How much does each AI cost?
Learners ask us this all the time, so here is every major AI plan on one page. Most people only need a free plan, or one paid plan around US$20 a month.
Source: aipricing.guru, compiled October 2026
The short answer
- Just trying AI? Every big name has a free plan. Start there.
- Using AI for work every day? One paid plan around US$20 (about HK$156) a month is enough for most people.
- The US$100+ plans are for heavy users who keep hitting limits. You will know when you need one.
AI prices at a glance, by price tier
Billing view
Annual prices are shown as the average cost per month.
Green border = free, or the cheapest plan in that tier. Tap any plan for details.
Swipe sideways to see every tier →
| AI | VPN needed in HK? | Free | EntryUS$5–18 | ~US$20 | ~US$100 | US$150+ | Teamsper user |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No VPN needed Opened to all HK users in March 2026; HK is on Google’s Gemini list and AI Plus/Pro/Ultra are sold in HK$. | |||||||
VPN needed Hong Kong is not on OpenAI’s supported list and the app is not in the HK App Store; it does not work without a VPN. | |||||||
VPN needed Hong Kong is not on Anthropic’s supported regions list (applies to apps and API) and the app is not in the HK App Store. | |||||||
| GrokNo VPN needed | No VPN needed Works in HK without a VPN; the Grok app and SuperGrok plans are sold in the HK App Store in HK$. xAI publishes no country list. | ||||||
No VPN needed Works in HK without a VPN; Perplexity Pro/Max are sold in the HK App Store in HK$. Perplexity publishes no country list. | |||||||
No VPN needed Microsoft lists only mainland China (excluding Hong Kong SAR) and embargoed markets as exceptions; Microsoft 365 with Copilot is sold in HK. | |||||||
| GLM CodingNo VPN needed | No VPN needed Z.ai’s terms only exclude sanctioned regions (Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Crimea etc.), not Hong Kong; checkout is in US$. |
All product names, logos and brands belong to their respective owners and are used for identification only.
Source: aipricing.guru · updated 2026-10-16
Every plan in detail
Gemini (Google)
5 plansWorks inside Gmail, Docs and Drive. Paid plans add Google storage and higher NotebookLM limits.
VPN in Hong Kong
- No VPN neededOpened to all HK users in March 2026; HK is on Google’s Gemini list and AI Plus/Pro/Ultra are sold in HK$.
Gemini Free
Free planFree
- Models:
- gemini-3.5-flash, gemini-3.1-pro
Best for: Gmail users who want to try AI for free
Google AI Plus
US$4.99/ month
approx. HK$39 / month
- Models:
- gemini-3.5-flash, gemini-3.1-pro
Best for: A little more Gemini plus 200 GB storage, cheaply
Google AI Pro
US$19.99/ month
approx. HK$156 / month
- Models:
- gemini-3.1-pro, gemini-3-pro
Best for: Working in Google apps, with NotebookLM and lots of storage
Google AI Ultra 5x
US$99.99/ month
approx. HK$780 / month
- Models:
- gemini-3.1-pro, gemini-3-pro, gemini-deep-think
Best for: Advanced users who want Deep Think and video tools
Google AI Ultra 20x
US$199.99/ month
approx. HK$1,560 / month
- Models:
- gemini-3.1-pro, gemini-3-pro, gemini-deep-think
Best for: Creators and developers with the biggest workloads
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
6 plansThe best-known AI assistant: writing, questions, images and file analysis.
VPN in Hong Kong
- VPN neededHong Kong is not on OpenAI’s supported list and the app is not in the HK App Store; it does not work without a VPN.
