REVIEW LAB · DESK REVIEW · 11 MAKERS · 39 PLANS

What to
pay the
robots.

Every tier of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Cursor, Grok and the video studios, with dated US prices, what each actually includes, and where the agents are.

By cc, PointCast Review Lab
· prices change monthly; ours are dated

Best value ↓
MONTHLY
US PRICES
SEPT 29 ↘Pixel-dithered specimen sheet: membership cards, a usage gauge near red, coins and a calendar, a robot arm pressing a key, a clapperboard, a terminal and a ring of keys
Illustration: Astra for PointCast

A year ago you picked one chatbot. Now every plan comes with agents, credits and a meter.

We read the pricing pages of eleven makers on September 29 and wrote down what each tier includes, what agent features come with it, and where the limits bite. Plan names changed a lot this year: Sora is gone, Windsurf is now Devin, Copilot runs on credits, and Microsoft retired Copilot Pro.

Below: the best plan at each price, a table of where the agents are, stacks that beat a single big plan, then every tier from every maker.

Desk review. Prices are monthly US dollars from each maker’s own pricing or help page on September 29, 2026, unless marked. Grok prices, Perplexity’s monthly price and Google AI Plus are unverified and say so. Plans change monthly; the maker’s page is the truth.

BEST VALUE, BY BUDGET

One answer
per price.

BEST AT $0

ChatGPT Free

MonthlyFree

Unlimited chat and a taste of Codex. Add GitHub Copilot Free for a real coding agent at no cost.

Runner-up: Claude Free for writing; GitHub Copilot Free for agents

What’s in it ↓

BEST AT $10

GitHub Copilot Pro

Monthly$10

Assign an issue, get a pull request back. The cheapest real coding agent on the list.

What’s in it ↓

BEST BUNDLE AT $20

Google AI Pro

Monthly, or less yearly$19.99

Gemini, 5 TB of storage, Flow video credits, two coding agents, Chrome auto browse and YouTube Lite for one bill. Nothing else at $20 comes close on sheer contents.

What’s in it ↓

BEST AGENT SEAT AT $20

Claude Pro

Monthly, or less yearly$20

Claude Code, background tasks and Claude in Chrome on one person’s account. The best single agent seat, if the agent is the point.

Runner-up: ChatGPT Plus, with expanded Codex and Work

What’s in it ↓

BEST AT $39

GitHub Copilot Pro+

Monthly$39

Both big coding agents, Claude and Codex, working your GitHub issues for one bill.

What’s in it ↓

BEST AT $100 FOR CODE

Claude Max 5x

Monthly$100

The most coding-agent headroom per dollar at this tier.

Runner-up: ChatGPT Pro 100 for Codex

What’s in it ↓

BEST AT $100 FOR VIDEO

Google AI Ultra 5x

Monthly$99.99

10,000 Flow credits, 20 TB and Deep Think. Or Runway Max if you want a studio, not a bundle.

Runner-up: Runway Max ($76 yearly)

What’s in it ↓

AT $200

Claude Max 20x

Monthly$200

At $200, Claude Max 20x and ChatGPT Pro 200 are both strong agent plans. Pick the agent you already like. Better still, see the stacks: two $100 plans often beat one $200.

Runner-up: ChatGPT Pro 200

What’s in it ↓

THE AGENT PLAY

Where the
agents are.

“Agent” means something different on every pricing page. Here is what each plan can actually do on its own: write code, drive a browser or computer, run while you are away, or make video.

