ChatGPT Plus vs Grok
ChatGPT Plus and Grok side by side: what each one is, what it costs to start, and whether you can try it free. Everything below comes from the vendors' own sites and other public sources, not from hands-on testing.
At a glance
| ChatGPT Plus | Grok | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Writing & Copy | Writing & Copy |
| Starting price | $20/mo (checked October 2026) | Free; paid plans from $8/mo (checked October 2026) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Profile | Read profile | Read profile |
Prices are in US dollars unless shown otherwise. Confirm the current price on the vendor's site before you buy.
Key differences
Both list a free tier, so you can try each before paying.
Grok has the lower starting price ($8/mo against $20/mo for ChatGPT Plus). The cheapest plan rarely has the same limits or features, so compare plans before choosing on price.
Both are in our Writing & Copy category.
About each tool
ChatGPT Plus
OpenAI's paid personal ChatGPT plan with expanded chat, deep research, image creation, voice, projects, custom GPTs and Codex. Plus is $20 a month, billed monthly; the Free and Go plans are separate.
Who it is for
Individuals who want more usage and tools than the Free or Go plans give them. OpenAI sells Business and Enterprise plans separately for organizations.
Strengths
- OpenAI lists projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs on Plus
- OpenAI lists expanded deep research, memory and context, and Codex usage over Free and Go
- Codex on the web, command line, IDE extension and iOS is included, and extra usage can be bought with ChatGPT credits
- OpenAI says Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts will not have ads
- You can turn off Improve the model for everyone in Settings under Data controls, and OpenAI says Temporary Chats are not used to improve models
Limitations
- Higher Codex, memory, image and deep research allowances are reserved for Pro, which OpenAI states as 5x Plus usage at $100 a month and 20x at $200 a month
- OpenAI says ads can appear on the Free and Go plans, which is a plan difference rather than a Plus limit
- The pages we read were inconsistent on agent mode, so we do not list it as a Plus feature
Grok
AI assistant from xAI for chat, voice, file analysis, web and X search, and image and video generation. Has a free tier; x.ai/pricing lists Plus at $8 per month and Premium at $30 per month (checked 2026-10-15).
Who it is for
People who want a general chat assistant with live web and X search plus image and video creation. Business and Enterprise plans add team workspaces and organisation controls.
Strengths
- Free version available on web and mobile apps
- One sign-in across web, iOS and Android, with synced conversations and subscription
- Live web and X search with source citations
- Grok Imagine creates images and video from text prompts
- Listed connectors include Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams and Salesforce, plus custom MCP
Limitations
- Paid plans share one weekly usage pool across Chat, Imagine, Voice, Build and API; paid features pause until the weekly reset when it runs out
- Video output is capped at 720p on each tier
- xAI's official pages do not give numeric free-tier limits
- X Premium access is sold and refunded through X, not xAI
