AI without a subscription: what actually exists in 2026, with checked prices
Short answer: none of the big cloud AIs sells a one-time purchase. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity bill every month. To have no monthly fee there are three real routes: stay on a free plan with its limits, use a student offer (Google gives university students a year of AI Plus), or use an AI that runs on your own computer, which you pay for once or get free.
What each one costs (official prices, 18 October 2026)
Prices each company publishes on its own site, linked in each row. Dollar prices can change with each country's taxes.
| AI | Paid plans | One-time? | A school year (9 months) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Go: $8 a month. Plus: $20 a month. No annual billing. (OpenAI, help) | No | Plus: $180 |
| Claude | Pro: $20 a month, or $17 a month paid yearly ($200). (Anthropic) | No | Pro: $180 |
| Gemini (Google) | Google AI Plus: €4.99 a month. Google AI Pro: €21.99 a month (European price). (Google) | No | Pro: €197.91. Plus: €44.91 |
| Perplexity | Pro: $20 a month, or $200 a year. (Perplexity) | No | Pro: $180 |
| GreenCube (on your PC) | €9.99 (US$9.99) once, with no limits on messages or files. (GreenCube) | Yes | €9.99 (and 0 every year after) |
The three real ways to avoid a monthly fee
1. A free plan, with its limits
Free ChatGPT text chats are no longer limited, but files, pictures and voice are, and it's starting to show ads in some countries (we checked the details). Free Gemini allows up to 10 files per message, with limits that refresh every 5 hours. Fine for quick questions; for exam prep with your own notes, you'll feel the limits. And most of them train on what you type unless you switch it off (we checked 9).
2. A student offer
If you're at university and 18 or over, Google offers Google AI Plus free for a year, redeemable until 31 December 2026 (Google). Watch out: it asks for a payment method when you sign up and, if you don't cancel in time, then charges €4.99 a month. If it fits you, it's a good deal: take it.
3. An AI that runs on your own PC
The model is a file on your computer, so there's no server to pay for every month and no usage limits. GreenCube is €9.99 once and picks the AI that fits your PC by itself. There are also free apps for running AI on your computer, like LM Studio, Jan or GPT4All, where you choose and download the models yourself. They all have the same cost: your computer does the work.
What an AI on your PC does cost: time
With no monthly fee, speed depends on your computer. We measured it with GreenCube on real PCs:
| Your PC | Writes | One picture |
|---|---|---|
| 8 GB laptop, no graphics card | 5–7 tokens/s, about reading speed | can't |
| 16 GB laptop, no graphics card | 14–18 tokens/s | 2–2.5 min |
| Gaming PC with a 6 GB+ card | 37–76 tokens/s on most cards | 8–89 s |
Your exact card, with its numbers, is in Can my PC run AI? And yes: it also generates images with no subscription, if your PC has 16 GB or a graphics card.
Which suits you?
- You use AI now and then: a free plan is enough.
- You're at university and want more than the free plan this year: check Google's AI Plus offer before paying for anything (and note when to cancel).
- You use it daily, with your notes, offline, or without uploading anything: an AI on your PC is cheaper from the first month and has no limits.
- You need the most powerful AI for very hard problems: the biggest cloud AIs are still better at that, and they bill monthly.
Questions
Is there an AI you pay for once?
Not among the big cloud AIs: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity bill monthly (or yearly). The ones you pay for once run on your own computer; GreenCube is €9.99 once, and there are also free apps for running AI on your PC.
Can I pay for ChatGPT once?
No. OpenAI bills Go, Plus and Pro monthly and says it doesn't offer annual billing for them. Plus is $20 a month.
Is there a one-time purchase for Claude?
No. Claude Pro is $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly ($200).
Can I generate AI images without a subscription?
Yes, with an AI that runs on your PC. In our tests, GreenCube made a picture in 8 to 89 seconds with a graphics card and in about 2 minutes on a 16 GB laptop; it can't on an 8 GB one.
Your own AI, on your own PC
GreenCube runs on your computer: no usage limits, no subscription, works without internet. €9.99, paid once.
Get GreenCube