Last updated: 2026-10-20
What changed
Grok is the AI assistant from xAI, now branded SpaceXAI, that searches the web and X live while it answers. Since October 2026 its consumer plans sit inside The X Subscription, which bundles Grok, Grok Bot, Cursor and X Premium. The newest flagship model offers a 500,000-token context window.
About Grok
xAI was founded in 2023 and built Grok as a chatbot that searches the web and X while it answers, instead of leaning only on a frozen training set. The company's own 2026 pages are branded SpaceXAI, and the footer reads SpaceXAI LLC, while Hokai's xAI record keeps the older name. The model line moved fast this year: version 4.6 shipped in August 2026 and Grok 4.7 followed on 21 September 2026, with a May 2026 knowledge cutoff and a long context window.
In October 2026 the vendor introduced The X Subscription, which puts Grok, Grok Bot, Cursor and X Premium on one plan with five paid tiers. Paid tiers draw on one allowance that spans both Grok and the coding editor, and bigger tiers simply buy a larger multiple of the entry pool. Team seats and an Enterprise contract sit on top. People who already pay for SuperGrok can keep that plan or move to the new one.
Chat searches the web and X live with citations, multi-agent mode runs several agents in parallel on hard questions, and Imagine turns text or reference photos into images and short videos. Grok Bot, the always-on agent introduced in August 2026, comes with the middle tier and above. Developers reach the same models through the API, billed per token. More assistants with their own plans are grouped under AI chatbots, and the best AI chatbots of 2026 guide ranks them for common jobs.
The other side of the argument: people who want the longest-established ecosystem of integrations are better served by ChatGPT or, for careful long-form work, by Claude, while those living in Google's apps will find Gemini closer to hand. Buyers who mainly want sourced research answers should look at Perplexity. Grok's allowances are set against the entry plan, never as message counts, so a heavy user cannot know in advance whether the middle tier is enough. The product has also drawn criticism for controversial outputs, and live X data can carry the errors of fast-moving posts. Buyers who want fixed, predictable limits or tighter content controls should test the free tier first.
Pricing
Free is $0 with limited chat and agent requests. Plus is $8 a month, Premium $30 a month with 4x the Plus usage, Super $100 a month with 15x and Ultra $200 a month with 50x, all quoted before tax and sold as The X Subscription. Teams start at $30 per user per month; Enterprise is custom.
Third-party models inside Cursor are billed separately at API list prices. API: the flagship model costs $2 input, $0.50 cached input and $6 output per 1M tokens below 200k prompt tokens, and $4, $1 and $12 above that; the Fast variant costs 2x and is only offered in Cursor and Grok Build. Voice API: $0.08 per minute speech to speech, $15 per 1M characters text to speech.
Imagine API: images from $0.02 each, video from $0.02 per second. Plans that existed before October (SuperGrok Lite, SuperGrok, SuperGrok Heavy) are no longer listed on the vendor pricing page. The always-on agent is covered on its own page, Grok Bot.
| Tier | Monthly price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Limited chat requests, Limited agent requests, Post, reply and follow on X |
| grok-4.7 (API) | Free | 500k context window, Reasoning effort low, medium, high, xhigh, Text and image input, text output |
| Plus | $8/mo | Shared usage pool across Grok and Cursor, Grok Chat, Voice, Imagine and Build, Grok API access, X checkmark and creator tools |
| Premium | $30/mo | 4x the Plus usage, Grok Bot, Latest Grok models, Cloud agents and automations, Code hosting and AI code reviews through Cursor |
| Teams | $30/mo | 4x to 50x Plus usage, pooled, SSO and SCIM seat management, Usage analytics and spend controls, Audit logs |
| Super | $100/mo | 15x the Plus usage, Priority model access at peak times |
| Ultra | $200/mo | 50x the Plus usage, Everything in Super |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom rate limits, Dedicated support, SSO and SCIM |
Feature Comparison by Tier
| Feature | Free | Plus | Premium | Super | Ultra | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usage allowance | Limited | Base shared pool | 4x Plus | 15x Plus | 50x Plus | 4x to 50x Plus, pooled |
| Grok Chat, Voice, Imagine, Build | Limited chat | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Grok API access | No | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Grok Bot | No | No | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cloud agents and automations | No | No | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Priority model access at peak times | No | No | No | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team admin, SSO and audit logs | No | No | No | No | No | ✓ |
| Price | $0/mo | $8/mo | $30/mo | $100/mo | $200/mo | $30+/user/mo |
Key Features
- Live web and X search: Chat searches the web and X as it answers and shows live citations, so breaking-news questions reflect the last few minutes rather than the training cutoff.
- Newest flagship model: Released 21 September 2026 with a 500,000-token context window and reasoning effort from low to xhigh.
- Multi-agent mode: Parallel agents split a hard question into sub-problems and merge their results into one cited answer, with each agent showing its reasoning.
