Should you pay for AI? The 2-minute version
After this you'll be able to:
- tell whether free is enough for you
- know what the main paid plans add
- avoid paying more in an app store
Free is enough if…
- You use AI a few times a week.
- You mostly ask questions, write emails or get things explained.
- You rarely see a "limit reached" message.
Pay if…
- You hit the free limit often, or wait for it to reset.
- You use AI for work or school most days.
- You need long documents, research reports, or lots of images.
What the main plans cost
| App | Plan and price |
|---|---|
| Grok | X Subscription Premium (includes Grok) US$30.00/month · CA$41.99 1 Cheaper: X Subscription Plus (includes Grok), US$8.00/month · CA$9.99 1 |
| Claude | Claude Pro US$20.00/month · CA$28.00 |
| Gemini | Google AI Pro US$19.99/month · CA$26.99 Cheaper: Google AI Plus, US$4.99/month · CA$6.99 |
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT Plus US$20.00/month Cheaper: ChatGPT Go, US$8.00/month |
| Copilot | Microsoft 365 Premium (includes Copilot) US$19.99/month · CA$27.00 Cheaper: Microsoft 365 Personal (includes Copilot), US$9.99/month · CA$11.50 |
Official monthly prices from each company's website. We never convert currencies. Compare every plan.
Pay on the website
App-store prices can be higher than the company's own website. xAI says its subscriptions are sold only on its official website. 2 Which apps cost more in the app store.
What does each plan add over free?
- Grok: Plus adds a shared usage pool for Grok Chat, Voice, Imagine and Build, refreshed weekly. Premium gives 4x Plus usage, the latest Grok models, faster replies, video, and Grok Bot.
- Claude: Pro gives at least 5x the Free usage per 5 hours (plus weekly limits), the Opus model, Research, Claude Code, unlimited projects, scheduled tasks and Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365.
- Gemini: AI Pro gives 4x the Free limits, Gemini 4 Argon and the Pro model, a 1M-token context window, video generation, Gemini in Gmail and Docs, and 5 TB of storage. AI Plus gives 2x Free limits and the Flash model.
- ChatGPT: Plus adds GPT-6 with Medium and High thinking, higher limits for uploads and deep research, and Codex (OpenAI's coding agent). Go (cheaper) mainly raises limits and can show ads.
- Copilot: Microsoft 365 Personal and Family add Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook and higher usage than free (subscription owner only). Premium adds extensive usage and limited agentic research.
Prompt: is paying worth it for me?
Here's how I use AI in a normal week: [describe]. Ask me 3 questions, then tell me if a free plan is enough or which kind of paid plan would help, and why. Don't recommend a brand, just the features I need.