AI subscriptions November 2026 price comparison starts with a warning: if you signed up or renewed in October, you may not get the same thing in November. OpenAI brought GPT-6 to every ChatGPT plan, Google moved free Gemini users to its smallest model, and Anthropic renamed its most expensive Claude plan.
A price check of all four vendors’ plans on November 1, 2026, gives the cleanest snapshot yet. All prices below are US list prices, excluding sales tax. European prices include VAT and run higher.
The $20 tier is where the fight is
The standard plans from all four companies cost about $20 a month, but they unlock very different things:
- ChatGPT Plus, $20. Advanced GPT-6 reasoning models, more Deep Research, projects and scheduled tasks.
- Google AI Pro, $19.99. Access to Gemini 4 Argon, Google’s new top model, rolling out to Pro and Ultra subscribers since October 13.
- Claude Pro, $20, or $17 on annual billing. Claude Code and Claude in Chrome included, but the top model, Fable, costs extra usage credits on this plan.
- Microsoft 365 Premium, $19.99. Copilot plus Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, and 2 TB of shared storage.
Below $20, Google AI Plus costs $4.99 a month — but remember its limits: from November 13, Pro models leave that tier, leaving Flash-Lite and Flash as the selectable models.
Above $20, OpenAI now sells three Pro tiers at $100, $200 and $500 a month, and only the top one adds the Ultrafast versions of GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol. Anthropic’s Claude Max at $100 and Ultra at $200 each bundle monthly Claude Platform API credits of $100 and $200 respectively.
The free tiers moved in opposite directions
ChatGPT Free has had GPT-6 Luna since October 8, like the Go plan, and OpenAI promises unlimited text chats with abuse protection. Gemini went the other way: since October 9, the free version mostly runs on Flash-Lite, the smallest model in the lineup.
Claude Free has limits every five hours and every week, and it leaves out Claude Code and Claude in Chrome entirely. For a freelancer, the free tier that includes the coding tool matters more than the free tier with the biggest model.
The cheapest clearly documented door to the newest ChatGPT generation is Plus at $20. The cheapest per-token route at scale, per API pricing trackers, is Claude Haiku 5.5 at $0.10 input and $0.50 output per million tokens, then Grok 4.7 at $2 and $6.
The evidence: November 1 price table
| Detail | What the source says |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | $20/month; GPT-6 reasoning, Deep Research, projects, scheduled tasks |
| ChatGPT Pro tiers | $100 / $200 / $500; only $500 adds Ultrafast Astra and Sol |
| Google AI Plus | $4.99/month; Pro models leave November 13 |
| Google AI Pro | $19.99/month; Gemini 4 Argon access |
| Claude Pro | $20/month, $17 annual; Code and Chrome included, Fable costs extra credits |
| Claude Max / Ultra | $100 / $200; bundle $100 / $200 monthly API credits |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | $19.99/month; Copilot + Office apps + 2 TB storage |
| ChatGPT Free | $0; GPT-6 Luna since October 8, unlimited text chats with abuse protection |
| Gemini Free | $0; mostly Flash-Lite since October 9 |
| Claude Free | $0; 5-hour and weekly limits, no Code or Chrome |
Usage credits are a separate meter on top of a subscription: extra model use that is billed or capped apart from the monthly fee.
Pick your November plan in 4 questions
1. Do you code? — Claude Pro includes Code; ChatGPT Plus leans on reasoning and projects.
2. Do you live in Office or Google? — Match the plan to the suite you already pay for.
3. Do you need the flagship? — On Claude Pro, Fable costs extra. On ChatGPT, Ultrafast needs $500.
4. Can free do the job? — ChatGPT Free now runs Luna; Gemini Free runs Flash-Lite. Test before paying.
How to profit from it
Confusion about plans is a consulting product. Clarity is the deliverable.
- Sell a stack audit. Most small teams pay for two or three $20 plans. One audit usually cancels one of them.
- Match the plan to the job. Writers, coders and analysts need different flagships. Price the recommendation, not the subscription.
- Track the November 13 cutoff. Google AI Plus users losing Pro models need a migration plan before the date, not after.
- Price API use separately. A subscription and API billing are different meters. Clients who confuse them overspend twice.
- Re-check monthly. Model gating changed three times in October alone. A quarterly re-check is a recurring service.
Sources
Vendor plans checked November 1, 2026, by Notebookcheck and the plan-by-plan mapping at Tech Insider, both citing vendor pricing pages. Check the vendor page for your region before paying, as European prices include VAT.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do the standard AI plans cost in November 2026?
About $20 a month: ChatGPT Plus $20, Google AI Pro $19.99, Claude Pro $20 ($17 annual) and Microsoft 365 Premium $19.99.
What is the cheapest Google plan?
Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month, but Pro models leave that tier on November 13, 2026.
What does ChatGPT Pro $500 add?
The Ultrafast versions of GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol, which the $100 and $200 Pro tiers do not include.
Which free tier is most useful for work?
ChatGPT Free runs GPT-6 Luna with unlimited text chats, while Gemini Free mostly runs Flash-Lite and Claude Free excludes Code and Chrome.
Are these prices the same in Europe?
No. The figures are US list prices excluding sales tax; European prices include VAT and can be noticeably higher.
Does Claude Pro include the top Claude model?
Claude Code and Claude in Chrome are included, but the top model, Fable, costs extra usage credits on Pro.
Keep Reading
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