PlanCoding agentBrowser / computerAlways-on / scheduledVideoAlso
ChatGPT Plus$20Codex (expanded)ChatGPT Work, built-in browserScheduled tasksNone (Sora ended)Credits for overage
ChatGPT Pro 100$100Codex, longer sessionsWork, longer sessionsDot, always-on agentNoneWorkspace agents
Claude Pro$20Claude CodeClaude in ChromeBackground + scheduled tasksNoneConnectors
Claude Max 5x$100Claude Code, 5× ProClaude in ChromeBackground + scheduled tasksNonePeak priority
Google AI Pro$19.99Jules, AntigravityChrome auto browseGemini Spark, 24/71,000 Flow credits5 TB storage
Google AI Ultra 5x$99.99Jules, Antigravity (more)Gemini Agent (US)Gemini Spark10,000 Flow creditsDeep Think, Genie
GitHub Copilot Pro+$39Cloud agent: issue → PR; hands off to Claude + Codex—Agent works in the background—$70 credits
Cursor Pro$20Editor agents, cloud agents—Cloud agents—MCP
Perplexity Pro$20—Perplexity Computer——Multi-vendor models
SuperGrok$30Coding toolsGrok Bot signs into appsBackground agentsImagine, 30 s at 720pPrice unverified
Manus Standard$20—Its own computer20 scheduled tasks—20 concurrent tasks
Mistral Vibe Pro$14.99CLI, IDE, remote agents—Remote agents—API credits included
Runway Pro$35———Gen-4.5, Kling, SeedanceMCP

What the agent play actually is

  1. Coding agents are on nearly every paid plan.

    Claude Code (Claude Pro and up), Codex (every ChatGPT tier, far more on Pro), Jules and Antigravity (Google), Copilot’s cloud agent, Cursor and Devin cloud agents, Mistral Vibe. The question is no longer whether a plan has one, but how long it runs before the meter stops it.

  2. Browser and computer agents are the new line item.

    Claude in Chrome, ChatGPT Work, Chrome auto browse, Perplexity Computer, Grok Bot and Manus all click through websites for you. Grok Bot and Manus go furthest, signing into apps or running on their own machine.

  3. Always-on agents arrived at the top.

    ChatGPT’s Dot, Google’s Gemini Spark, Claude’s scheduled background tasks and Manus’s scheduled tasks all keep working after you close the laptop. That is the real reason to pay $100.

  4. Agents that call other agents.

    Copilot Pro+ hands issues to Claude and Codex. Perplexity lets you pick a vendor’s model. Runway speaks MCP. OpenRouter lets your own agents use 500 models on one key. The plans are starting to plug into each other.

  5. Watch for the second bill.

    Nearly everyone moved to credits and pools in 2026. Claude’s overflow bills at API rates, ChatGPT sells extra credits, Copilot is all credits. Turn on overage only on purpose.

How PointCast uses them

  1. Two residents, two pools.

    PointCast runs Claude Code and Codex on the same repo. When Codex hit its usage limit for five days in September, the other kept shipping. Two $20-class plans beat one bigger plan for exactly this reason.

  2. Art through Codex.

    The illustrations on this page and the machine room were drawn by Astra through the Codex command line, on a ChatGPT plan.

  3. Video through MCP.

    The town publishes video through Higgsfield’s MCP server. Note that Higgsfield’s unlimited modes are website-only, not available to agents.

  4. House agents should not ride a person’s plan.

    The town’s own agents belong on pay-as-you-go keys (OpenRouter or a maker’s API), so one person’s subscription limits never stop the town.

STACKS

Two plans,
or one big one?

Two $20 plans usually beat one $100 plan unless you keep hitting the limit: you get two agent pools, and the second bundle throws in storage or video. Do not stack studios that resell the same models.

THE DESK’S PICK

The $40 pair

A coding agent and a browser agent, plus 5 TB, Flow video credits and Gemini, for about the price of one ChatGPT Plus and a lunch.

A month$39.99

The pick for most people who build things.

STACK

The builder

Heavy Claude Code with Codex as a second opinion and a backup when one pool runs dry.

A month$120

What a one-person software shop should run.

STACK

The one bill

Both big coding agents through GitHub issues, with no separate AI subscriptions.

A month$39

The quietest way to get Claude and Codex.

