Grok Review
Reviewed by Carlos Gil · Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Updated 8 min readEditorially reviewed
Quick facts
- Starting price
- Free; Plus $8/mo ($80/yr)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- Heavy X users who want an assistant with live X and web search, and people who want Grok, Cursor and X Premium on one bill
- Platforms
- Web (grok.com), iOS, Android, Grok on X, Microsoft 365 add-ins, Tesla vehicles (supported models), API
BestStacked Score
Weighted average of 5 categories. Methodology below.
Quick answer
Is Grok worth it in 2026?
Grok is worth a look if you spend time on X: it can search live X posts and the web, it's built into the X apps, and the free tier includes daily access to chat, image and video generation and voice. Paid usage now comes through The X Subscription, launched October 12, 2026: Plus costs $8 a month, Premium $30, Super $100 and Ultra $200, each with a shared Grok and Cursor usage pool and X Premium benefits. xAI says Grok 4.5 powers the Grok apps; Grok 4.7 is its newest API model. Grok 3 is no longer current and was retired from the API on May 15, 2026.
- Cheapest paid plan
- Plus at $8/mo or $80/yr: more Grok and Cursor usage, plus an X checkmark, creator tools and fewer ads. Grok Bot starts on Premium ($30/mo).
- Current models
- Grok 4.5 in the Grok apps and on X (xAI, July 22, 2026); Grok 4.7 is the newest API model (September 21, 2026).
- Who makes it
- xAI, the company Elon Musk co-founded in 2023. SpaceX acquired xAI on February 2, 2026; its legal terms now name SpaceXAI LLC.
- Watch out for
- Consumer chats and, through X, public posts and Grok interactions can be used for training unless you opt out. Business and API data isn't used for training, per xAI's enterprise terms.
The Verdict
Grok's clearest advantage is its connection to X: it can search live X posts alongside the web, it sits inside the X apps, and paid plans now bundle X Premium benefits with Grok and Cursor usage. The free tier is broad, with daily access to chat, image and video generation, voice and coding. The weak spots are clarity and controls. xAI changed its plans on the day this review was written, several of its own pages still describe the older SuperGrok and X Premium plans, and the model that powers the consumer app (Grok 4.5, per xAI's July announcement) isn't the newest model xAI sells on its API (Grok 4.7). Consumer chats and, via X, public posts can be used for training unless you opt out, though business and API data is excluded under xAI's enterprise terms. For general work, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini have higher BestStacked scores; Grok fits best if X is central to how you work. We score it 8.0/10.
Best for
People who live on X and want an assistant that can pull live posts into answers, and users who would otherwise pay separately for X Premium and an AI coding tool.
Skip if
You need an assistant for brand or client work with predictable plan terms and mature admin tooling, or you don't use X.
AlternativesChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity
The Background
What Is Grok?
Grok is an AI assistant made by xAI, the AI company Elon Musk co-founded and announced in July 2023. xAI's own announcements describe Musk as its cofounder and CEO. SpaceX acquired xAI on February 2, 2026, and xAI's current terms name SpaceXAI LLC, based in Austin, Texas, as the provider; its website also uses the brand SpaceXSI. Grok runs on grok.com, in iOS and Android apps, inside X through the Grok icon, in Microsoft 365 through add-ins and in supported Tesla vehicles. xAI's privacy policy says it is a separate company from X Corp. On July 22, 2026, xAI said Grok 4.5 powers Grok on grok.com, X and the mobile apps. Its newest model, Grok 4.7, launched on September 21, 2026 for the API, Cursor and cloud platforms. Developers can also call Grok models through xAI's API.
The Product
Grok Features: What You Actually Get
Live X and web search
Grok can decide to search public X posts and run a real-time web search when it answers, according to X's help center. That makes it suited to questions about what people are posting right now, though xAI's own terms warn that outputs can contain errors.
A social media manager asks Grok what people on X are saying about a product launch this morning, then checks the linked posts.
Grok inside X
Grok is available through the Grok icon in X on iOS, Android and the web, so X users can ask about a post or thread without leaving the app. xAI's announcement says the shared usage pool covers the Grok tab on X as well as the Grok apps.
A reporter opens Grok from a trending post to get background on the topic before writing.
Grok Imagine (images and video)
xAI's Grok page lists image generation up to 2K and text-to-video up to 15 seconds at 720p. xAI's docs say Imagine outputs carry a Grok watermark that can't be removed. The legacy SuperGrok page lists 30-second video, so length may depend on the plan.
