Grok Review 2026: Pricing, Features and Verdict

What it is

Grok is the AI assistant built by xAI, which our record lists as SpaceXAI (formerly xAI). It runs on grok.com, in iOS and Android apps published by X Corp and inside X itself. It chats, writes, codes, searches the web and X in real time, talks in voice mode and generates images and video through Grok Imagine.

Its distinguishing trait is the X connection. Grok can read trending posts and live conversations, which no rival assistant can do natively. Its subscriptions also double as X subscriptions, bundling perks such as a checkmark and fewer ads.

Pricing explained

Plan	Price	Usage	Key inclusions
Free	$0	Limited	Limited chat and agent requests
Plus	$8 per month	1x shared pool	Grok Chat, Voice, Imagine and Build, Grok API access, X Premium checkmark
Premium	$30 per month	4x Plus	Latest Grok models, faster responses, image and video creation, Grok Bot, mostly ad free X
Super	$100 per month	15x Plus	Priority model access at peak times
Ultra	$200 per month	50x Plus	Earliest access to products and models
Teams	From $30 per user per month	Pooled	SSO, admin and spend controls
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Contact sales

Grok's ladder has five consumer price points, from $8 to $200. Plus at $8 matches ChatGPT Go on price, but xAI recommends Premium for new AI users, which tells you Plus is mostly an X subscription with some AI attached. Premium at $30 is $10 above ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and Google AI Pro.

The usage multiples are published relative to Plus, not as message counts. The record notes that the usage pool refreshes weekly and is shared with Cursor, so coding use in Cursor and chat use in Grok draw from the same allowance.

The App Store lists in-app purchases from $5 to $300, which covers the subscription tiers and other options. Full plan math is in Grok pricing.

Key features

Live X and web search

Grok searches X and the open web in real time. For breaking news, sports, markets chatter and public reaction to events, this is the main reason to choose it. Results reflect what is being posted, so treat fast moving claims with the same caution you would apply to X itself.

Grok Imagine for images and video

Imagine generates images up to 2K and video clips up to 15 seconds inside the chat. Image and video creation are listed on Premium. On the API, xAI lists Imagine images from $0.02 to $0.05 each and video from $0.02 to $0.08 per second, which gives a sense of the compute behind the consumer limits.

Voice mode

Grok includes a voice conversation mode on its apps.

Build and the Grok API

Plus and higher include Grok Build and Grok API access. On the API, grok-4.7 has a 500K token context window at $2 per 1M input tokens and $6 per 1M output, rising to $4 and $12 when prompts exceed 200K tokens. Grok 4.3 and the 4.20 variants list a 1M token window at lower rates.

Teams

Teams pools usage across users and adds SSO, admin controls and spend controls from $30 per user per month.

What users say

Source	Rating	Reviews
App Store	4.9	1.5 million
G2	4.1	58
Trustpilot	1.4	525

Grok has the highest App Store rating of any assistant we cover, 4.9 from 1.5 million ratings. Business buyers are fewer and cooler: 4.1 on G2 from only 58 reviews, the thinnest base among the major assistants. Trustpilot shows 81% one star reviews, with recurring complaints about unexpected charges and automatic top ups, unanswered support emails, wrong answers on basic tasks and daily video generation limits too tight for serious creative work. A minority praise value for money on video and app building.

App Store reviewers who like it often mention how much detail Grok takes in per question; some iPad users report freezes.

Privacy and security

xAI's privacy policy page did not load for automated access during our October 2026 check, so we could not verify xAI's current rules on training with Grok conversations or its retention periods. Check the data controls in Grok's settings and xAI's privacy policy directly before sharing sensitive material.

What we could verify: Apple's App Store privacy label says the Grok app collects contact info, user ID, device ID and diagnostics linked to your identity, for analytics and app functionality. The app is rated 16+. Teams adds SSO and admin controls; xAI does not list SOC 2 or HIPAA on the plan details in our record.

Because plans are tied to X accounts, your assistant subscription and social identity are linked. If you keep work and social accounts separate, factor that in.

Who it is for

• Heavy X users: live posts and trends in answers.
• Creators: image and 15 second video generation in one subscription.
• Developers who want API access bundled: Plus and up include it.
• Power users who want headroom: Super and Ultra publish clear multiples.

Who should skip it

• Business buyers who need compliance proof: Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity list more certifications. See Perplexity review.
• Researchers who need sourced answers: see Perplexity review.
• People who do not use X: the social perks add little.
• Budget buyers: Premium at $30 costs more than the $20 plans from rivals. See ChatGPT review.

Alternatives

• ChatGPT: the widest tool set at $20, with images.
• Gemini: video generation from $4.99 and 5 TB storage on AI Pro.
• Perplexity: cited web research.
• DeepSeek: free reasoning chat and a cheaper API.
• Claude: long documents and coding.

Verdict

Grok is the right assistant if you live on X or want image and video generation in one chat. Live X search is unique, Imagine is built in, and the usage ladder from $8 to $200 is published in clear multiples.

It falls short on business trust and clarity. G2 has only 58 reviews, Trustpilot complaints center on billing and support, the realistic AI plan costs $30, and we could not verify xAI's current privacy terms. Try Free, move to Premium if live X data matters to your work, and use a different assistant for sensitive business material until xAI's data terms are clear to you.