The Real Cost of AI Tools: Complete 2025 Pricing Breakdown
Between subscriptions, API costs, and hidden fees, AI can get expensive fast. Here's exactly what you'll pay for every major tool in 2025.
Subscription Tiers Compared
| Tool | Free | Plus/Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | GPT-4o mini | $20/mo (Plus) $200/mo (Pro) | Custom |
| Claude | Sonnet 4.5 (limited) | $20/mo (Pro) $100/mo (Max) | Custom |
| Gemini | Gemini Pro | $20/mo (Advanced) | Custom |
| Grok | None | $25/mo (X Premium+) | API only |
| Perplexity | 5 Pro queries/day | $20/mo | Custom |
| Cursor | 50 requests/mo | $20/mo | $40/seat |
API Pricing (Per Million Tokens)
| Model | Input | Output | $/1K requests* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 3 Pro | $2.00 | $12.00 | $0.28 |
| GPT-5.2 Instant | $2.50 | $10.00 | $0.25 |
| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.36 |
| Claude Opus 4.5 | $5.00 | $25.00 | $0.60 |
| GPT-5.2 Thinking | $15.00 | $60.00 | $1.50 |
| GPT-5.2 Pro | $30.00 | $120.00 | $3.00 |
*Estimated cost per 1,000 typical requests (2K input, 500 output tokens each)
Best Value Recommendations
For Personal Use
Gemini Advanced ($20/mo) gives you Gemini 3 Pro with 1M token context and Google ecosystem integration.
Best value: Most features per dollar
For Developers
Claude Pro ($20/mo) for daily coding, Opus 4.5 API for complex tasks. Budget ~$50/mo total.
Best performance: Highest SWE-bench scores
For Research
Perplexity Pro ($20/mo) for cited research + Gemini for long document analysis.
Best for accuracy: Real-time citations
Free Tier Only
Combine Claude free (Sonnet), Gemini free, and ChatGPT free. Switch based on task.
Best for budget: $0/mo
Hidden Costs to Watch
- Caching disabled: Without caching, you pay for context every request
- Retry charges: Failed API calls still charge for input tokens
- Image inputs: Cost significantly more than text (varies by model)
- Fine-tuning: Training costs are separate from inference
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