How Much Do AI Subscriptions Cost? The Real Yearly Total
Individual AI subscriptions look small — $10 here, $20 there. This page totals a typical five-tool stack over a full year, tool by tool, using only prices verified from official pricing pages.
Prices at a glance
| Tool | Monthly | Annual / mo equiv | Best for | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | $20/mo | No annual plan for individuals | General AI assistant use, paid month to month | Yes |
| Claude Pro | $20/mo | $17/mo ($200/yr billed up front) | General AI assistant use, committed for a year | Yes |
| Canva Pro | $18/mo | $12/mo ($144/yr) | Design work for one person | Yes |
| Grammarly Pro | $30/mo | $12/mo ($144/yr) | Everyday writing help, per member | Yes |
| Notion Plus | $12/mo per seat | $10/mo per seat (yearly billing) | Notes and workspace, priced per seat | Yes |
Prices checked: 2026-10-23 — sources linked below. The vendor's own pricing page is always the final authority at checkout.
How they compare
Here is the same stack worked out as a cost per year. Monthly billing means the monthly price multiplied by 12. Annual billing uses each vendor's published annual total, or for Notion Plus the published yearly per-seat rate of $10 per month multiplied by 12 ($120); Notion's pricing page displays the per-seat monthly rate for yearly billing rather than an annual total. Notion Plus is counted as one seat.
| Tool | Per year, billed monthly | Per year, billed annually | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | $240 ($20 × 12) | $240 — no annual plan for individuals | $0 |
| Claude Pro | $240 ($20 × 12) | $200 | $40 |
| Canva Pro | $216 ($18 × 12) | $144 | $72 |
| Grammarly Pro | $360 ($30 × 12) | $144 | $216 |
| Notion Plus (1 seat) | $144 ($12 × 12) | $120 ($10 × 12) | $24 |
| Total | $1,200/yr | $848/yr | $352/yr |
The monthly-billed total is $20 + $20 + $18 + $30 + $12 = $100 per month, and $100 × 12 = $1,200 per year. The annual-billed total is $240 + $200 + $144 + $144 + $120 = $848 per year. The difference, $1,200 − $848, is the $352 saving — and it comes only from the billing cycle, before cancelling anything. Two cautions: annual plans are generally paid up front, so the saving asks for commitment; and per-seat tools like Notion Plus multiply with every team member added, which is how a small monthly number quietly becomes a large one.
Every tool in this stack also has a free plan, which is the other half of the maths: a tool used a few times a month may not need its paid tier at all. This page is research-based on official pricing pages; we do not claim hands-on testing of any tool listed.
Which one should you keep?
Keep the tools you use weekly and switch those to annual billing once you are sure they have earned their place — that is where the $352 is. Pay monthly for anything you are still trialling, and drop back to the free plan of any tool you open only occasionally. If two tools overlap — two AI assistants is the common case — keeping one and cancelling the other saves more than any billing switch. To run the same calculation on your own subscriptions, use our Subscription Savings Calculator: add each tool, its price and its billing cycle, and it totals your real yearly spend and compares it with an $800/year benchmark.
Total your own stack in the calculator
FAQ
How much does a typical AI tool stack cost per year?
The example five-tool stack on this page — ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, Canva Pro, Grammarly Pro and one Notion Plus seat — costs $100 per month, which is $1,200 over a year if everything is billed monthly.
How much can switching to annual billing save?
On this stack, $352 per year. Billed annually where an annual plan exists, the same five tools cost $848 per year instead of $1,200. The biggest single saving is Grammarly Pro: $144 per year instead of $360.
Is annual billing always worth it?
No. Annual billing only saves money on tools you will definitely keep for most of the year, because the year is usually paid up front. Pay monthly while trialling a tool, and switch to annual only once it has earned its place.
Sources
Prices and plan terms from the vendors' official pricing pages: ChatGPT pricing, Claude pricing, Canva pricing, Grammarly pricing, Notion pricing. Method: Methodology · Affiliate Disclosure. Some outbound links on this page may be affiliate links; they never change a verdict and cost you nothing extra.