Subscriptions
Is a subscription worth more than paying per use?
Pick a plan to see what we know about it: its price, the provider's published limits, and, where we have tested it, what the same work would have cost on the pay-per-use API.
Only two plans have a usage test so far, both from October 20, 2026. The rest show published limits, which are not a dollar amount.
Pick a provider
Estimated local messages / 5 hours
15–160
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
GPT-6.1 Sol: 15–160 estimated local messages per five hours.
Published estimates vary by model and task. Weekly limits may also apply.
Codex and ChatGPT Work share usage; these facts describe the local agent, not ordinary ChatGPT web chat.
These are estimates, not fixed request quotas. Model, context, tools and caching affect use. No Desktop subscription was tested.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Codex Desktop local agent chats. No subscription test is claimed.
OpenAI Codex pricing and limits · checked 2026-11-04.
Measurement target: Codex Desktop only. Current capacity is not measured; this does not measure ChatGPT web chat.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published Codex access
No 5-hour cap
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Pro currently has no five-hour limit. Weekly limits may still apply.
Codex and ChatGPT Work share usage; this is not ordinary ChatGPT web chat.
No absolute weekly quota or current Pro tier multiplier was established from this pricing page. No Desktop subscription was tested.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Codex Desktop local agent chats. No subscription test is claimed.
OpenAI Codex pricing and limits · checked 2026-11-04.
Measurement target: Codex Desktop only. Current capacity is not measured; this does not measure ChatGPT web chat.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published Codex access
No 5-hour cap
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Pro currently has no five-hour limit. Weekly limits may still apply.
Codex and ChatGPT Work share usage; this is not ordinary ChatGPT web chat.
No absolute weekly quota or current Pro tier multiplier was established from this pricing page. No Desktop subscription was tested.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Codex Desktop local agent chats. No subscription test is claimed.
OpenAI Codex pricing and limits · checked 2026-11-04.
Measurement target: Codex Desktop only. Current capacity is not measured; this does not measure ChatGPT web chat.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published Codex access
Ultrafast access
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Pro currently has no five-hour limit. Weekly limits may still apply.
Codex and ChatGPT Work share usage; this is not ordinary ChatGPT web chat.
Pro $500 adds Ultrafast for GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol. Ultrafast uses included usage faster: 8× the Standard consumption rate.
No absolute weekly quota or current Pro tier multiplier was established from this pricing page. No Desktop subscription was tested.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Codex Desktop local agent chats. No subscription test is claimed.
OpenAI Codex pricing and limits · OpenAI Ultrafast eligibility and usage · checked 2026-11-04.
Measurement target: Codex Desktop only. Current capacity is not measured; this does not measure ChatGPT web chat.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published Claude usage
5-hour + weekly
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Pro publishes more usage than Free, with five-hour and weekly limits.
Claude Code and Claude chats use the plan’s shared usage limits.
Model, chat length and file size affect use. Current offers are separate from the October 20 historical Max 20x experiment; these multipliers do not establish API-dollar capacity.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Claude subscription including Claude Code. No subscription test is claimed.
Current Claude plan prices and usage · checked 2026-11-04.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published Claude usage
5× Pro
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Current Max publishes 5× Pro usage for both five-hour and weekly limits.
The $100 offer is current Claude Max.
Model, chat length and file size affect use. Current offers are separate from the October 20 historical Max 20x experiment; these multipliers do not establish API-dollar capacity.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Claude subscription including Claude Code. No subscription test is claimed.
Current Claude plan prices and usage · checked 2026-11-04.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published Claude usage
10× Pro weekly
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Current Ultra publishes 10× Pro usage every week.
No five-hour limit applies to verified accounts; account verification was not checked.
Model, chat length and file size affect use. Current offers are separate from the October 20 historical Max 20x experiment; these multipliers do not establish API-dollar capacity.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Claude subscription including Claude Code. No subscription test is claimed.
Current Claude plan prices and usage · checked 2026-11-04.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published shared weekly access
Base weekly pool
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Eligible first-party usage draws from one shared weekly pool; product activities consume it at different rates.
Grok web Chat, Voice, Imagine and Grok Build share eligible usage with Cursor.
Grok Bot is not included on Plus.
Third-party models in Cursor are paid separately from their first use.
