Upgrading Your AI Chatbot? Here's How Much It'll Cost You

There are almost countless AI chatbots you can pick up and start using for free, with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot remaining the typical go-to options. For most people, the free options are good enough for general text and image queries, though there are limits, like only having more basic models, or not being able to generate many images. 

If you're running into these limitations on a free version of your favorite chatbot, the thought of upgrading to a paid version may have crossed your mind. Most popular AI bots have a starting monthly subscription of about $20, which isn't terrible. But your $20 stretches in different ways depending on the chatbot you choose. Essentially all of these subscriptions will provide faster models and more images you can generate, but some will give you much more. 

Ultimately, it comes down to your needs and how you're using the tools. Below, I'll go over the pricing structures of some of the most popular individual AI subscriptions and what you get for these premium experiences. 

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By the numbers

Here's a price breakdown of the most popular chatbots out there. 

ChatGPT Plus and Pro

ChatGPT's premium pricing is straightforward and is easy to understand what its features and limitation are. 

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OpenAI's first premium tier, ChatGPT Plus, opens the doors to extended GPT-5 access and higher limits on messaging, uploads, data analysis and image generation. You'll also get advanced voice mode with video and screensharing, the ChatGPT agent, and limited access to Sora video generation. 

If you're hitting ChatGPT's image generation limit on the free version, which comes up quickly, the expanded limits may make paying $20 a month worthwhile. There's currently no annual plan.

If you want more, you can opt for the Pro plan, which will run you $200 a month. This offers unlimited messages, uploads and image generation, and extended access to ChatGPT agent and Sora. Pro will unlock the more advanced GPT-5 pro model and o3-pro, with more computing power for harder inquiries. 

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Google AI Pro and AI Ultra

Google's Gemini may be the most accessible chatbot of them all, and it's premium pricing tiers fall in line with the competition. 

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With Gemini, Google is integrated at the heart of the chatbot experience, making it a great option for Google power users. 

Google's AI Pro offers more features across the board than the free version and unlocks Gemini in Google Workspace apps, the Flow filmmaking tool and more advanced models in Search's AI Mode. It doesn't stop at Gemini, though. You'll also get 2TB of storage for Google Photos, Drive and Gmail. This plan also includes a 10% credit on purchases from the Google Store. Speaking of which, if you're pre-ordering any of the Pixel 10 family, you'll get a year of AI Pro for free. 

Despite the abundance of features in the Google AI Pro plan, Gemini's free tier offers plenty for most people. 

Google's highest tier is AI Ultra, which costs a whopping $250 a month, though there are typically discounts for the first few months. Still, it's a lot of money, no matter how many extras are thrown at you. This plan provides the highest limits (read: not unlimited) of every feature offered from AI Pro, bumps the 2TB of cloud storage to 30TB and adds YouTube Premium, along with early access to the agentic prototype, Project Mariner.

Copilot

Microsoft's Copilot may be a repackaged Chat GPT, but it still has it's own "personality."

Microsoft

Microsoft's Copilot has the advantage of being preinstalled on a ton of computers that run Windows, making it incredibly accessible (like Gemini on Android). Although it's based on ChatGPT models with Microsoft Graph, Copilot feels different enough to be its own thing. 

To my surprise, Copilot managed to spit out the most interesting images when I compared it to the other chatbots. Sometimes, Gemini and ChatGPT would generate similar images, but Copilot nearly always provided something more distinct. Even if I don't do it all that often, I still consider it a go-to feature. 

Much like Google, Copilot integrates into Microsoft 365 apps well, though some of its features are locked behind 365 for business, like its NotebookLM competitor, Copilot Notebooks. Without jumping into 365 for business, Copilot only has one, $20-a-month plan, which emphasizes preferred access during peak times and extended functionality with 365 apps. The upgraded plan will also give you access to Deep research models and Actions, which allow Copilot to fill out forms for you or assist in shopping. 

Perplexity

Higher tiers of Perplexity's premium bundles in its AI Comet browser

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Perplexity is our favorite chatbot for research, but the free version limits you to three Pro searches and Research uses per day. That might be fine for casual users, but those really trying to tap into Perplexity's capabilities will want a bit more of everything, and you'll need to pony up $20 a month to really get going with it. 

Perplexity Pro will give you unlimited Pro Searches and unlimited file uploads and more file uploads per Space. It will also unlock image generation and access to more advanced models than the standard "best" model in the free version.  

Perplexity also has Comet, its limited-access web browser with AI baked right in. Pro and Max subscribers receive Comet Plus included in their subscription. 

Claude Pro

Premium Claude plans have vague limitations.

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The paid version of Anthropic's Claude is in line with the competition, costing $20 a month, and it boasts a 5x boost in usage per session versus the free version during peak hours, though limits are still in place. Basically, if you send basic inquiries up to 200 English sentences, with each sentence roughly around 15 to 20 words, you'll be able to send about 45 messages every 5 hours with Claude Pro. 

Despite it taking the top spot in our best chatbot list, Anthropic's pricing page for Claude's Pro and Max plans feels a bit dry when compared to others on the list. The $20 Pro plan's first feature of "more usage"  is immediately followed by an asterisk, which references the limits in place for the Pro plans. Such limits are to be expected on anything that's not the top plan, but those limits seem to be dependent on how you're using Claude. In addition to more usage, the Pro plan will unlock Claude Code, unlimited Projects, access to Research mode and more Models. 

The Max plan offers even more usage than the Pro plan, increases the output limits on all tasks, provides priority access during peak traffic times and offers early access to new Claude features. This bump is likely helpful for the Claude power users out there, and costs $100 a month per person.

Grok

Grok is the most expensive chatbot of the lot.

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Grok's premium tiers are the most expensive for personal use in both monthly and annual pricing. The first premium tier, SuperGrok, will increase access to both Grok 3 and 4, extend tokens to 128,000, give you priority voice access and the Imagine image model. It costs $30 a month, or $300 for a year. This tier also opens access to Ani and Valentine AI companions. 

The next tier up is SuperGrok Heavy, and is mostly "more" of what you get from SuperGrok for $300 a month or $3,000 per year. This tier will give you preview access to Grok 4 Heavy, extend access to Grok 4, and provide unlimited access to Grok 3. SuperGrok Heavy has a higher token count and early access to new features.