What AI tools cost a small business (updated October 2026)
Vendor prices for AI tools a small shop might pay, each one dated and linked to the pricing page it came from. Not a ranking.
This page lists what a few common AI tools charge, for a Charleston shop comparing options. Each price was read on the official pricing page for that company on October 17, 2026. The date and the link are on the row. This is not a ranking, and it is not every tool. A price can change after the date on the row. Nothing on this page is a paid placement.
The same numbers are in a JSON download. Prices are US dollars, as printed on each pricing page.
Updated
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Cheapest way to start
Free to start: ChatGPT, Free, Claude, Free, Gemini, Free, Microsoft Copilot, Free, Canva, Free, Grammarly, Free, Otter, Basic, Fireflies, Free, Fathom, Free, Zoom, Workplace Basic, Smith.ai, AI Receptionist Free. Limits and what the page actually said are in that row.
Lowest month-to-month price in this table: Gemini, Google AI Plus at $4.99 per month.
Lowest annual per-month rate in this table: Otter, Pro at $8.33 per user per month, billed annually.
Lowest amount paid up front for a year in this table: Microsoft 365, Personal at $99.99 per year.
Those are the lowest numbers in each column. The units are not the same, so this is not one cheapest plan.
On a phone, swipe each table sideways to see every column.
General assistants
| Tool | Plan | Good for | Month to month | Billed annually | Paid up front for the year | Free tier | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Free | Trying ChatGPT, with limits on uploads, images, voice, and research.The card says $0 / month and Intelligence for everyday tasks. It lists unlimited text chats with GPT-6, and limits on uploads, image creation, voice, deep research, memory, Codex, and ChatGPT Work on desktop. A footnote says unlimited text chats are subject to abuse guardrails. The FAQ says the free version is available to everyone, and that paid plans are priced per user per month. | $0 per month | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
| ChatGPT | Go | More messages, uploads, and images than Free.The card says $8 / month and Expanded access. It lists more messages with tools, more uploads, more image creation, more voice chats, and longer memory. It says this plan may include ads. No annual price is printed on the card. The FAQ says Go is priced per user per month and is offered as a monthly plan. | $8 per month | Not listed | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
| ChatGPT | Plus | Projects, scheduled tasks, and custom GPTs.The card says $20 / month and Do more with advanced intelligence. It lists projects, scheduled tasks, and custom GPTs. No annual price is printed on the card. The FAQ says Plus is priced per user per month and is offered as a monthly plan. | $20 per month | Not listed | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Claude | Free | Everyday questions on Claude.The card says $0 and Free for everyone. The page says prices shown do not include applicable tax and can change. | $0 per month | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
| Claude | Pro | More usage than Free, including projects.The card says $17 per month with the annual subscription discount, $200 billed up front, and $20 if billed monthly. The FAQ says Pro gives at least 5 times more usage per five-hour session than Free. Prices exclude applicable tax. | $20 per month if billed monthly | $17 per month with the annual discount | $200 billed up front for the year | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Claude | Team, standard seat | A team seat with more usage than Pro.The standard-seat card says $20 per seat / month if billed annually and $25 if billed monthly. The same card lists a premium seat at $100 per seat / month if billed annually and $125 if billed monthly. Prices exclude applicable tax. | $25 per seat per month if billed monthly | $20 per seat per month if billed annually | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Gemini | Free | Gemini on a free Google Account.With United States selected, the personal Free card says $0 / month with a Google Account. The page says plan availability varies by country. No annual price is printed for this plan. | $0 per month with a Google Account | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
| Gemini | Google AI Plus | Higher Gemini usage than the free plan.The card says $4.99 / month and 2x higher usage access than Free. The same amounts are on https://one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans/. No annual price is printed. The page says plans are available in more than 140 countries. | $4.99 per month | Not listed | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Gemini | Google AI Pro | Higher Gemini usage than Google AI Plus.The card says $19.99 / month and 4x higher usage access than Free. The same amount is on https://one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans/. No annual price is printed. | $19.99 per month | Not listed | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Microsoft Copilot | Free | Copilot without a Microsoft 365 subscription.The FAQ says yes, Microsoft offers a limited free version of Copilot subject to available capacity and limits. It does not print a dollar amount. It also says features and usage limits vary by plan and region, and some AI benefits may be limited to the subscription owner. | Free | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
