Inside Paid AI Plans: What Each Tier Actually Unlocks

Lifehacker compares paid AI subscriptions from Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and Perplexity, noting that higher tiers mainly increase usage limits and context windows, while unlocking newer models and extra features like video/image generation, custom AI bots, and deep research tools. Gemini scales up to AI Ultra with up to 1,000,000 tokens and adds Gemini Spark on the top tier; ChatGPT Pro/Plus boosts usage (5x–20x) and access to latest models; Claude offers a flat 200K‑token context window with Pro/Max pricing and integrations; Copilot ties pricing to Microsoft 365, with Premium unlocking AI agents and audio; Perplexity Max provides the highest usage and Spaces for custom prompts, with cross‑model access. The best choice depends on your ecosystem (Google, Microsoft, etc.) and whether you value limits or extra features more.