ChatGPT Free
Free planFree
- Models:
- gpt-5.6-terra
Best for: Trying AI for the first time
ChatGPT Go
US$8/ month
approx. HK$62 / month
- Models:
- gpt-5.6-terra
Best for: More use than free, on a small budget
ChatGPT Plus
US$20/ month
approx. HK$156 / month
- Usage limits
- About 160 messages every 3 hours
- About 3,000 “thinking” messages a week
- 25 Deep Research reports a month
- Models:
- gpt-5.6-terra, gpt-5.6-luna
Best for: Daily work use, images and file analysis
ChatGPT Pro ($100)
US$100/ month
approx. HK$780 / month
- Models:
- gpt-5.6, gpt-5.6-sol, gpt-5.4, o3-pro, codex
Best for: Hours of use a day, often hitting limits
ChatGPT Pro ($200)
US$200/ month
approx. HK$1,560 / month
- Usage limits
- 250 Deep Research reports a month
- Models:
- gpt-5.6, gpt-5.6-sol, gpt-5.4, o3-pro, o4-mini, codex
Best for: Heavy professional use at the highest limits
ChatGPT Business
For teamsUS$25/ user / month
approx. HK$195 / user / month
Minimum 2 users
- Models:
- gpt-5.6, gpt-5.6-sol, gpt-5.4, gpt-5.4-mini, o3, codex
Best for: Small teams that need admin and data privacy
Claude (Anthropic)
6 plansStrong at careful writing, editing and reading long documents.
VPN in Hong Kong
- VPN neededHong Kong is not on Anthropic’s supported regions list (applies to apps and API) and the app is not in the HK App Store.
Claude Free
Free planFree
- Usage limits
- About 10 messages every 5 hours
- Models:
- claude-haiku-4.5, claude-sonnet-5
Best for: Trying Claude’s writing style
Claude Pro
US$20/ month
approx. HK$156 / month
- Usage limits
- About 45 messages every 5 hours
- Models:
- claude-sonnet-5, claude-opus-4.8, claude-haiku-4.5
Best for: Regular reports, emails and long documents
Claude Max (5x)
US$100/ month
approx. HK$780 / month
- Usage limits
- About 225 messages every 5 hours
- Models:
- claude-fable-5, claude-opus-4.8, claude-sonnet-5, claude-haiku-4.5
Best for: Working in Claude for long stretches every day
Claude Max (20x)
US$200/ month
approx. HK$1,560 / month
- Usage limits
- About 900 messages every 5 hours
- Models:
- claude-fable-5, claude-opus-4.8, claude-sonnet-5, claude-haiku-4.5
Best for: Full-time coding or heavy document work
Claude Team
For teamsUS$25/ user / month
approx. HK$195 / user / month
Minimum 2 users
- Usage limits
- About 90 messages every 5 hours
- Models:
- claude-sonnet-5, claude-opus-4.8, claude-haiku-4.5
Best for: Teams sharing Claude with central billing
Grok (xAI)
4 plansPulls in live news and posts from X (Twitter).
VPN in Hong Kong
- No VPN neededWorks in HK without a VPN; the Grok app and SuperGrok plans are sold in the HK App Store in HK$. xAI publishes no country list.
Grok Free
Free planFree
- Models:
- grok-4.6
Best for: Following live news and X discussions
SuperGrok
US$30/ month
approx. HK$234 / month
- Models:
- grok-4.6
Best for: Frequent Grok use, including images and video
SuperGrok Heavy
US$300/ month
approx. HK$2,340 / month
- Models:
- grok-4.6
Best for: The heaviest Grok users
Grok Business
For teamsUS$30/ user / month
approx. HK$234 / user / month
- Models:
- grok-4.3
Best for: Teams using Grok at work
Perplexity
3 plansA search-style AI that shows its sources.
VPN in Hong Kong
- No VPN neededWorks in HK without a VPN; Perplexity Pro/Max are sold in the HK App Store in HK$. Perplexity publishes no country list.
