Independent research

AI subscription comparison 2026: prices, limits, and cost risk

AI subscription cost can no longer be judged from a headline seat price. This research compares published AI pricing, usage limits, overage rules, and buying-impact changes in one evidence system.

The useful question is not only ‘what is the monthly price?’ It is ‘which existing contract is required, at what usage does cost change, and who controls the cap?’ A record becomes decision-grade here only when those questions can be answered with linked source material.

Latest source check: . Prices are published information before taxes, negotiated discounts, local currency, and undisclosed base subscriptions.

5

Decision-grade records

17

Tracked records

29

Sourced changes

Subscription comparison

Compare ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity subscriptions in one table

Each value is a published start for the lowest paid plan, not a quality rank or final bill. Re-check usage limits, commitments, taxes, and regional pricing in the linked tool record and official source.

Compare ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity subscriptions in one table
ToolLowest published paid planPublished startSource checkedPrice source
ChatGPTPlus$20/monthOfficial source
ClaudePro$20/monthOfficial source
GeminiGoogle AI Plus$4.99/monthOfficial source
GrokBusiness$30/monthOfficial source
PerplexityPro$20/monthOfficial source

Market signal

AI pricing is shifting from seats to usage control

The source records in this index show a change with more impact on budget, ownership, and rollout order than another feature checklist.

Included is not unlimited

AI included in an eligible paid plan, such as Rovo, can still rely on pooled credits and extra-usage rules. ‘No extra seat cost’ describes the current seat charge; it does not mean every kind of use is unlimited.

The existing contract is the starting point

For products such as Microsoft 365 Copilot Business, the add-on price alone cannot describe the real budget. Separate qualifying base licenses, annual versus monthly commitment, and market-specific promotions before comparing tools.

Spend caps are product features

A setting an admin can disable or cap, such as Rovo Dev extra usage, is part of the buying model rather than a post-purchase detail. A pilot should verify consumption, limits, and billing ownership together.

2026 buying flow

Five questions that turn an AI price list into a total-cost decision

Answer these in order before comparing prices to avoid missing the contract, limit, or scope that changes the real cost of a seat.

  1. 1

    What existing contract is required?

    Add the required suite, eligibility, and seat floor before treating an AI add-on as its own budget line.

  2. 2

    What unit is included?

    Check whether seats, credits, tokens, tasks, or outcomes are the unit that actually constrains use.

  3. 3

    What happens at the limit?

    Verify from the source whether work pauses, extra usage continues, and what that usage costs.

  4. 4

    Who controls the cap?

    Decide whether an admin can disable or limit overage and who owns the resulting billing decision.

  5. 5

    What will the pilot prove?

    Measure consumption and quality on one small real workflow before modeling a team-wide cost.

Recently verified buyer impact

Recent changes worth revisiting a shortlist or budget for

Only changes with linked official sources appear here. Read the buying impact and the source before changing a shortlist from the headline alone.

Claude

Claude Team starts at two members; Enterprise billing and API catalog are refreshed.

Small teams can now compare a two-member Team subscription. Enterprise budgets need annual seat commitments plus model usage; migrate model IDs and test workload quality before applying Opus 5.5's $4/$20 rate. Final model and rollout selection needs editorial review.

Gemini

Google AI consumer plans refresh prices and storage, with two Ultra tiers.

Compare the selected Ultra access level and storage instead of a single $249.99/5 TB assumption. Consumer subscriptions do not replace Workspace team governance. U.S. reference prices require regional checkout confirmation.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Business

Microsoft's current Copilot Business page extends the $18 offer to December 31 and needs term verification for $25.20.

Use $18 only for a qualifying first-year purchase completed in the documented offer window. Do not turn the $25.20 display into a cancellation assumption: confirm the checkout and contract term before comparing it with a true month-to-month assistant or calculating savings.

Evidence-backed core records

Records that publish cost scenarios, not only a price label

Each record pairs an official-source snapshot, source-linked team-size cost scenarios, editorial review, and sourced buying-impact changes. Scenarios reveal budget assumptions; they are not a quote.

Decision-grade records

Atlassian Rovo

Rovo Dev Standard costs $20 per developer per month for 2,000 credits that reset monthly. Extra usage is $0.01 per credit; Atlassian's published default extra-usage limit is another 2,000 credits, so the ordinary pre-tax planning range is $20–$40 per developer per month unless an admin changes that cap. A separate, eligibility-dependent Rovo Dev Free path gives an activated paid-Jira site 350 credits per user per month and has no paid extra usage. Do not confuse either Rovo Dev offer with core Rovo: Rovo Search, Chat, and Agents start at $0 incremental cost inside eligible paid Atlassian Cloud plans, with their own pooled allowances.