| Microsoft 365 | Personal | Copilot chat for one person, with higher usage than the free version.The monthly card says Microsoft 365 Personal is $9.99 / month. The yearly card says $99.99 / year. The page does not print a per-month equivalent of the yearly price. It says the subscription automatically renews unless canceled, and that some AI benefits may be limited to the subscription owner. The yearly section also says chat with higher usage than free. | $9.99 per month | Not listed | $99.99 per year | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Business add-on | Adding Copilot to an existing Microsoft 365 business plan.The monthly card says $25.20 user/month on a monthly subscription that auto-renews. The yearly view says originally starting from $21.00, now starting from $18.00, user/month paid yearly. That is a starting-from discount, so it is not stored as one annual rate. The footnote says the discount runs from July 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, for the first year, for existing eligible Microsoft 365 Business customers, with an annual commitment, and it cannot be combined with another offer. Footnote 1 says a separate qualifying Microsoft 365 license is required, for up to 300 users. The same loaded page also prints Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot at $32.00 user/month paid yearly and $38.40 user/month, and Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot at $23.50 user/month paid yearly and $28.20 user/month. The page has a Plans with Teams and Plans without Teams control. A separate without-Teams page was not opened. | $25.20 user/month | Not listed | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
Writing and design
| Tool | Plan | Good for | Month to month | Billed annually | Paid up front for the year | Free tier | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canva | Free | Designs with a small AI allowance.The yearly prices were the ones showing. The card says US$0 / year for one person, and up to 20 Standard or Premium AI uses. No monthly dollar amount was in the page. The page says prices exclude applicable tax. | Free | Not listed | $0 per year for one person | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
| Canva | Pro | More AI and templates than Canva Free, for one person.The card says US$144 / year for one person and 10x more AI than Canva Free. No monthly dollar amount was in the page. The page says prices exclude applicable tax. | Not listed | Not listed | $144 per year for one person | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Canva | Business | More AI than Canva Pro, priced per person.The card says US$250 / year per person and 20x more AI than Canva Free. No monthly dollar amount was in the page. The page says prices exclude applicable tax. | Not listed | Not listed | $250 per year per person | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Grammarly | Free | Writing suggestions with a small monthly AI prompt cap.The card says $0 USD / month. The comparison table lists 100 prompts / month on Free. | $0 per month | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
Meeting notes
| Tool | Plan | Good for | Month to month | Billed annually | Paid up front for the year | Free tier | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter | Basic | Meeting notes with a monthly transcription cap.The card says Free and 300 monthly transcription minutes. It does not print $0. The page says prices are in USD. | Free | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
| Otter | Pro | More transcription than Basic, for one user or a small team.The monthly card says $16.99 / user / month. The annual card says $8.33 / user / month and save 51%. A starred $8.49 monthly price and $4.17 annual price are marked as an offer valid only with an India-issued credit card, so they are not the prices in this row. | $16.99 per user per month | $8.33 per user per month, billed annually | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Otter | Business | More transcription than Pro.The monthly card shows $30 crossed out and $24 / user / month, labeled 20% off for 3 months. The footnote says that offer is for first-time subscribers only. This row stores the crossed-out $30. The annual card says $19.99 / user / month and save 33%. | $30 per user per month | $19.99 per user per month, billed annually | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Fireflies | Free | Meeting notes with limited AI summaries.The comparison table says Free forever, limited AI summaries, and 400 minutes of storage per team. The card shows $0. | $0 per month | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
| Fireflies | Pro | More meeting storage and AI summaries, per seat.Plan data on the pricing page says $18 per seat / month, billed monthly, and $10 per seat / month, billed annually. Storage is listed as 8,000 minutes per seat. | $18 per seat per month, billed monthly | $10 per seat per month, billed annually | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Fireflies | Business | A seat with unlimited storage, per the comparison table.Plan data on the pricing page says $29 per seat / month, billed monthly, and $19 per seat / month, billed annually. Storage is listed as unlimited. | $29 per seat per month, billed monthly | $19 per seat per month, billed annually | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Fathom | Free | Meeting recordings and summaries at no charge.The card says $0 and free forever. The page JSON-LD lists the Free offer at price 0. | $0 per month | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
| Fathom | Premium | Advanced summaries and action items for one user.The card and the page JSON-LD both list $20 per user per month billed monthly and $16 per user per month billed annually. | $20 per user per month, billed monthly | $16 per user per month, billed annually | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Zoom | Workplace Basic | Short meetings with a small AI allowance.The card says Free. AI features listed: meeting summaries for 3 hosted meetings per month, 20 AI queries per month, and AI note-taking 3 uses per month. It does not print $0. | Free | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
| Zoom | Workplace Pro | Longer meetings and unlimited AI note-taking.The card says $14.16 / user per month, billed annually, and Best for personal use or small teams. It lists unlimited AI note-taking. The footnote says all plans are billed annually as a single upfront charge, and the monthly rate is the annual total divided by 12 for comparison only. The annual total is not printed as its own number, so this row does not multiply 14.16 by 12. Workplace Business is also on the page at $18.33 / user per month, billed annually, with the same footnote. | Not listed | $14.16 per user per month, billed annually | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
