The short answer
Most people overpay for AI subscriptions by $100–$300 a year. The typical waste is two overlapping chatbots — for example ChatGPT Plus at $20/mo ($240/yr) plus Claude Pro at $20/mo ($240/yr) — when a single $20/mo flagship covers daily use. Drop duplicates to free tiers (DeepSeek, Doubao, Wenxin and Muse all have capable free plans) and keep one paid plan. Annual billing cuts another 15–20% (ChatGPT Plus drops from $240 to $200/yr). Developers who use AI through code should skip subscriptions: pay-per-token APIs are often 90%+ cheaper than a monthly plan.
Prices verified Oct 2026 against official pricing pages · 14 products compared below · Always re-check the official page before you buy.14 AI subscriptions compared
Entry-level pricing, verified Oct 2026. Use the calculator below for your personal total.
| Product | Vendor | Free tier | Cheapest paid plan | Price / mo | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | OpenAI | Yes | Go | $8 | Global |
| Claude | Anthropic | Yes | Pro | $20 | Global |
| Google AI | Yes | AI Plus | $4.99 | Global | |
| Grok | xAI | Yes | SuperGrok Lite | $10 | Global |
| Copilot Pro | Microsoft | No | Copilot Pro | $20 | Global |
| Perplexity | Perplexity | Yes | Pro | $20 | Global |
| Muse | Meta | Yes (100M tokens/wk) | Power | $20 | Global |
| Midjourney | Midjourney | No | Basic | $10 | Global |
| Doubao 豆包 | ByteDance | Yes | Standard 标准 | ¥68 | China |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek | Yes (chat) | API pay-as-you-go | varies | China |
| Kimi | Moonshot AI | Yes (Adagio) | Andante | ¥49 | China |
| Wenxin Yiyan 文心一言 | Baidu | Yes (chat) | API pay-as-you-go | varies | China |
| GLM Coding Plan | Zhipu AI 智谱 | No | Lite | ¥118 | China |
| WorkBuddy | Tencent 腾讯 | No | — | Pricing TBC | China |
“Pricing TBC” = not verified; we never invent numbers. Prices change often — re-check official pages before buying.
What do you mainly use AI for?
Pick all that apply — your use cases drive the recommendation.
Tip: mention what you want to make (images, videos, code, documents…) and any must-haves (Chinese language, API access, team use…).
Which products should we consider?
Region affects availability, payment, and language fit.
Your Top 3 picks
Ranked for your scenario and region. Every pick lists its key weakness — no hype.
¥ = CNY, converted at ≈ 1 USD = ¥6.72 (Sep 2026) where shown. All prices are per month, verified Oct 2026, and may change.
💡 Annual billing tip: Most products offer 15–20% off when billed yearly (e.g. ChatGPT Plus is $200/yr vs $240/yr monthly). The totals above use monthly × 12 — switch to annual billing on the official pricing page to save more.
Calculate your savings
Check everything you already pay for (or plan to buy), pick the tier, and compare against the recommended plan from Step 3.
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FAQ
Are the prices on this page current?
They were verified on 2026-10-03 against official pricing pages and multiple public sources. AI subscription pricing changes often — always re-check the official page before you buy. Anything we could not verify is marked “Pricing TBC” rather than guessed.
How is my yearly saving calculated?
Each subscription you check is summed as monthly price × 12 in its native currency. CNY totals are converted at approximately 1 USD ≈ ¥6.72 for a combined estimate. That total is compared with the annual cost of the Top-1 recommended plan for your scenario and region.
Is this tool really free?
Yes — free while in beta, no signup, no paywall. We're collecting feedback to make it better. Paid features (like a deep-dive report) may come later, but the core calculator will stay free.
How much can I save on AI subscriptions?
Most people overpay by $100–$300 a year, usually from two overlapping chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT Plus + Claude Pro at $20/mo each). Keep one paid flagship, move the rest to free tiers (DeepSeek, Doubao, Wenxin, Muse), and switch to annual billing for another 15–20% off. The calculator above computes your exact number.
Which AI subscription is the best value?
It depends on your use case — that's what Step 1–3 answers. As a rule of thumb: the cheapest capable options are free (DeepSeek chat, Doubao, Wenxin); the best paid all-rounders are ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro at $20/mo; Google AI Plus at $4.99/mo is the cheapest paid tier among global flagships. Developers using AI through code usually save 90%+ with pay-per-token APIs instead of subscriptions.