026 and 23 October 2026 (US dollars; each row in the table carries its own read date). Usage limits (messages per window, Deep Research per month, image-gen boosts) change very frequently and several vendors (notably Anthropic and Google) don't publish exact numeric caps, so treat every limit as approximate and check the vendor's page before subscribing, especially outside the US.