A creator generates a short concept clip for a post, knowing the watermark will stay on the file.
Voice, memory and Canvas
Grok lists voice conversations, file and PDF analysis, memory across chats, Canvas, custom instructions and shareable chats. Companions are available on the iOS app only, according to xAI's docs.
A founder talks through a pitch outline by voice, then asks Grok to turn it into a document in Canvas.
Grok Bot, Grok Build and Cursor
Paid X Subscription plans share one usage pool across Grok and Cursor, Anysphere's AI code editor, and include Grok Bot from Premium up. xAI says each plan includes at least twice as much coding usage with its models as the comparable Cursor plan. Third-party models in Cursor are billed separately at API list prices.
A developer on Premium uses Grok for research during the day and Grok models in Cursor for coding, from the same allowance.
API with Grok 4.7
xAI's API lists grok-4.7 at $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens with a 500,000-token context window; prompts of 200,000 tokens or more are billed at double rates. grok-4.3 costs $1.25 and $2.50 with a 1M-token window. Web search via the API costs $5 per 1,000 calls.
A developer tests grok-4.7 on a coding agent, and switches routine classification calls to the cheaper grok-4.3.
Feature recap
- Live X and web search in answers
- Built into the X apps on iOS, Android and web
- Image generation up to 2K and video up to 15 seconds at 720p (Imagine)
- Voice, file analysis, memory across chats and Canvas
- Shared Grok and Cursor usage pool on paid X Subscription plans
- Grok 4.5 in the apps; Grok 4.7 on the API
The Numbers
Grok Pricing: Every Plan Explained
On October 12, 2026, xAI launched The X Subscription, one plan covering Grok, Grok Bot, Cursor and X Premium, and says it is rolling it out globally over the following days. It's available to new customers from launch; existing SuperGrok, Cursor and X Premium subscribers can keep their plans or switch with a prorated refund. Usage on paid plans comes from one pool shared across Grok and Cursor. Prices below are from xAI's pricing docs and announcement, checked October 12, 2026, and exclude tax.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Included Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Daily access to Grok Chat, Imagine, Voice and Build, a starter allowance for Cursor's coding agents, and standard X | Trying Grok |
| PlusBest value | $8/mo | $80/yr ($7/mo) | Base usage pool across Grok and Cursor, X checkmark, creator tools and fewer ads. No Grok Bot; not available for teams | X users who want more Grok |
| Premium | $30/mo | $300/yr ($25/mo) | 4x Plus usage and Grok Bot. xAI describes it as the benefits of SuperGrok, Cursor Pro and X Premium+, previously $90/mo combined | Daily Grok and Cursor users |
| Super | $100/mo | $1,000/yr ($84/mo) | 15x Plus usage and everything in Premium | Heavy users |
| Ultra | $200/mo | $2,000/yr ($167/mo) | 50x Plus usage and everything in Premium | The heaviest Grok and Cursor users |
| Teams | $30, $100 or $200/seat/mo | — | Premium, Super or Ultra seats at individual prices, mixable; xAI lists SSO, admin controls, consolidated billing, usage analytics and SOC 2 compliance. Enterprise is quoted | Teams standardizing on Grok and Cursor |
| API (grok-4.7) | $2 input / $6 output per 1M tokens | Cached input $0.50 per 1M | 500K-token context; prompts of 200K+ tokens billed at $4 / $12. grok-4.3 is $1.25 / $2.50 with a 1M-token context | Developers |
Plus at $8 a month is the cheapest way into paid Grok, and it's the same price as X Premium's listed monthly price, so for many X Premium users the question is whether to switch. Premium at $30 is where Grok Bot and the latest models start, and xAI positions it against paying separately for SuperGrok, Cursor Pro and X Premium+. Super and Ultra only make sense if you exhaust Premium's pool. Existing X Premium tiers are still listed on X's help center at starting prices of $3 (Basic), $8 (Premium) and $40 (Premium+) a month on the web, with local pricing in other regions, but X says X Premium is now part of The X Subscription. In the API row, the Monthly column shows standard per-token rates and the Annual column shows the cached-input rate, because the API has no subscription.
Models
Which Grok model is current, and what happened to Grok 3
Consumer app: on July 22, 2026, xAI said Grok 4.5 now powers Grok on grok.com, X and the iOS and Android apps, calling it its most capable model at the time. We found no later xAI post moving the app to a newer model, and xAI's Grok page doesn't name one.