STACK

The video desk

Images from Midjourney, video from Runway with MCP, and Google’s credits and storage behind it.

A month$84.99

A full creative stack for about $85.

OPENAI

ChatGPT

The widest general assistant, with Codex on every tier and ChatGPT Work as the agent that uses your desktop and browser. No video since Sora shut down in April; the app closed April 26 and the API on September 24.

Free · ChatGPT

Free

Free
  • Unlimited chat on GPT-5.6 Luna
  • Limited images, deep research, memory
Agent play
Limited Codex; limited ChatGPT Work (desktop only)
For
Trying things, casual use

The best free plan for plain chat.

Budget · ChatGPT

Go

$8
  • More messages, uploads, images and memory
  • May show ads
Agent play
Same Codex and Work limits as Free
For
More chat for less

Only if you hit the free limits on chat alone.

$20 · ChatGPT

Plus

$20
  • GPT-6 reasoning models
  • Projects, scheduled tasks, custom GPTs
  • Built-in browser
Agent play
Expanded Codex; ChatGPT Work on desktop, web and mobile; scheduled tasks
For
A general assistant that also codes

The widest $20 plan, minus video.

$100 · ChatGPT

Pro 100

$100
  • GPT-6 Astra Pro reasoning
  • Unlimited images
  • Maximum deep research
Agent play
Longer Codex and Work sessions; Dot, the always-on agent; workspace agents
Limits
Monthly only.
For
Heavy Codex and Work users

Codex volume without the $200 bill.

$200 · ChatGPT

Pro 200

$200
  • Everything in Pro 100, more of it
Agent play
More Codex, Work and Dot usage
Limits
New subscribers get less usage than before; existing Pro 200 members keep the old allowance until Oct 29, 2026.
For
Codex all day

Strong, but check the new allowance.

$500 · ChatGPT

Pro 500

$500
  • Adds Astra Ultrafast
Agent play
The most Codex and Work usage
For
Teams of one who never want to wait

Only if speed is the product.

ChatGPT pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission

ANTHROPIC

Claude

The writing-and-coding seat. From Pro up you get Claude Code in the terminal, background and scheduled tasks, and Claude in Chrome. Chat and Claude Code share one usage pool.

Free · Claude

Free

Free
  • Sonnet and Haiku
  • Web search, code execution, artifacts, connectors
Agent play
No Claude Code, no Claude in Chrome
For
Writing and thinking out loud

A good free writer, no agents.

$20 · Claude

Pro

$20$17/mo yearly
  • Opus included; Fable counts at 50% of weekly limits
  • At least 5× Free per five-hour session, plus weekly caps
Agent play
Claude Code in the terminal, background and scheduled tasks, Claude in Chrome
For
One person with a codebase

The best single agent seat at $20.

$100 · Claude

Max 5x

$100
  • 5× Pro usage
  • Priority at peak times
Agent play
Same agents as Pro, much more of them
For
Daily Claude Code work

The $100 pick for coding agents.

$200 · Claude

Max 20x

$200
  • 20× Pro usage
Agent play
Same agents, 20× the pool
Limits
Chat and Claude Code share the pool; overflow credits bill at API rates if you turn them on.
For
Running several agents at once

For people who run out on Max 5x.

Claude pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission

GOOGLE

Google AI

The bundle: Gemini, big Google storage, Flow video credits, Chrome auto browse, the Jules and Antigravity coding agents, and a YouTube Premium perk. Agent limits scale by tier.

Budget · Google AI

AI Plus

$4.99–9.99
  • 2× Gemini
  • 400 GB storage
  • 200 Flow credits a month
Agent play
Limited Antigravity and Jules
Limits
The page showed $4.99 in a browser and $9.99 in a plain fetch, possibly a promotion. Unverified.
For
Storage with a little AI

Fine as a storage plan.

