Grok

Assistant with Web and X search

by xAI

Overview

Grok is a web and mobile assistant at grok.com and on iOS and Android: it chats, takes voice, accepts uploaded files and creates images and video through Imagine. The consumer plans are separate from anything bundled with X, and the current price page lists Free at $0 a month with Web and X search, voice and connectors on restricted use, alongside cards for SuperGrok at $30 a month and Plus at $100 a month, with Plus listing 1080p video and higher usage; the same page also shows Lite, Heavy, Business and Enterprise columns whose current prices and entitlements we could not parse, so $30 should not be read as the minimum paid price, and no annual total was verified.

Paid consumer usage is metered by compute into a shared weekly allowance rather than a fixed number of messages, and extra web credits top up from $5. Uploads have their own limits: about 100 files per message on the web and 20 on Android, most single files up to 150MB, long documents chunked or summarised, and PDFs over 100 pages focused on text and key visuals - so accepting an upload is not the same as reading every page.

Generated images and video carry a watermark with no option to switch it off, and 720p can fall back to 480p once a plan cap is reached. The developer side is billed separately: the model catalogue dated 21 September lists Grok 4.7 with a 500k token context at $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens and a knowledge cutoff of May 2026, and API tools are priced per call or per returned item rather than per search.

Editor's take

Worth considering when your work benefits from checking public Web and X sources. Check the allowance, file handling and output limits of the entry point you will use: paid consumer usage is metered by compute, X-linked entitlements are configured separately, and the developer API has its own billing.

Our reading of who this suits, based on the sources above. Opinion, offered to help you decide - not a lab result.

Direct comparisons

Grok vs ChatGPT

Key Features

Web and mobile chat with Web and X search, file analysis, voice, and image and video creation through Imagine
Free tier at $0 a month with search, voice and connectors on restricted use; a fixed long-term free allowance was not verified this round
SuperGrok $30 a month and Plus $100 a month as listed current cards; Lite, Heavy, Business and Enterprise columns were not parsed, and annual totals were not verified
Paid consumer use is metered by compute into a shared weekly allowance rather than a fixed number of messages, with web top-ups from $5
File limits: about 100 files per message on web, 20 on Android, most single files up to 150MB, long documents chunked or summarised
Developer API: Grok 4.7 with 500k token context at $2 per million input and $6 per million output tokens, on separate billing

Use Cases

Checking public Web and X discussion on a current topic
Analysing uploaded documents and files
Creating images and short video through Imagine
Building on the developer API with separate billing

Pros

✓Web and X search are built into the assistant rather than added on
✓Voice, file analysis and image or video creation sit in the same entry point
✓Separate consumer plans now exist alongside X-linked access, so an X subscription is not the only route

Cons

✕Paid consumer usage is metered by compute, so a fixed number of messages is not published
✕Uploaded long documents are chunked or summarised, and PDFs over 100 pages focus on text and key visuals
✕Generated images and video carry a watermark with no toggle, and 720p can drop to 480p after a plan cap
✕Lite, Heavy, Business and Enterprise plan details and annual totals were not verified in this round

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an X subscription to use Grok?

No. Standalone Grok plans are available, and the current price page lists Free at $0 a month, SuperGrok at $30 and Plus at $100, while X-linked access is a separate route whose entitlements depend on the account. Lite, Heavy, Business and Enterprise columns were on the page but their current prices and benefits did not come through, so check the plan you are buying.

Is paid usage limited by message count?

No. Paid consumer usage is metered by compute into a shared weekly allowance rather than a fixed number of messages, and additional web credits can be topped up from $5. Free use is restricted, and we did not verify a fixed long-term free allowance this round: check the current limit shown in your own account rather than a figure quoted elsewhere.

Can it read a long PDF completely?

Not necessarily. Uploads are limited to about 100 files per message on the web and 20 on Android, with most single files up to 150MB; long documents are chunked or summarised, and PDFs over 100 pages focus on text and key visuals. Treat a successful upload as no guarantee that every page was read in full.

