Short answer: on a tight budget, start with Google AI Plus ($4.99/month in the US) or ChatGPT Go ($8). For a strong everyday assistant at about $20, it's ChatGPT Plus vs Claude Pro vs Google AI Pro — and the right pick depends on how you work, not on price. The $100–$200 tiers only make sense if you hit usage limits every day.

Below: the current official prices (October 2026), what actually changes between plans, and how to avoid overpaying.

Price table, October 2026

Tier ChatGPT Claude Gemini
Free Free Free Gemini (free)
Budget Go — $8/mo — Google AI Plus — $4.99/mo
Standard Plus — $20/mo Pro — $20/mo ($17/mo billed yearly) Google AI Pro — $19.99/mo
Power user Pro — $100 (≈5× Plus usage) Max 5x — $100 Google AI Ultra — from $99.99
Top Pro — $200 (≈20× Plus usage) Max 20x — $200 Google AI Ultra — $199.99

US prices in USD. Many countries see local-currency prices with VAT added, and buying through the App Store or Google Play usually costs more than subscribing on the website.

ChatGPT: the all-rounder

Current offers: ChatGPT deals.

  • Free: everyday chat, with tighter limits on the strongest models, image generation and file uploads.
  • Go ($8): the budget tier with higher limits than Free. In some countries it shows ads.
  • Plus ($20): what most people buy — stronger models, Deep Research, projects, more image generation and Codex for coding.
  • Pro ($100 or $200): largely the same features with far higher usage. OpenAI added the $100 tier in April 2026 to compete head-on with Claude Max.

Pick it if you want one tool that does everything — writing, images, voice, file analysis and code — with the most extras.

Claude: best for long writing and coding

Current offers: Claude deals.

  • Free: chat, web search, file creation, memory and Artifacts, with limited usage.
  • Pro ($20, or $17/month billed yearly = $200/year): adds Claude Code (the coding agent for your terminal and editor), projects, Research, more models including Opus, and Claude in Chrome — at least 5× the Free usage per session.
  • Max ($100 or $200): 5× or 20× Pro's usage per session, plus priority at peak times.

Claude's limits reset on a rolling five-hour window; paid plans also have a weekly cap, and the web app, mobile app and Claude Code share the same pool.

Pick it if you write long documents, work through big files or code a lot and want Claude Code in the same subscription. Note there is no budget tier between Free and $20.

Gemini: cheapest way in, best inside Google

Current offers: Google Gemini deals.

  • Free: Gemini with standard limits.
  • Google AI Plus ($4.99 in the US): Google cut it from $7.99 in June 2026 and doubled the storage to 400 GB, with roughly twice the free Gemini limits.
  • Google AI Pro ($19.99): much higher limits, Gemini inside Gmail and Docs, more NotebookLM and a large Google One storage allowance.
  • Google AI Ultra: a $99.99 tier (about 5× Pro) and a $199.99 tier (about 20×).

Pick it if your day runs on Gmail, Drive and Docs, or you want storage and AI in one bill.

Which one should you pay for?

  • Students: check the student offers before paying anything — Google gives a free year of AI Plus to students in 140+ countries until December 31, 2026. See every AI student discount.
  • $5–$8 budget: Google AI Plus or ChatGPT Go.
  • Writers and researchers: use the free plans of Claude and ChatGPT for a week on your real work, then pay for the one you had to correct less.
  • Developers: Claude Pro includes Claude Code and ChatGPT Plus includes Codex; compare them with Cursor and Copilot in our AI coding tools pricing guide.
  • Google Workspace users: Google AI Pro.
  • You hit the limit every day: only then look at the $100 tiers — and move to $200 only after you've actually maxed out the $100 one.

How to pay less

  1. Annual billing: Claude Pro drops from $20 to $17 a month when paid yearly — but only commit for a tool you use every week.
  2. Subscribe on the web, not in the app: app-store prices are usually higher because of store fees and taxes.
  3. Don't stack similar subscriptions: most people need one paid assistant plus the free plan of a second.
  4. Watch for offers: we update the ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini pages whenever a new deal appears.

Paying from outside the US? Read how to pay for AI subscriptions from Arab countries for cards, app stores and VAT.

Sources

Prices checked: October 2026. Plans change often — confirm the final price at checkout.