API: Grok 4.7, released September 21, 2026, is the newest model on xAI's models page, which describes it as its frontier model for coding, agentic tasks and knowledge work. The API also lists grok-4.6, grok-4.5, grok-4.3, grok-4.20 and grok-build-0.1, plus Grok Imagine image and video models and voice models.
Grok 3: xAI released Grok 3 as a beta in February 2025 and called it its most advanced model at the time. It is no longer current. xAI retired grok-3 from its API on May 15, 2026; calls to the old name are now served by grok-4.3 and billed at grok-4.3 prices. We found no official page offering Grok 3 in the consumer app today.
Privacy
How Grok and X use your data
Grok apps and grok.com: xAI's privacy policy (updated October 11, 2026) says user content can be used to develop its services, including to train its models, and its terms say logged-in users can choose whether their content is used for training. Private Chat conversations don't appear in history and are deleted within 30 days, as are deleted chats and accounts, unless xAI must keep them for legal, compliance or safety reasons.
Grok on X: X's help center says X may share your public X data and your interactions, inputs and results with Grok on X with xAI to train and fine-tune Grok. To opt out, go to Settings, Privacy & Safety, Data sharing and personalization, Grok & Third-party Collaborators, and turn off data sharing. A private account also keeps your posts out of training. X notes that feedback you submit with the thumbs buttons can still be used.
Business and API: xAI's enterprise terms (updated August 14, 2026) say it won't use customer content to train foundation models, subject to customer settings, and the SuperGrok Business listing says it is excluded from training by default.
Law and age: the consumer terms are governed by Texas law. Users must be 13 or older, and 13 to 17-year-olds need a parent's permission.
Read before you buy
Where xAI's and X's own pages disagree
Plans: xAI's pricing page shows only The X Subscription, while its Grok page still says Get SuperGrok and grok.com/supergrok still lists SuperGrok, SuperGrok Heavy and SuperGrok Business ($30 per seat). The X Subscription announcement says those older plans are no longer open to new sign-ups.
Premium+ wording: X's help center says Premium+ ($40 a month) includes SuperGrok access, while xAI says the new $30 Premium plan includes the benefits of SuperGrok, Cursor Pro and X Premium+.
Video length: xAI's Grok page lists 15-second videos at 720p, while the SuperGrok page lists 30-second video.
Company name: xAI's terms name SpaceXAI LLC, its site uses SpaceXSI, and X's help pages and xAI's docs still say xAI.
The Tradeoffs
Grok Pros and Cons
What we love
- Searches live X posts and the web in answers
- Built into the X apps, plus web, iOS and Android
- Free tier includes chat, Imagine, voice and a coding allowance
- Paid plans bundle Grok, Cursor and X Premium benefits from $8 a month
- Business and API data excluded from training under xAI's enterprise terms
What could be better
- Plans changed on October 12, 2026, and several official pages still describe the old ones
- The consumer app runs Grok 4.5 per xAI; the newest model, Grok 4.7, launched for the API and Cursor
- Consumer chats and, via X, public posts can be used for training unless you opt out
- Grok Bot and the latest models start at Premium ($30/mo)
- Imagine outputs carry a watermark that can't be removed
- xAI's terms warn that outputs can contain hallucinations
The Audience
Who Should Use Grok?
Best for: heavy X users
If you already follow news, markets or your niche on X, Grok's live X search and its place inside the X apps make it the most direct way to ask questions about what's being posted.
Best for: people paying for X Premium and a coding tool
The X Subscription puts X Premium benefits, Grok and Cursor usage in one plan; Premium at $30 replaces what xAI says used to cost $90 a month across three subscriptions.
Skip if: you need predictable terms for client work
Plans and page details were still changing on the day of this review. For client or brand work, ChatGPT Business, Claude Team or Gemini in Workspace have longer-standing business plans.
The Methodology
How We Reviewed Grok
This is an editorial review, not a documented hands-on test. We didn't use a Grok account for this review. It's based on xAI's pricing page, pricing docs and X Subscription announcement, its Grok page, models and API pricing docs, the May 15, 2026 retirement notice, its news posts on Grok 3, Grok 4.5, Grok 4.7 and the SpaceX acquisition, its consumer and enterprise terms and privacy policy, grok.com/supergrok, X's help center pages on Grok and X Premium, X's privacy policy and Tesla's Grok support page, all checked on October 12, 2026. We didn't sign in, so logged-in limits weren't checked. Where official pages conflict, as on plans and video length, we report both statements. No benchmark results are claimed.
