Grok

What it's good for

• 1

  Researching breaking news and current events with live web and X sources

• 2

  Tracking real-time sentiment and what people are saying on X about a topic

• 3

  Reasoning-heavy analysis on the Grok 4 Heavy tier with long context

• 4

  Running DeepSearch for sourced, multi-step research answers

• 5

  Building AI features into a product through the xAI API

Pricing

• Free

  Rate-limited everyday use

  Free

• SuperGrok Lite

  Higher limits than free

  $10/mo

• SuperGrok

  Full access (or $300 a year)

  $30/mo

• SuperGrok Heavy

  Top Grok 4 Heavy reasoning tier

  $300/mo

• API

  $2.50 per M output tokens

  $1.25/M in

How to use it

Start on the free tier at grok.com, or get Grok bundled cheaply through X Premium if you already pay for it. For anything current, use DeepSearch so the answer pulls from live web and X with sources rather than training data. Move to SuperGrok when you want the Grok 4 Heavy reasoning tier and its 256K context. For product features, grab an API key and meter usage per token.

Pros & cons

Frequently asked questions

• Is Grok free?

  Yes, there is a free tier with rate limits, enough to feel out the model. Paid plans are SuperGrok Lite at $10 a month, SuperGrok at $30 a month (or $300 a year), and SuperGrok Heavy at $300 a month for the top reasoning tier. Grok also comes bundled with X Premium at $8 a month and Premium+ at $40 a month.

• Grok vs ChatGPT: which should I pick?

  ChatGPT is the broader, more polished product with a deep tool ecosystem. Grok's edge is real-time context: search over X and the live web is built in, so it is stronger on breaking events and current sentiment. If you live on X or need up-to-the-minute answers, Grok wins. For general breadth and integrations, ChatGPT still leads.

• What is Grok best for?

  Real-time research on current events, tracking what people are saying on X right now, and reasoning-heavy work on the Grok 4 Heavy tier with its 256K context window. The DeepSearch mode is the standout when you want a sourced answer that pulls from live web and X rather than static training data.

• What is DeepSearch?

  DeepSearch is Grok's agentic research mode. Instead of a single answer, it runs multiple searches across the web and X, reads the results, and returns a synthesized response with sources. It is the feature to reach for when a question needs current information rather than the model's training knowledge.

• Does Grok have an API?

  Yes. The xAI API runs around $1.25 per million input tokens and $2.50 per million output tokens, so you can build Grok into a product or workflow. Route sensitive data deliberately and read the terms before piping production traffic through the endpoint.

More

• xAI API docs
• About xAI

Alternatives to Grok

Other tools we'd consider for the same job.

• ChatGPT

  OpenAI's assistant. Deep tool integration, Advanced Voice, image generation, and the default for most first-time AI users

• Claude

  Anthropic's conversational AI — strong at careful reasoning, long documents, and writing that reads like a human wrote it

• Gemini

  Google's assistant with 1M-token context, native Google Workspace integration, and strong multimodal reasoning

Other Chat & Assistants tools

• Claude

  Anthropic's conversational AI — strong at careful reasoning, long documents, and writing that reads like a human wrote it

• Mistral Le Chat

  EU-sovereign frontier assistant with image gen, a code interpreter, and 40+ connectors. Built for data-residency rules

• DeepSeek

  Free frontier-class chat plus the cheapest serious API on the market, with open weights you can self-host (MIT)

• ChatGPT

  OpenAI's assistant. Deep tool integration, Advanced Voice, image generation, and the default for most first-time AI users