This describes The X Subscription, not a legacy SuperGrok or X Premium account. Exact absolute requests, tokens and weekly API-dollar capacity are not published here.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Grok web and eligible first-party Grok / Cursor surfaces. No subscription test is claimed.
Current X Subscription prices and usage · Shared weekly pool scope · Grok Bot plan eligibility · checked 2026-11-04.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published shared weekly access
4× Plus
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Eligible first-party usage draws from one shared weekly pool; product activities consume it at different rates.
Grok web Chat, Voice, Imagine and Grok Build share eligible usage with Cursor.
Grok Bot shares this pool on this plan; it is not an extra allowance.
Third-party models in Cursor are paid separately from their first use.
This describes The X Subscription, not a legacy SuperGrok or X Premium account. Exact absolute requests, tokens and weekly API-dollar capacity are not published here.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Grok web and eligible first-party Grok / Cursor surfaces. No subscription test is claimed.
Current X Subscription prices and usage · Shared weekly pool scope · Grok Bot plan eligibility · checked 2026-11-04.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published shared weekly access
15× Plus
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Eligible first-party usage draws from one shared weekly pool; product activities consume it at different rates.
Grok web Chat, Voice, Imagine and Grok Build share eligible usage with Cursor.
Grok Bot shares this pool on this plan; it is not an extra allowance.
Third-party models in Cursor are paid separately from their first use.
This describes The X Subscription, not a legacy SuperGrok or X Premium account. Exact absolute requests, tokens and weekly API-dollar capacity are not published here.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Grok web and eligible first-party Grok / Cursor surfaces. No subscription test is claimed.
Current X Subscription prices and usage · Shared weekly pool scope · Grok Bot plan eligibility · checked 2026-11-04.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published shared weekly access
50× Plus
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Eligible first-party usage draws from one shared weekly pool; product activities consume it at different rates.
Grok web Chat, Voice, Imagine and Grok Build share eligible usage with Cursor.
Grok Bot shares this pool on this plan; it is not an extra allowance.
Third-party models in Cursor are paid separately from their first use.
This describes The X Subscription, not a legacy SuperGrok or X Premium account. Exact absolute requests, tokens and weekly API-dollar capacity are not published here.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. Published access facts are not measured weekly API-dollar capacity.
Sources and scope
Grok web and eligible first-party Grok / Cursor surfaces. No subscription test is claimed.
Current X Subscription prices and usage · Shared weekly pool scope · Grok Bot plan eligibility · checked 2026-11-04.
Public plan limits describe access. They do not establish the API-dollar cost of a full week of work.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. public USD offer; account availability unverified How we compare.
Published Gemini Apps access
2× standard
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Google's published relative Gemini Apps access, compared with non-AI plans.
Five-hour refresh, subject to a weekly cap. Model, thinking level, task complexity and chat length affect use.
A separate developer credit is not listed for this entry offer.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. These access multiples are not token counts or API-dollar allowances.
Sources and scope
Gemini Apps for personal accounts. Offer model scope: Gemini 3.6 Flash. No Google subscription was tested.
400 GB entry offer; comparison also lists 2 TB, whose price was not separately verified
Google source · Google source · checked 2026-11-04. Full method.
Published access limits and separate developer credits are different benefits. Developer credit does not measure weekly Gemini Apps capacity.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. Public United States monthly list/entry offer; taxes, eligibility and alternate storage variants not assessed How we compare.
Published Gemini Apps access
4× standard
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Google's published relative Gemini Apps access, compared with non-AI plans.
Five-hour refresh, subject to a weekly cap. Model, thinking level, task complexity and chat length affect use.
Separate developer credit: $10/month
Google Developer Program / Cloud benefit; Subject to benefit terms; account redemption not checked. This is separate from Gemini Apps usage.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. These access multiples are not token counts or API-dollar allowances.
Sources and scope
Gemini Apps for personal accounts. Offer model scope: Gemini 4 Argon / 3.1 Pro. No Google subscription was tested.
5 TB
Google source · Google source · checked 2026-11-04. Full method.
Published access limits and separate developer credits are different benefits. Developer credit does not measure weekly Gemini Apps capacity.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. Public United States monthly list/entry offer; taxes, eligibility and alternate storage variants not assessed How we compare.