Our editorial evaluation considers product information, official documentation, pricing, features and professional experience. It is not a claim of documented hands-on testing.
Our review methodology →What changed
- : Expanded from a short research preview into a full editorial review, checked on xAI's pricing page and docs, The X Subscription announcement, xAI's models and API pricing docs, the May 15, 2026 retirement notice, its terms and privacy policy, and X's help center on October 12, 2026. Replaced the preview's $8 X Premium starting price with The X Subscription plans launched that day, added the current Grok 4.5 and 4.7 models, Grok 3's retirement and the SpaceX acquisition. Overall score kept at the preview's 8.0; sub-scores are provisional.
The Field
Grok vs The Competition
Grok competes with general AI assistants. Scores come from each tool's own BestStacked review.
| Tool | Starting Price | Free plan | Best Feature | BS Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grok | Free; Plus $8/mo ($80/yr) | Yes | Live X and web search | 8/10 |
| ChatGPT | Free; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo | Yes | Broadest feature set in one app | 9.1/10 |
| Claude | Free; Pro $20/mo ($17/mo billed yearly) | Yes | Long-form writing and long-context analysis | 9/10 |
| Perplexity | Free; Pro $17/mo billed annually | Yes | Cited answers from the live web | 8.6/10 |
| Gemini | Free; Google AI Plus $4.99/mo; Pro $19.99/mo | Yes | Works inside Gmail, Docs and Drive | 8.9/10 |
ChatGPT: ChatGPT covers more jobs in one app and has a longer-standing Business plan. Grok's edge is live X search and X Premium benefits in the same subscription.Read our ChatGPT review →See Grok vs ChatGPT →
Claude: Claude suits long documents and careful writing. Grok suits real-time questions about what's happening on X.Read our Claude review →
Perplexity: Perplexity is the better choice when you need numbered sources for every claim. Grok's real-time strength is X posts specifically.Read our Perplexity review →
Gemini: Gemini fits people whose work lives in Google Workspace. Grok fits people whose work lives on X.Read our Gemini review →
In The Wild
How People Actually Use Grok
A social media manager
Use Grok's live X search to brief yourself on a trending topic or a brand mention, then verify the posts it cites before acting on them.
A developer who already pays for Cursor
Compare your Cursor bill with X Subscription Premium at $30, which includes Grok-model coding usage in Cursor plus Grok and X Premium benefits. Third-party models in Cursor are billed separately.
A casual X user
Start on the free tier from the Grok icon in X, and check the data-sharing setting in X's privacy settings if you don't want your posts and Grok chats used for training.
The Ecosystem
Grok Integrations
Grok's integrations center on X and Cursor, with a few productivity add-ins and an API for developers.
- →X (Grok icon on iOS, Android and web)
- →Cursor (shared usage pool on paid X Subscription plans)
- →Microsoft 365 add-ins for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
- →Supported Tesla vehicles (software 2025.26 or later)
- →xAI API, with web search and X search tools
- →Web, iOS and Android apps
Tesla says in-car Grok needs an AMD processor, software version 2025.26 or later and Premium Connectivity or Wi-Fi. xAI's news timeline also lists Connectors and Skills; check the current list in the Grok app before relying on a specific integration.
Common Questions
Grok FAQ
The Final Word
Should You Use Grok?
Grok is the assistant to pick when X is part of how you work: it searches live posts, lives inside the X apps, and its new X Subscription bundles X Premium benefits with Grok and Cursor usage from $8 a month. It isn't the strongest general-purpose assistant on BestStacked's scores, and xAI's plans and pages were mid-transition on the day of this review, so check the plan details in your billing settings before you switch. Grok 3, the model many comparisons still cite, has been retired from the API; the apps run Grok 4.5 and the API's newest model is Grok 4.7. If you use Grok on X, review the data-sharing setting in X's privacy settings. We score Grok 8.0/10.
Yes, if
You use X daily, want live X search in your assistant, or would otherwise pay separately for X Premium and Cursor.
No, if
You want the strongest general-purpose assistant on BestStacked's scores, or need stable, well-documented business plans.
About the reviewer
Carlos Gil
Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Carlos Gil is the bestselling author of The End of Marketing, a LinkedIn Top Voice, and founder of The Best Network. He brings 15+ years in marketing to practical reviews of AI, SaaS, email marketing, creator, and ecommerce software.
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