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Is artificial intelligence free or paid?

By the FAIND newsroom · Updated on 17 October 2026

A vending machine stocked with books and magazines in an office lounge, next to a table with a bowl of nuts

Both. Every major assistant has a free plan and one or more paid plans. The useful question is not whether it is free, but what you lose by staying on the free plan.

In brief

ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity all have a free plan.
The standard plan costs about 20 dollars a month almost everywhere.
Paying is only worth it if you often hit the limits of the free plan.

What you can do for free

A lot: write and correct texts, summarise, translate, have a topic explained, generate a few images. The limits concern the number of requests, access to the most powerful models and some advanced features. For learning and occasional use the free plan is enough.

How much subscriptions cost

The standard plan costs about 20 dollars a month: ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and Perplexity Pro at 20, Google AI Pro and Microsoft 365 Premium at 19.99. There are cheaper entry points, such as Google AI Plus at 4.99 and ChatGPT Go at 8, and professional plans from 100 to 300 dollars. All the up-to-date prices, from the most expensive to the cheapest, are on the AI assistants compared page.

When it is worth paying

When you use AI every day for work and the free plan stops you, when you need long documents or many images, when you want the latest models. If you use it a few times a week, paying changes almost nothing.

The free alternatives

There are entirely free assistants and open models that can be downloaded and used on your own computer, with no subscription and without sending data to anyone. They take a little more practice and a recent computer; the official links are in the Guides & downloads section.

Watch out for the hidden price

Free does not mean without cost: some free plans show advertising or use conversations to improve the models, unless you change the setting. It is worth reading what you are agreeing to.

Frequently asked questions

Is artificial intelligence free?

Yes, in its basic version: all the main assistants have a free plan with usage limits. Advanced features are paid.

How much does ChatGPT cost?

It has a free plan, ChatGPT Go at 8 dollars a month, Plus at 20 and Pro plans from 100 to 200 dollars. Prices can change: they are checked on the comparison page.