ChatGPT vs Gemini vs Claude: What AI subscriptions cost now

If you signed up for or renewed an AI subscription in October, you may not get the same thing in November. OpenAI brought GPT-6 to every ChatGPT plan, Google moved free Gemini users to its smallest model, and Anthropic renamed its most expensive Claude plan. We checked the plans of OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Microsoft on November 1. The table shows what each tier costs per month.

All prices in this article are US list prices. They don't include sales tax, and Anthropic says so directly below its plans on its pricing page. Prices in Europe are set separately and include VAT, so they can be noticeably higher.

Plans around $20 differ in their extras

The standard plans from all four companies cost about $20. ChatGPT Plus costs $20 a month and adds OpenAI's advanced GPT-6 reasoning models, more Deep Research, projects and scheduled tasks. Google AI Pro costs $19.99 and includes access to Gemini 4 Argon, the company's new top model. Google has been rolling Argon out to Pro and Ultra subscribers since October 13. The plan also includes 5 TB of cloud storage and YouTube Premium Lite, so if you already back up your photos to Google, part of the price pays for storage. Claude Pro costs $20, or $17 a month on the annual plan. It includes Claude Code and Claude in Chrome, but on this plan the top model, Fable, costs extra usage credits.

Microsoft 365 Premium costs $19.99 and combines Copilot with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, plus 2 TB of shared storage. Microsoft points out that only the account holder can use the AI features. None of the four companies gives a fixed number of messages. Google promises four times the limits of the free tier, Anthropic says more usage than Free, and OpenAI says expanded messages and uploads.

Cheaper options: Go, AI Plus and Microsoft 365 Personal

There are fewer choices below $20. ChatGPT Go costs $8 and gives you more messages, uploads and images than the free tier. OpenAI's pricing page notes that this plan may include ads, and German privacy regulators have explained what that means for your chats. Google AI Plus costs $4.99, moves you from Flash-Lite to the Flash model, doubles the free limits and adds 400 GB of storage. Microsoft 365 Personal costs $9.99 and is mainly an Office subscription that includes Copilot. The Family plan costs $12.99 and shares Office and 2 TB of storage with up to six people, but again only the owner gets Copilot. Anthropic has nothing between Free and Pro.

Top tiers start at around $100

All four companies now sell plans for heavy users. ChatGPT Pro comes in three tiers at $100, $200 and $500 a month, according to OpenAI's help page. OpenAI reserves Pro reasoning with GPT-6 Astra and Dot, its always-on agent, for this plan and adds API credits for building your own apps. Google charges $99.99 for AI Ultra with 5 times the Pro limits, or $199.99 with 20 times the limits, including at least 20 TB of storage and YouTube Premium. Anthropic's most expensive plan has been called Ultra since October 30 and costs $200. Verified accounts no longer have a five-hour limit, as we reported. The smaller Max plan costs $100. Both Claude plans include Fable for up to half of the weekly limit and a monthly credit for the developer platform, $100 on Max and $200 on Ultra. That matters to developers, much less to people who only chat. Microsoft also sells Microsoft 365 Pro for $99.99, billed monthly only.

What you get without paying

The free tiers went in opposite directions in October. ChatGPT Free has had GPT-6 Luna since October 8, just like Go, and OpenAI promises unlimited text chats with abuse protection. Gemini went the other way. Since October 9, the free version mostly runs on Flash-Lite, the smallest model in the lineup. Claude Free has limits every five hours and every week, and it leaves out Claude Code and Claude in Chrome. Our comparison of the free versions explains which data you pay with when you use a free account.

Before you pay, look at how you use these tools. If you mainly use ChatGPT for text, the free version now covers a lot. Daily Gemini users are the most likely to notice the switch to Flash-Lite. Anthropic offers an annual discount for Claude Pro, and Microsoft sells its Personal, Family and Premium plans by the year as well. OpenAI's FAQ says consumers can only choose monthly plans.

Paying more does not buy you more privacy. In OpenAI's plan comparison, the training row has the same entry for Free, Go, Plus and Pro, which says your content is used to train the models and you can opt out. Someone paying $20 or $100 a month still has to turn the setting off, just like a free user. Our guide to AI training opt-outs shows where to find it in ChatGPT, Gemini and Meta. That also applies if you only plan to pay for an expensive plan for a month to finish a big project.