Plan on the cheap seat. Build on the paid one.
A token is a slice of text the model reads or writes. You do not need the math. You need the habit: thinking is cheap in a browser chat. Agents that edit a whole repo are not.
What the paid seats actually buy
Numbers below are from official pages or the Lab dossier, verified 2026-09-16. They will move. The habit will not.
ChatGPT / Codex
Official Codex docs: Free $0, Go $8, Plus $20, Pro from $100. Free chat is real. Codex on Free/Go is limited. Do not plan a product in Codex Pro if a browser window would do.
Grok / Grok Build
SuperGrok $30 includes Build on x.ai/pricing. The agent shares a usage pool with chat, Imagine, and the rest. Long agent sessions and video cost more of that pool than a short question.
Claude / Claude Code
Pro $20, Max from $100. Claude Code is on paid plans and shares the same usage pool as chat. Heavy agent days are why Max exists.
GitHub Copilot
Pro $10. Completions stay unlimited on paid plans. Chat, agent, and CLI burn AI Credits. Cheap if you want autocomplete. Not cheap if you treat it like Grok Build all day on Pro.
The workflow is the budget
- Write the idea and the PROJECT.md in a free or cheap chat.
- Ask the coding agent for a plan first. Reject wide plans.
- One step, then you test. Endless regenerate is how seats die.
- When it loops, switch products. Do not keep feeding the same fire.
- Do not paste secrets into any of them. Names only in PROJECT.md.
The Lab has dated prices. If a badge says stale, believe it.