Do generated images and video have a watermark?

Yes. Generated images and video carry a watermark and there is no option in the product to remove it, and 720p output can fall back to 480p once the plan cap is reached. We did not measure output quality.

Is the API included in the consumer plan?

No. The developer API has its own billing and wallet, with Grok 4.7 at $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output in the catalogue dated 21 September, and tools priced per call or per returned item - Web Search at $5 per thousand calls, and X Search at $5 per thousand posts and $10 per thousand profiles. A consumer subscription does not make API calls unlimited.

Is my data used for training, and what happens to my chats?

Consumer and API use follow two different rules. The privacy policy allows consumer data to be used for service improvement and model training, and the privacy portal provides a training opt-out plus access and deletion controls; the API security FAQ states that API input and output are not used for training without explicit permission, with requests and responses encrypted and retained by default for 30 days for audit, and zero data retention as a separate condition. Private Chat is not kept in chat history and is usually deleted within 30 days, with legal, compliance and security exceptions.

How is Grok different from ChatGPT?

Both are assistants with a free tier and a developer API billed separately from the subscription. What these two listings establish: Grok builds Web and X search into the assistant and publishes upload limits - about 100 files per message on the web and 20 on Android, most single files up to 150MB, and PDFs over 100 pages focused on text and key visuals - while ChatGPT documents file uploads and analysis without those figures. Paid consumer use is metered differently as far as each page states it: Grok is metered by compute into a shared weekly allowance rather than a fixed number of messages, and ChatGPT says free access limits vary by model, tool and plan. On price, the current Grok cards list SuperGrok at $30 a month and Plus at $100, against ChatGPT Plus at $20 a month billed monthly, and ChatGPT plan names and prices vary by region. Both state that consumer activity may be used to train models and both provide an opt-out, but the carve-outs differ: ChatGPT adds that Business, Enterprise, Edu and API inputs and outputs are not used for training by default. Compare the plan you are buying rather than the product name.

Key facts and where they come from

PriceNot established: The pricing page lists subscription amounts and billing cadence, and the FAQ distinguishes web/Apple/Google purchase channels. Complete regional currencies, prices and account/channel purchase eligibility remain unestablished.Source: xAI - pricing · Grok - consumer FAQ
AvailabilityNot established: Web/mobile entry points and legal-use restrictions are documented, but a current consumer-product country-distribution and plan eligibility matrix is not established; no worldwide access or reachability is inferred.Source: Grok - overview · Grok - consumer FAQ · grok official grok-terms
Commercial useNot established: The consumer terms preserve content ownership subject to law and require permission/attribution for using Output under the Brand Guidelines. They do not provide blanket commercial-output permission for all plans or actual material; ownership alone is insufficient.Source: grok official grok-terms
Training on your dataDocumented: Without explicit permission, API input and output are not used to train models, and requests and responses are encrypted and retained by default for 30 days for audit before deletion; zero data retention is a separate condition. Consumer data may be used for service improvement and model training, unlike the API FAQ position; this is why the consumer and developer training statements are kept apart on this page. Provides training opt-out, access and deletion controls. Private Chat is not kept in history and is usually deleted within 30 days, with legal, compliance and security exceptions.Source: xAI - API security FAQ · xAI - consumer privacy policy · xAI - privacy portal
API billingDocumented: The developer API has its own wallet and budget rules, separate from any consumer subscription; the amount a chat plan includes does not transfer into API spend.Source: xAI - console billing
Export formatsNot established: The current consumer FAQ describes files/data and billing, but does not establish stable downloadable report/chat file formats and plan/surface eligibility. Data-access controls are not a finished-report export matrix.Source: Grok - consumer FAQ
Usage limitsDocumented: Paid use is metered by compute into a shared weekly allowance rather than fixed message counts, with web top-ups from $5. Files: about 100 per message on web and 20 on Android, most single files 150MB, long documents chunked or summarised, and PDFs over 100 pages focusing on text and key visuals. Images and video carry a watermark with no toggle, and 720p can fall back to 480p at the plan cap. iOS counts, per-tier generation counts and report exports were not obtained as stable public figures.Source: Grok - consumer FAQ