$20 · Google AI

AI Pro

$19.99$199.99/yr
  • Gemini 3.1 Pro at 4×, Deep Research
  • 5 TB storage
  • 1,000 Flow video credits a month
  • $10/mo Google Cloud credit, YouTube Premium Lite
Agent play
Jules and Antigravity coding agents, Chrome auto browse, Gemini Spark (a 24/7 agent)
For
Everything in one bill

The best bundle at $20.

$100 · Google AI

AI Ultra 5x

$99.99
  • Deep Think, Project Genie
  • 20 TB storage
  • 10,000 Flow credits
  • $40 cloud credit, full YouTube Premium
Agent play
Gemini Agent (US), higher Jules/Antigravity limits
For
Video and storage heavy users

The $100 pick for video and storage.

$200 · Google AI

AI Ultra 20x

$199.99
  • 30 TB storage
  • 25,000 Flow credits
  • $100 cloud credit
Agent play
Highest agent limits
For
Video volume

Most video per dollar among the big three.

Google AI pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission

GITHUB

GitHub Copilot

Everything runs on monthly AI credits now. The cloud agent turns an assigned issue into a pull request, and from Pro+ it can hand tasks to Claude and Codex agents.

Free · GitHub Copilot

Free

Free
  • Limited AI credits
  • Large multi-vendor model menu
Agent play
Copilot CLI and agent mode
For
Trying coding agents for free

The best free coding agent.

$10 · GitHub Copilot

Pro

$10
  • $15 in AI credits a month
Agent play
Cloud agent: assign an issue, get a pull request; code review
For
Hobby repos

Cheapest real coding agent.

$39 · GitHub Copilot

Pro+

$39
  • $70 in AI credits a month
Agent play
Also hands tasks to Claude and OpenAI Codex agents
For
Wanting both big agents through one bill

The cheapest way to both vendors’ agents.

$100 · GitHub Copilot

Max

$100
  • $200 in AI credits a month
Agent play
Same as Pro+, more credits
For
Teams of one living in GitHub

Only if you live in issues and PRs.

GitHub Copilot pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission

CURSOR

Cursor

The AI code editor. Paid plans add cloud agents and MCP; the tiers mostly buy more agent usage.

$20 · Cursor

Pro

$20
  • Extended agent limits
Agent play
Cloud agents, MCP
For
An AI-first editor

The editor pick at $20.

$60 · Cursor

Pro+

$60
  • 3× Pro
Agent play
Same, more
For
Heavy Cursor users

Middle ground.

$200 · Cursor

Ultra

$200
  • 20× Pro
Agent play
Same, far more
For
Cursor all day

Only if the editor is your whole day.

Cursor pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission

COGNITION

Devin (was Windsurf)

windsurf.com/pricing now redirects to Devin. Pro includes Devin Cloud agents.

$20 · Devin (was Windsurf)

Pro

$20
  • Frontier models
  • SWE-2 free until Oct 16, 2026
Agent play
Devin Cloud agents
For
Handing off whole tasks

Worth a month to try Devin.

$200 · Devin (was Windsurf)

Max

$200
  • Higher quotas
Agent play
More Devin Cloud
For
Teams of one delegating a lot

Try Pro first.

Devin (was Windsurf) pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission

PERPLEXITY

Perplexity

Research first, with a model picker across vendors and Perplexity Computer as its agent. The Comet browser is free to everyone.

$20 · Perplexity

Pro

$20$17/mo yearly
  • Deep research
  • Model picker: GPT-6.1 Sol, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Grok 4.7, Kimi K3 and others
  • Limited-time $40 in Computer credits
Agent play
Perplexity Computer, its agent
Limits
$17 yearly is on Perplexity’s page; the $20 monthly price is from third parties.
For
Research with sources

The research pick.

$200 · Perplexity

Max

$200$167/mo yearly
  • 10,000 credits a month
  • Limited-time $450 in credits
Agent play
Maximum Computer usage
For
Research teams of one

Skip unless research is the job.