Eligible Rovo Dev Free userIncluded in a paid plan
Five Rovo Dev seats, base to default cap$100–$200/month
Twenty-five Rovo Dev seats, base to default cap$500–$1,000/month

Latest buying impact: Use the 350-credit path only after confirming site activation and eligibility. It can lower the cost of a tightly scoped pilot, but it is not a safe baseline for a company-wide Rovo Dev budget; otherwise model Standard at $20 per developer per month plus approved extra usage.

Decision-grade records

Microsoft 365 Copilot Business

On Microsoft's current U.S. price page, Copilot Business is $18/user/month paid yearly for the first year through December 31, 2026, versus a $21 annual list price. The same page separately displays $25.20/user/month as a monthly subscription that auto-renews, while Microsoft's current FAQ describes Copilot Business as an annual commitment with monthly or annual billing and no month-to-month purchase agreement. Do not infer a cancellation right from either label: confirm the checkout and contract term before buying. It requires a qualifying Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium license and supports up to 300 seats per tenant. Business Standard + Copilot is $23.50/user/month paid yearly and Business Premium + Copilot is $32. Model $18 only for a qualifying enrollment window, then confirm the purchase path and renewal amount before committing.

One Business Standard + Copilot user$23.50/month
Five Business Standard + Copilot users$117.50/month
Twenty-five Business Premium + Copilot users$800/month

Latest buying impact: Use $18 only for a qualifying first-year purchase completed in the documented offer window. Do not turn the $25.20 display into a cancellation assumption: confirm the checkout and contract term before comparing it with a true month-to-month assistant or calculating savings.

Decision-grade records

Devin

Pro is $20/month and Max is $200/month for one user. Teams public pages disagree: pricing shows $80 plus $40 per full seat, while billing docs count $40 seats toward an $80 minimum. Compare both subscription scenarios and confirm checkout before budgeting usage.

One Devin Pro user$20/month
Five Team full-dev users$200–$280/month
Twenty-five Team full-dev users$1,000–$1,080/month

Latest buying impact: Teams buyers must model both the base plan and the number of users who need full Devin capacity.

Decision-grade records

Cursor

Pro at $20 is the paid entry point. Teams Standard is $40/user/month ($32 annual equivalent), while Premium is $120/user/month ($96 annual equivalent) for 5x Standard usage. Each paid team seat has separate per-user pools that reset each billing cycle, not a shared team allowance. After included usage is consumed, on-demand use can continue; all Auto modes bill at the routed model's list price, and third-party requests also add the $0.25-per-million-token Cursor Token Rate. Set per-user limits before rollout.

One Cursor Pro seat$20/month
Five Teams Standard seats$200/month
Twenty-five Teams Standard seats$1,000/month

Latest buying impact: Do not assume Cost mode is a no-cost baseline. Model the paid seat separately from per-user pools, routed-model prices, the third-party Token Rate, and the decision to leave on-demand use enabled. Set per-user limits before a broader agent rollout.

Decision-grade records

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot starts with Free and Pro at $10/month. Current documentation lists 1,500 monthly AI Credits for Pro, 7,000 for Pro+, and 20,000 for Max, corresponding to published $15, $70, and $200 total credit values. For organization rollout, Business is $19 per granted seat per month with 1,900 AI Credits per user and Enterprise is $39 with 3,900; licenses contribute to a shared pool, and usage beyond the pool is $0.01 per AI Credit.

One Copilot Pro user$10/month
Five Copilot Business users$95/month
Twenty-five Copilot Enterprise users$975/month

Latest buying impact: Recalculate new and current team budgets against the current 1,900 or 3,900-credit baseline, not the expired promotional allowance. Set organization and user spending controls before enabling usage-based overages.

Method

What enters the index, and what remains tracked

We do not mass-produce pricing pages. The first test is whether the cost model is reviewable and genuinely useful to a buyer.

Decision-grade

A decision-grade record needs an official-source snapshot, at least three source-linked cost scenarios, editorial review, and sourced change evidence. Only then does it link to a standalone pricing guide.

Tracked

A tracked record preserves an official pricing URL, a published pricing signal, a check date, and sourced changes where available. It is a starting point for comparison, not a quote for a custom contract, tax treatment, or projected usage.

Cite this research with its evidence context

The citation includes the canonical research URL and latest source-check date. Link individual claims to their official sources on this page, or download the reproducible source-linked data as JSON.

Tracked coverage

Additional tools with published pricing under review

These records retain official pricing sources and check dates, but are not expanded into standalone money pages until their team cost model has enough reviewable evidence.

Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)

Check the official source for a published starting price.

Next decision

Turn a price table into a buying decision

After checking published price, evaluate the actual workflow, data access, approval and rollback path, and usage ceiling for the team.

AI Subscription Comparison 2026: Prices, Limits & Costs | AgentHub