Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT each come with their own model names, plan tiers, and launch prices, and the pages that explain them are written to sell. These guides re-explain that marketing in plain terms: one page per vendor with the current models, plans, tools, and prices, plus one on the files and protocols agents use. I work in Claude and ChatGPT, and I wrote the Gemini guide out of curiosity rather than use. The “Last checked” date on each guide is the day its numbers were last compared against the vendor’s own pages, and the changelog at the bottom says what moved. Below the guides, two tables put Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT side by side on API prices and subscriptions.
AI model API pricing, side by side
Per million tokens, standard rate, paid tier, sorted by input price. A footnote marks a launch price with an end date or a rate that changes above a token threshold.
| Model | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-6 Luna | $0.10 | $0.50 |
| Claude Haiku 5.5 | $0.10a | $0.50a |
| Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | $0.25 | $1.50 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | $0.30 | $2.50 |
| Gemini 3.6 Flash | $0.75b | $3.75b |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.75b | $3.75b |
| Gemini 4 Argon | $2.00c | $10.00c |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | $2.00 | $10.00 |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | $2.00 | $10.00 |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro | $2.00d | $12.00d |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $4.00 | $20.00 |
| GPT-6 Astra | $10.00 | $50.00 |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | $10.00 | $50.00 |
- a For prompts up to 100k tokens; $0.50 / $2.50 above that.
- b Launch pricing through December 31, 2026; $1.50 / $7.50 from January 1, 2027.
- c Launch pricing through November 30, 2026; $4.00 / $20.00 from December 1.
- d Gemini 3.1 Pro rises to $4.00 / $18.00 above 200k tokens of input.
Sources, checked October 21, 2026: Gemini API pricing, Claude API pricing, and OpenAI API pricing.
AI subscriptions, side by side
US prices per month. The headline limit is what each vendor’s own page leads with, in that vendor’s units, so use it to compare a vendor’s tiers to each other, not one vendor to another.
| Tier | Plan | Price/mo | Headline limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Gemini without a plan | $0 | Standard limits, 32k context, Auto picks the model |
| Free | Claude Free | $0 | Base usage with Sonnet and Haiku; no Opus |
| Free | ChatGPT Free | $0 | Unlimited text chats with GPT-6; most else limited |
| Entry | Google AI Plus | $4.99 | 2x the free limits, 128k context |
| Entry | ChatGPT Go | $8 | More messages, uploads, and images; may include ads |
| Pro | Google AI Pro | $19.99 | 4x the free limits, 1M context, Gemini 4 Argon |
| Pro | Claude Pro | $20 | At least 5x Free per 5-hour session; Claude Code included |
| Pro | ChatGPT Plus | $20 | Expanded messages and uploads; reasoning models |
| Top | Google AI Ultra | $99.99 or $199.99 | 5x or 20x Pro |
| Top | Claude Max | $100 or $200 | 5x or 20x Pro, plus the same amount in monthly API credits |
| Top | ChatGPT Pro | From $100 | Three usage tiers; the page prices only the lowest |
Anthropic skips the entry tier, so there is nothing between Claude Free and $20. Claude Pro is $17 a month on the annual plan, billed $200 up front. ChatGPT Pro’s page says “from $100” and “your choice of 3 usage tiers” without pricing the other two.
Sources, checked October 21, 2026: Google AI plans and the Gemini Apps limits page for the free tier, Claude pricing and the Max plan help page for the 20x price, and ChatGPT pricing.