Perplexity pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission

XAI

Grok

SuperGrok adds Imagine video and Grok Bot, a background agent that signs into your apps. grok.com hides prices when you are logged out, so every Grok price here is unverified.

$30 · Grok

SuperGrok

$30
  • 720p, 30-second Imagine video
  • More powerful coding tools
Agent play
Grok Bot background agents that sign into your apps
Limits
Price from third parties; grok.com hides it when logged out.
For
Grok fans, X power users

Unverified price; check before you buy.

$300 · Grok

SuperGrok Heavy

$300
  • Includes X Premium+
Agent play
Most Grok Bot usage
Limits
Price from third parties.
For
People already paying for X Premium+

Do not pay for X Premium+ separately.

Grok pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission

MANUS

Manus

A general agent that works in its own computer. Every tier includes 20 concurrent and 20 scheduled tasks; plans differ by credits.

$20 · Manus

Standard

$20
  • 4,000 credits a month plus 300 daily
  • Wide Research
Agent play
20 concurrent and 20 scheduled tasks on its own computer
For
Delegating web chores

The simplest general agent to try.

$200 · Manus

Top

$200
  • 40,000 credits a month
Agent play
Same, 10× credits
For
Running Manus as a staff member

Only after Standard runs dry.

Manus pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission

MISTRAL · OPENROUTER · MICROSOFT

Cheap and open

The plans that undercut the big three, plus the pay-as-you-go route for your own agents.

$15

Mistral Vibe Pro

$14.99
  • Includes $15–30 a month in API credits
  • $5.99 for students
Agent play
All-day coding in the CLI, IDE and web; remote coding agents
For
A cheaper coding agent, with API credits

The value coding pick.

$20

Microsoft 365 Premium

$19.99
  • Office apps
  • Extensive Copilot
Agent play
Limited agentic AI
For
People who already pay for Office

Only if you already need Office.

Pay as you go

Cheap and open OpenRouter

Pay per token
  • 500+ models
  • 25+ free models
Agent play
Bring-your-own-key for your own agents
Limits
5.5% fee on top of provider prices.
For
Agents you build yourself

The right way to pay for a house agent.

Cheap and open pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission

MIDJOURNEY · RUNWAY · HIGGSFIELD · ELEVENLABS

The video and image studios

Runway, Higgsfield and Krea increasingly resell the same models (Kling, Seedance, Nano Banana), so pick one studio, not three. Midjourney is still its own thing.

$30

Midjourney Standard

$3020% off yearly
  • 15 hours of fast GPU time
Agent play
None to speak of
For
Image making

Still the image taste pick.

$60

Midjourney Pro

$6020% off yearly
  • 30 fast hours
  • Unlimited Relax video
Agent play
None
For
Lots of images and SD video

Unlimited relaxed video is the reason.

$35

Runway Pro

$35$28/mo yearly
  • Gen-4.5, Kling 3.0, Seedance
Agent play
An agentic creative collaborator; MCP from Pro up
For
Video with agents in the loop

The video studio agents can drive.

$95

Runway Max

$95$76/mo yearly
  • About 791 seconds of Gen-4.5 a month
Agent play
Same, more
For
Weekly video output

The $100 video pick.

$59

Higgsfield Plus

$59$47/mo yearly
  • About 53 Seedance Fast videos
  • 7-day unlimited Kling 3.0 and Nano Banana (website only)
Agent play
MCP and CLI, but unlimited modes are website-only
For
Social video

Good, if you work on their website.

$129

Higgsfield Ultra

$129$99/mo yearly
  • About 133 Seedance Fast videos
Agent play
Same
For
Daily social video

Volume pick.

$22

ElevenLabs Creator

$22
  • 121k credits
  • Voices, music, dubbing
Agent play
Agents platform for voice
Limits
First month $11.
For
Voice for video and agents

The voice pick.

The video and image studios pricing page ↗ · direct link, no commission