Published October 10, 2026 · Prices checked on October 10, 2026
The totals over three years
The subscription prices below are the US list prices on each provider’s pricing page on October 10, 2026, before sales tax. Evolve AI prices are the current prices from our pricing page, in US dollars before sales tax.
| Option | How you pay | 1 year | 2 years | 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | Monthly, $20 a month | $240 | $480 | $720 |
| Claude Pro | Monthly, $20 a month | $240 | $480 | $720 |
| Claude Pro | Yearly, $200 a year | $200 | $400 | $600 |
| Google AI Pro | Monthly, $19.99 a month | $239.88 | $479.76 | $719.64 |
| Google AI Pro | Yearly, $199.99 a year | $199.99 | $399.98 | $599.97 |
| ChatGPT Pro (lowest tier) | Monthly, $100 a month | $1,200 | $2,400 | $3,600 |
| Evolve Everyday (private chat stick) | Once, $179 | $179 | $179 | $179 |
| Evolve AI Pocket drive, one edition | Once, $449 | $449 | $449 | $449 |
| Evolve AI Rugged drive, one edition | Once, $579 | $579 | $579 | $579 |
| Evolve AI Premium Storage drive, one edition | Once, $799 | $799 | $799 | $799 |
| Pocket drive plus an optional feature update each year | Once, then $99 per update you choose | $449 | $548 | $647 |
How to read the table
At $20 a month, ChatGPT Plus costs as much as Evolve Everyday after about 9 months, and as much as the Pocket drive with a full edition after about 23 months. From then on, the subscription keeps billing and the drive costs nothing more unless you choose a paid feature update.
A few things the totals leave out:
- Prices change. Subscription prices and plans change over time, in either direction. A drive’s price is fixed once you buy it.
- Updates on the drive. Bug and security fixes are free for every edition you own. Feature updates are optional at $99 per edition, and the last row assumes you buy one every year after the first.
- More than one person. A personal subscription is for one account. A household can share one Evolve Everyday stick on any Windows computer that meets the requirements.
- Free tiers. The cloud services also offer free plans with lower limits. If a free plan covers what you do, the comparison changes.
- Your computer. A drive needs a capable Windows computer. If you would have to buy one, include that cost.
Two examples
A one-person office that drafts letters, emails, and summaries. Three years of ChatGPT Plus come to $720. Evolve Everyday covers everyday drafting for $179, paid once, on the Windows computer the office already has. If the work includes client files, the private option also keeps those files off a provider’s servers.
A consultant who researches public topics and also handles confidential client notes. For research, a subscription is the stronger tool, with web search and larger models. A drive with the Consulting Edition handles proposals and client material on the consultant’s own computer. Paying for both costs more in the first year, and it gives each kind of work the tool that suits it.
What subscriptions do better
Be clear-eyed about this part. The large models behind ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini run on data-center hardware, and they are generally more capable than the compact models a laptop can run. For hard reasoning, long research, and complex code, a subscription gives you more.
- Stronger models. Better answers on difficult, specialized, or very long tasks.
- Live information. Web search and current events. A local model knows only what it learned before its training date.
- Every device. Phone apps, Macs, Chromebooks, and any browser, with no hardware requirements.
- New features arrive automatically, such as image creation, voice conversations, and connections to email and calendars, depending on the plan.
What a one-time drive does better
- A fixed cost. You pay once, with no monthly bill, no per-message fees, and no usage caps.
- Privacy you can check. The AI runs on your computer, and its server listens only at
127.0.0.1. On our development computer, all 24 of 24 dashboard requests in a recorded test went there. Run the checks yourself. - Works offline. After setup, it keeps working with Wi-Fi off, on a plane or in a building with poor reception.
- No account. Nothing to sign in to, and no conversation history held by a company.
- Built for your work. Full drives include an edition for one profession, such as Video Studio or the Educator Edition, with workflows and exports a general chat lacks.
What a local drive needs from you
- A capable Windows computer. Evolve Everyday needs Windows 11 and at least 16 GB of memory, with no graphics card required. Answers come faster with an NVIDIA graphics card, and Image Studio on the full drives needs one.
- Permission to run software from a USB drive. School and work computers often block it.
- Patience with a compact model. It can be wrong, so check anything important.
- Realistic expectations about testing. Our editions have been tested so far on one Windows 11 laptop. Ask about your computer before you order.
Which fits you
A subscription fits best when you want the most capable model, use AI on your phone, need web search, or work on a Mac. A one-time drive fits best when your work involves private information, when you want a predictable cost, or when you work offline. Many people use both: a cloud service for public research, and a private drive for client files, student work, and anything confidential.
See the full drive prices, start with Evolve Everyday, or browse the editions.
Sources
Prices checked on October 10, 2026. US list prices before tax; providers may change them at any time.
- OpenAI, ChatGPT plans and pricing (Plus at $20 a month; Pro tiers from $100 a month)
- Anthropic, Claude pricing (Pro at $20 a month, or $200 billed yearly)
- Google, Google AI plans (Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month, or $199.99 billed yearly)
- Evolve AI Institute, pricing and Evolve Everyday