Published Gemini Apps access
5× Pro
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Google's published relative Gemini Apps access, compared with Google AI Pro.
Five-hour refresh, subject to a weekly cap. Model, thinking level, task complexity and chat length affect use.
Separate developer credit: $40/month
Google Developer Program / Cloud benefit; Subject to benefit terms; account redemption not checked. This is separate from Gemini Apps usage.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. These access multiples are not token counts or API-dollar allowances.
Sources and scope
Gemini Apps for personal accounts. Offer model scope: Gemini 4 Argon / 3.1 Pro. No Google subscription was tested.
20 TB
Google source · Google source · checked 2026-11-04. Full method.
Published access limits and separate developer credits are different benefits. Developer credit does not measure weekly Gemini Apps capacity.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. Public United States monthly list/entry offer; taxes, eligibility and alternate storage variants not assessed How we compare.
Published Gemini Apps access
20× Pro
PUBLIC SOURCE / NOT TESTED · 2026-11-04
Google's published relative Gemini Apps access, compared with Google AI Pro.
Five-hour refresh, subject to a weekly cap. Model, thinking level, task complexity and chat length affect use.
Separate developer credit: $100/month
Google Developer Program / Cloud benefit; Subject to benefit terms; account redemption not checked. This is separate from Gemini Apps usage.
API-equivalent capacity is not established. These access multiples are not token counts or API-dollar allowances.
Sources and scope
Gemini Apps for personal accounts. Offer model scope: Gemini 4 Argon / 3.1 Pro. No Google subscription was tested.
30 TB
Google source · Google source · checked 2026-11-04. Full method.
Published access limits and separate developer credits are different benefits. Developer credit does not measure weekly Gemini Apps capacity.
Plan price checked 2026-11-04. Public United States monthly list/entry offer; taxes, eligibility and alternate storage variants not assessed How we compare.
Historical what-if · October 20, 2026 UTC
Not a current allowance.
Projected API-equivalent per week
≈ $2,577.44
Recorded work scaled to a full weekly meter; not measured full-week capacity.
$2,061.95–$3,436.59 · meter rounding only.
How this estimate works
20 Oct 2026 UTC sample, repriced at 4 Nov standard short-context API rates. Scaled from logged usage and a rounded meter, assuming all meter movement belongs to the logged work and the same workload remains repeatable. Outside usage and meter weighting are unverified. Not measured full-week capacity or current-plan value. Range covers rounding only.
Mixed Opus/Haiku and cache-heavy work; recovered known gap usage, but browser/cloud and other-project usage may be missing. Historical Max 20x only.
Oct 20, 2026, 01:27 UTC to Oct 20, 2026, 02:28 UTC.
Logged work priced at approximately $103.10 using the 4 November tariff. Meter: 3 → 7 (4 percentage points).
The $200.00 monthly fee is the historical test-plan assumption, not a verified invoice.
API-equivalent use is the cost of the same work at usage-based prices, not cash credits or a guaranteed allowance.
Fee shown is the historical test-plan price. API tariffs checked 2026-11-04. How we compare.
Historical what-if · October 20, 2026 UTC
Not a current allowance.
Projected API-equivalent per week
≈ $59.75
Recorded work scaled to a full weekly meter; not measured full-week capacity.
$55.48–$64.73 · meter rounding only.
How this estimate works
20 Oct 2026 UTC sample, repriced at 4 Nov standard short-context API rates. Scaled from logged usage and a rounded meter, assuming all meter movement belongs to the logged work and the same workload remains repeatable. Outside usage and meter weighting are unverified. Not measured full-week capacity or current-plan value. Range covers rounding only.
Codex CLI coding work, not ChatGPT web chat or Desktop. Recorded Astra/Luna/Sol work only; usage between recorded runs is not fully accounted for. Historical Plus price assumption only; no Pro multiplier.
Oct 20, 2026, 04:51 UTC to Oct 20, 2026, 05:22 UTC.
Logged work priced at approximately $7.77 using the 4 November tariff. Meter: 22 → 35 (13 percentage points).
The $20.00 monthly fee is the historical test-plan assumption, not a verified invoice.
API-equivalent use is the cost of the same work at usage-based prices, not cash credits or a guaranteed allowance.
Fee shown is the historical test-plan price. API tariffs checked 2026-11-04. How we compare.