Which is better, by use
Based on each company's own pricing and help pages, not a hands-on test of answer quality.
| If you want | Grok | ChatGPT | Better fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everyday chat for free | Free plan, within limits | Free plan with GPT-5.6 Luna; unlimited everyday text chats | Both |
| Real-time X (Twitter) search | Included, limited on Free | Not stated | Grok |
| The cheapest paid plan | SuperGrok, $30/mo | Go, $8/mo in the US; Plus, $20/mo | ChatGPT |
| The top model in chat | Grok 4.6 on SuperGrok | GPT-5.6 Sol on paid plans; GPT-6 Pro on Pro and Business | Depends on budget |
| Coding | Grok Build; Grok 4.7 in Cursor and the API | Codex, included from Plus ($20) | Both; Codex is in the $20 Plus plan |
| Image and video generation | Both on SuperGrok; 1080p video on SuperGrok Plus | Image generation on Plus; video not stated | Grok |
| A personal agent | Grok Bot, from $30/mo | dots, from $100/mo (Pro) | Grok on price |
| Desktop apps | Web, iPhone and Android apps listed | Mac and Windows apps, plus iPhone and Android | ChatGPT |
| Fastest replies | Priority access at peak times on SuperGrok Plus ($100) | Astra Ultrafast on Pro $500 only | Not comparable from official data |
| Context window | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
Price
ChatGPT has four steps above Free: Go ($8/mo in the US, localized elsewhere), Plus ($20/mo), and Pro at $100, $200 or $500 a month. Pro $200 is open to new subscribers again, with a lower usage allowance than before; only Pro $500 includes Astra Ultrafast. Plus and Pro are billed monthly; there's no annual plan.
Grok has Free, SuperGrok ($30/mo) and SuperGrok Plus ($100/mo). SpaceXAI's pricing page also lists SuperGrok Lite and SuperGrok Heavy but doesn't show their prices.
Bottom line: ChatGPT is cheaper to start paying for; Grok puts more into its first paid plan.
What each plan adds
ChatGPT: Go gives you 10x Free's messages, file uploads and image creation. Plus adds voice, image generation, file analysis, deep research and Codex. Pro adds OpenAI's most capable Pro model, the dots agent and early access to new tools.
Grok: Free already includes real-time web and X search, voice mode and connectors. SuperGrok adds Grok 4.6, higher limits, Expert, image and video generation and Grok Bot. SuperGrok Plus adds 1080p video, much higher usage and priority access at peak times.
Agents
Each company now sells a personal agent on top of its chatbot. Grok Bot comes with SuperGrok, so the cheapest way in is $30 a month. ChatGPT dots need Pro or Business Premium, so the cheapest way in is $100 a month.
Privacy
Both use your chats to improve their models unless you opt out. On ChatGPT, turn it off in Data Controls. On grok.com, go to Settings → Data → Improve the Model, or use Private Chat, which is never used for training. On X, the setting is under Privacy & Safety.