If you want a paid AI plan without overspending, start with the cheapest tier that fixes your actual problem. For most people that problem is hitting free-plan limits. Here are the lowest-priced paid tiers for the tools we track, from our verified pricing data.
The cheapest paid tiers we have verified
| Plan | Monthly price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Google AI Plus | $4.99, US | Annual price: price not verified |
| ChatGPT Go | $8 | Monthly billing |
| Cursor Plus | $8 | $7/month billed yearly, $80/year |
| X Subscription Plus (Grok) | $8 | $7/month billed yearly, $80/year. A promo price is listed but we leave it out because it is time-limited |
| GitHub Copilot Pro | $10 | Coding only |
| Perplexity Pro | $17/month billed annually | Monthly price: price not verified |
| Google AI Pro | $19.99, US | |
| ChatGPT Plus | $20 | No annual billing |
| Claude Pro | $20 | $17/month billed yearly, $200/year |
| Windsurf Pro | $20 | Annual price: price not verified |
Cheapest is not always best value
A low price only helps if the plan covers what you use. Ask yourself three things:
- What do you mainly do? Writing, research and general chat suit Google AI Plus, ChatGPT Go or Claude Pro. Coding suits Copilot Pro or Cursor Plus, which plug into your editor.
- Will you hit limits? Entry tiers have lower usage caps than flagship plans. Vendors often describe these caps in words, not numbers. ChatGPT Plus, for example, says message caps “may apply”. If you hit the limits daily, a $20 tier can cost less than switching tools.
- Do you already pay for something? Google AI plans are bundled with Google One storage. The X Subscription combines X Premium features with Grok. If you already pay for one of these bundles, upgrading inside it may be the cheapest route.
Annual billing
Only some vendors print an annual price. Where they do (Claude Pro, Cursor Plus, X Subscription Plus), we show it above. We don’t calculate savings percentages that vendors don’t publish. For Google AI plans, Windsurf and Perplexity’s monthly option, the price is not verified, so check the vendor’s checkout page.
Try free first
Every tool above has a free plan. See best free AI tools. If you are a student, check AI student discounts before you pay anything.
Full pricing pages
ChatGPT · Claude · Gemini · GitHub Copilot · Cursor · Windsurf · Grok · Perplexity
How we check prices
AI Stack Wise reads prices only from official vendor pricing pages, help centers and docs. We record the amount exactly as printed, note whether tax is included, and mark anything we could not read as “price not verified” instead of guessing. Most prices on this page were last checked on 2026-10-19 (Windsurf on 2026-11-03). Prices are in USD and exclude tax unless stated. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on the vendor page before you pay. See our methodology. Spotted a change? Email [email protected].