- Grok Bot agent: An always-on agent that handles cloud tasks and automations and is included from the Premium plan up.
- Imagine image and video: Creates pictures to 2K resolution and clips of 15 seconds at 720p from text or reference photos, then edits them with follow-up prompts in the same thread.
- Voice conversations and Voice API: Real-time voice chat in the apps, and a developer Voice API metered at $0.08 per minute for speech to speech; Grok Voice 3.0 shipped on 14 October.
- The X Subscription bundle: One subscription combines Grok, Grok Bot, Cursor and X Premium, with five paid tiers that scale the shared allowance.
Pros
- Searches the web and X live and shows citations, so questions about breaking events get current answers
- One mid-tier plan covers Grok, Grok Bot, Cursor and X Premium, which the vendor says cost $90 a month combined before the bundle
- The flagship API model lists far below the GPT-5.6 Sol and Fable 5.1 token prices in the vendor's own comparison
- Image and video generation sit in the same thread as chat and code, so no second subscription is needed
- The Voice API is metered per minute with no seat fee, which suits prototypes
Cons
- Paid allowances are quoted as multiples of the Plus pool, not message counts, so buyers cannot tell in advance how much Premium holds
- The plan names, bundle and company branding changed several times in 2026 (SuperGrok, then The X Subscription; xAI, then SpaceXAI), so older reviews describe plans that are no longer sold
- History of controversial outputs, including misinformation and antisemitic content, has drawn regulatory and public scrutiny
- Pulling live data from X occasionally introduces errors, especially on fast-moving or disputed social topics
Product Information
- Cloud
- Yes
- Self-Hosted
- No
- On-Premise
- No
- Languages
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, French, German, and 95+ more via Voice Agent API
- Training
- Documentation (docs.x.ai), API Reference, Community Discord, xAI Blog
Data Handling
- Compliance
- SOC 2 (stated by the vendor for Teams and Enterprise · October 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Grok cost in 2026?
Grok is free at $0, then Plus costs $8 a month, Premium $30, Super $100 and Ultra $200 on The X Subscription. Team seats and Enterprise contracts are priced separately. API users pay by the token for the flagship model.
Is Grok free to use?
Yes. The Free plan at grok.com and in the iOS and Android apps allows limited chat and agent requests at no cost. Paid plans add a shared usage pool, Grok Imagine, Build and API access from Plus, and Grok Bot plus cloud agents from Premium. The vendor does not publish a fixed message count for Free.
What are the best alternatives to Grok?
ChatGPT suits teams that want the longest-established integration ecosystem. Gemini fits anyone working inside Google Workspace. Claude is the stronger pick when careful coding and long-form reasoning matter more than live social data. Perplexity is the closer match if sourced research answers are the main job.
Grok or ChatGPT: which should you pick?
Grok searches X and the web live and bundles Cursor and X Premium into one plan, so it fits people who follow fast-moving news or write code daily. ChatGPT has the wider set of third-party connectors and a longer enterprise track record. Choose by whether live social context or integration breadth matters more to you.
How do you get started with Grok?
Open grok.com or install the iOS or Android app, then sign in with an X or email account; no setup is needed beyond that. Upgrading happens in billing settings. Developers create an API key in console.x.ai and call the current flagship model.
Top Alternatives
- ChatGPT: Pick ChatGPT if you want the broadest plugin ecosystem and most widely supported AI assistant integrations.
- Gemini: Pick Gemini if you live inside Google Workspace and need native 1M-token context without switching tools.
- Claude: Choose Claude when precise coding and long-form reasoning matter more than real-time social data.
Hokai guides covering Grok
- ChatGPT vs Grok in 2026: Pricing, Benchmarks and the Trust Gap: Grok vs ChatGPT in 2026: ChatGPT Plus from $20 leads on reasoning and coding, SuperGrok Lite from $10 leads on real-time X data. Benchmarks, moderation, pick.
- How to Choose an AI Assistant: ChatGPT vs Claude vs Copilot vs Grok vs Poe: ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Grok or Poe? Plans and prices read from each vendor on 27 Oct 2026, plus three questions to settle which assistant fits you.
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- ChatGPT Alternatives in 2026: Seven Reasons to Leave and the Pick for Each: ChatGPT alternatives sorted by why you are leaving: writing, Google, sources, privacy, Microsoft, API cost. One pick each, with prices checked 5 Nov 2026.
- Perplexity vs ChatGPT Search in 2026: Which Gives Better Answers?: Perplexity Pro is $17 a month billed annually, ChatGPT Plus is $20. We compare free limits, citations, deep research caps and the browser that is gone.
- Best AI for Coding Unity Games in 2026: Which AI is best for coding Unity games? We compare Unity's own assistant, its free CLI and plugin, Cursor, Copilot and Rider on cost, fit and risk today.