The four most popular $20/month plans — what you actually get.
Feature
ChatGPT Plus
$20/mo
Claude Pro
$20/mo
Google AI Pro
$19.99/mo
SuperGrok
$30/mo
Price
$20/mo
$20/mo
$19.99/mo
$30/mo
Flagship model
GPT-6 Astra
Claude Sonnet 5.5
Gemini 3.1 Pro
Grok 4.7
Message limits
Unlimited text chat; Medium/High thinking, uploads, images, voice and Deep Research are metered
At least 5x Free's usage per rolling 5-hour session plus a weekly limit across all models; no published message count
4x the standard compute allowance; Google no longer publishes prompt counts
One weekly usage pool shared across Grok and Cursor; the $30 Premium tier of The X Subscription gives 4x Plus, with no published counts
Image generation
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
File uploads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Best for
Power users who want OpenAI's best models without paying enterprise prices
Writers, researchers, and coders who need sustained daily AI usage
Google Workspace users and anyone who needs long documents in the Gemini app
X/Twitter power users and people who want real-time web research baked in
Is the subscription worth it?
How much would you spend via API to get the same amount of usage? The math is eye-opening.
ChatGPT Plus
2M
tokens/month via API
$20/mo buys ~2M input tokens of GPT-6 Astra at API rates
Subscription removes per-message billing entirely
Claude Pro
10M
tokens/month via API
$20/mo buys ~10M input tokens of Claude Sonnet 5.5 at API rates
Subscription removes per-message billing entirely
Google AI Pro
10M
tokens/month via API
$19.99/mo buys ~10M input tokens of Gemini 3.1 Pro at API rates
Subscription removes per-message billing entirely
SuperGrok
15M
tokens/month via API
$30/mo buys ~15M input tokens of Grok 4.7 at API rates
Subscription removes per-message billing entirely
Note: subscription message limits are per conversation, not per token. Most casual users send far fewer than the token equivalent shown above.
FAQ
Is ChatGPT Plus worth $20 a month?
For most users who already rely on AI daily, yes. ChatGPT Plus includes GPT-6 Astra, OpenAI's most capable model, inside its allowances, GPT-6.1 Sol in ChatGPT Work and Codex, plus image generation, voice and file uploads. Text chat has been unlimited on every plan since August 2026, so if you only chat occasionally the free tier is likely enough.
What is the difference between Claude Pro and Claude Max?
Claude Pro ($20/mo) gives you at least 5x the Free plan's usage per rolling 5-hour session plus a weekly limit (Anthropic publishes no message count), with Claude Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5 and Claude Code included. Claude Max costs $100/mo for 5x the Pro allowance or $200/mo for 20x, and is the only Claude plan that includes Claude Fable 5.1 (up to 50% of weekly limits). It is built for people who hit Pro limits regularly, usually through Claude Code.
Does Google AI Pro include Gemini Pro?
Yes. Google AI Pro ($19.99/mo) — the plan Google previously sold as Google One AI Premium and Gemini Advanced — includes Gemini Pro-class models in the Gemini app and in Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Slides, a 1M-token context window against Free's 32K, 4x the standard compute allowance, and Deep Research.
Can I get these models for free?
Most providers offer a free tier. ChatGPT Free has unlimited text chat on GPT-5.6 Luna, with lower caps on uploads, images and reasoning. Claude Free includes Sonnet and Haiku but not Opus. Gemini Free offers Flash models with a 32K context window. Meta AI is free in its own app and inside WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.
Should I subscribe or use the API?
Subscriptions give you access via a polished chat interface with no per-message billing — ideal for personal daily use. The API is for developers building products or doing high-volume work where token-level cost control matters. Most people benefit from a subscription; developers and teams often use both.