AI receptionists
| Tool | Plan | Good for | Month to month | Billed annually | Paid up front for the year | Free tier | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai | AI Receptionist Free | Trying an AI receptionist on a small number of calls.The card says $0 mo and 25 calls/mo, then $3.00 per call after that. | $0 per month | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | October 17, 2026 |
| Smith.ai | AI Receptionist Pro | An AI receptionist at a higher monthly price than the free plan.The Pro card lists $150/mo and $2.00/call. A calls-per-month control shows 75, 150 at 10% less, and 300 at 17% less. The page does not state one included-call count in a sentence next to $150. | $150 per month | Not listed | Not listed | No | October 17, 2026 |
Websites
| Tool | Plan | Good for | Month to month | Billed annually | Paid up front for the year | Free tier | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squarespace | Basic | A website plan with a one-time AI credit.The Basic card shows $25 / mo and $19 / mo. JSON-LD on the page lists Basic monthly at $25.00 and Basic annually at $228.00, with eligibleRegion US. Those two annual figures match, because 19 times 12 is 228. The comparison table says 10 credits one time and up to 10 prompt runs one time. | $25 per month | $19 per month when paying annually | $228 per year | No | October 17, 2026 |
| Squarespace | Core | A website plan with a monthly AI credit.The Core card shows $39 / mo and $29 / mo. JSON-LD lists Core monthly at $39.00 and Core annually at $348.00, with eligibleRegion US. Those two annual figures match, because 29 times 12 is 348. The comparison table says 20 credits per month and up to 20 prompt runs per month. | $39 per month | $29 per month when paying annually | $348 per year | No | October 17, 2026 |
Left off this table
These were opened on the same day. They are not in the table. The reason is on each line.
- ChatGPT Pro. The Pro card says From $100 / month and your choice of 3 usage tiers. The other two prices are not listed, so $100 is not stored as the plan price. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- ChatGPT Business and Enterprise. The FAQ says Business and Enterprise are priced per user per month, with monthly and annual options for Business and annual for Enterprise. The dollar amounts were not in the page text. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Claude Max. The card says From $100 per month. Max 5x and Max 20x are separate columns and are not given separate prices. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Claude Enterprise. The card says US$20 per seat per month, billed annually, plus usage at API rates, with a 20 seat minimum. That is not a complete per-seat price. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Gemini Enterprise. Business edition says starting at $21 USD per seat per month. Standard / Plus says starting at $30 USD per seat per month and Contact sales. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Grammarly Pro. The $12 USD figure is struck through. The card shows a $0 trial, $0 payment today, and an email reminder 2 days before the trial ends. The page does not state the price after the trial. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Grammarly Enterprise. The card says Contact Sales. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Canva Enterprise. The card says Contact Sales. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Fireflies Enterprise. The comparison data says $39 per seat / month, billed annually, labeled annual only, and the button says Contact Us. No month-to-month price is listed. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Fathom Enterprise. The card says Talk to sales and also shows $35 annual only. The page JSON-LD offer for Enterprise has no price. Those two do not agree, so no Enterprise price is stored. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist Enterprise. The Enterprise card says $500/mo and Talk to us, plus a 6-month plan with no dollar amount. It is not stored as a single price. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Smith.ai Human receptionist. That page describes professional call answering by real people. It is a different product from the AI receptionist, so its prices are not in this table. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Perplexity Pro. The page stopped on a Cloudflare check and did not show a price. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
- Gamma Pricing. The page stopped on a Cloudflare check and did not show a price. Source, checked October 17, 2026.
Price changes
- . Tracker launched.
Common questions
- Which plans in this table are free?
- Free to start: ChatGPT, Free, Claude, Free, Gemini, Free, Microsoft Copilot, Free, Canva, Free, Grammarly, Free, Otter, Basic, Fireflies, Free, Fathom, Free, Zoom, Workplace Basic, Smith.ai, AI Receptionist Free. Limits and what the page actually said are in that row.
- What is the lowest month-to-month price in this table?
- Lowest month-to-month price in this table: Gemini, Google AI Plus at $4.99 per month. Those are the lowest numbers in each column. The units are not the same, so this is not one cheapest plan.
- What is the lowest annual rate in this table?
- Lowest annual per-month rate in this table: Otter, Pro at $8.33 per user per month, billed annually. Those are the lowest numbers in each column. The units are not the same, so this is not one cheapest plan.
- What is the lowest price paid up front for a year?
- Lowest amount paid up front for a year in this table: Microsoft 365, Personal at $99.99 per year. Those are the lowest numbers in each column. The units are not the same, so this is not one cheapest plan.
- When was this price tracker checked?
- The prices were read on October 17, 2026. The tracker launched that day. A vendor can change a price after that date.
AI tools in Charleston · Free AI tools for Charleston shops · AI receptionist options for Charleston businesses · How to get your Charleston business recommended by ChatGPT
Free weekly, from Charleston
The AI news that matters for your small business, explained simply, with how to use it. Free weekly, from Charleston.