Official sources

The vendor pages we read for the claims on this page, what each one states, and the day we read it.

xAI - pricing ↗
The pricing body lists The X Subscription plans and monthly/annual figures, but a complete country-specific purchasable quote and all web/App Store/Google Play eligibility are not established. Historical registered scope read on 2026-09-23, not rechecked in full on 2026-10-15: Free $0 a month with Web and X search, voice and connectors on restricted use; SuperGrok $30 a month and Plus $100 a month, with Plus listing 1080p video and higher usage and the page listing Grok 4.6. Lite, Heavy, Business and Enterprise columns are present but their current prices and entitlements did not parse, so no annual total and no minimum paid price are published here.
Read on October 15, 2026
Grok - overview ↗
The official overview describes Grok products and web/app entry points, not country-by-country service distribution. Historical registered scope read on 2026-09-23, not rechecked in full on 2026-10-15: The consumer entry points are grok.com and the iOS and Android apps, covering chat, voice, file upload and image or video creation through Imagine. The API and Grok Build or Bot are separate workflows and their abilities should not be attributed to the free chat by default.
Read on October 15, 2026
Grok - consumer FAQ ↗
The FAQ lists billing channels, shared weekly usage and files/data help, but not stable consumer report-download file types by plan. Its API-in-weekly-pool wording is not silently reconciled with the separate Cursor pricing API statement. Historical registered scope read on 2026-09-23, not rechecked in full on 2026-10-15: Paid use is metered by compute into a shared weekly allowance rather than fixed message counts, with web top-ups from $5. Files: about 100 per message on web and 20 on Android, most single files 150MB, long documents chunked or summarised, and PDFs over 100 pages focusing on text and key visuals. Images and video carry a watermark with no toggle, and 720p can fall back to 480p at the plan cap. iOS counts, per-tier generation counts and report exports were not obtained as stable public figures.
Read on October 15, 2026
xAI - developer models ↗
The catalogue dated 21 September lists Grok 4.7 with a 500k token context at $2 per million input and $6 per million output tokens, knowledge cutoff May 2026; live events require the Web and X tools to be enabled. The 500k context is an API model specification, not the PDF capacity of the free chat.
Read on September 23, 2026
xAI - developer tool pricing ↗
Web Search at $5 per thousand calls, and X Search billed per returned item - posts at $5 per thousand and profiles at $10 per thousand - alongside token costs, so a single per-search price does not exist and a chat subscription does not make API calls unlimited.
Read on September 23, 2026
xAI - API security FAQ ↗
Without explicit permission, API input and output are not used to train models, and requests and responses are encrypted and retained by default for 30 days for audit before deletion; zero data retention is a separate condition.
Read on September 23, 2026
xAI - consumer privacy policy ↗
Consumer data may be used for service improvement and model training, unlike the API FAQ position; this is why the consumer and developer training statements are kept apart on this page.
Read on September 23, 2026
xAI - privacy portal ↗
Provides training opt-out, access and deletion controls. Private Chat is not kept in history and is usually deleted within 30 days, with legal, compliance and security exceptions.
Read on September 23, 2026
xAI - console billing ↗
The developer API has its own wallet and budget rules, separate from any consumer subscription; the amount a chat plan includes does not transfer into API spend.
Read on September 23, 2026
grok official grok-terms ↗
Consumer terms retain user content ownership subject to law but require permission and attribution when using Output under Brand Guidelines, plus use restrictions. A blanket free/paid commercial-output permission is not stated.
Read on October 15, 2026

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