Perplexity Free
Free planFree
- Usage limits
- 3 Pro searches a day
- Models:
- sonar
Best for: Replacing web search with sourced answers
Perplexity Pro
US$20/ month
approx. HK$156 / month
- Models:
- sonar-pro, gpt-5.4, claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro, grok-4.6
Best for: Regular research, choosing between AI models
Perplexity Max
US$200/ month
approx. HK$1,560 / month
- Usage limits
- 10,000 Computer credits a month
- Models:
- sonar-pro, gpt-5.5, claude-opus-4.7, gemini-3.1-pro, grok-4.6
Best for: Professionals researching all day
Copilot (Microsoft)
4 plansAI inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
VPN in Hong Kong
- No VPN neededMicrosoft lists only mainland China (excluding Hong Kong SAR) and embargoed markets as exceptions; Microsoft 365 with Copilot is sold in HK.
Copilot Free
Free planFree
- Models:
- gpt-5-mini, gpt-4o
Best for: Quick questions on Windows
Copilot Pro
No longer sold to new customersUS$20/ month
approx. HK$156 / month
- Usage limits
- 100 image boosts a day
- Models:
- gpt-5.4, o3
Best for: Existing subscribers only; new buyers see Microsoft 365 Premium
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business
For teamsUS$25.20/ user / month
approx. HK$197 / user / month
- Models:
- gpt-5.4, o3
Best for: Companies already on Microsoft 365
GLM Coding (Z.ai)
3 plansFor programmers only: works inside coding tools, not a general chatbot.
VPN in Hong Kong
- No VPN neededZ.ai’s terms only exclude sanctioned regions (Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Crimea etc.), not Hong Kong; checkout is in US$.
GLM Coding Lite
US$18/ month
approx. HK$140 / month
- Usage limits
- About 80 prompts every 5 hours
- About 400 prompts a week
- 100 web search / reader calls a month
- Models:
- glm-5.2, glm-5-turbo, glm-4.7, glm-4.5-air
Best for: Getting started with AI coding tools
GLM Coding Pro
US$80/ month
approx. HK$624 / month
- Usage limits
- About 400 prompts every 5 hours
- About 2,000 prompts a week
- 1,000 web search / reader calls a month
- Models:
- glm-5.2, glm-5-turbo, glm-4.7, glm-4.5-air
Best for: Regular AI-assisted coding
GLM Coding Max
US$168/ month
approx. HK$1,310 / month
- Usage limits
- About 1,600 prompts every 5 hours
- About 8,000 prompts a week
- 4,000 web search / reader calls a month
- Models:
- glm-5.2, glm-5-turbo, glm-4.7, glm-4.5-air
Best for: Full-time developers with heavy usage
Common questions
It depends on what matters most to you. For everyday chat and writing, Claude Pro at US$20 a month includes the flagship Opus 4.8 reasoning model, and developers also get Claude Code. ChatGPT Plus has the broadest set of tools, including Sora video, DALL-E, Advanced Voice and custom GPTs. Google AI Pro costs about the same, adds 5 TB of storage and is built deep into Gmail and Google Docs. For research, Perplexity Pro comes out ahead because you can pick the model for every query.
Only if you keep running out of Plus’s usage limits, or you need Pro reasoning (o3-pro), unlimited Sora video or the Operator agent. For most people, Plus covers 95% of what they do.
Both include the flagship Opus 4.8 model. The 5x plan (US$100 a month) gives about five times the Pro plan’s usage; the 20x plan (US$200 a month) gives about twenty times. If you use Claude Code for several hours every day, 20x is the better fit.
The prices on this page are compiled from aipricing.guru, whose data was last updated on 16 October 2026. We compiled it on 17 October 2026 and checked it against some providers’ official pricing pages. AI companies change prices and plans often, so always go by the provider’s official website before you pay. We update this page from time to time.
If you only use the API, compare your actual pay-as-you-go bill with the full cost of the subscription; the credit a plan includes is not a token discount. If you already need a subscription for a person to use, its included credit can offset some eligible API spending. Claude Max and Team now include such credit, but Claude Pro does not.
It varies by product, so check the VPN column in the table above. Some AIs work in Hong Kong directly, while others do not officially serve Hong Kong. If you use a VPN, follow each provider’s terms of service and your company’s IT policy.
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