xAI's Grok model family has evolved faster than any other major AI product in the past year. Grok 3 introduced DeepSearch and Think modes. Grok 4 launched July 2025 as a top-tier reasoning model. Grok 4.2 is in beta. And the pricing structure has expanded from a simple free tier to five options ranging from $0 to $300/month. For the millions of users — particularly in India, USA, and Southeast Asia — who found our previous Grok articles useful, this is the complete model family update.
Grok 1 to Grok 4: What Actually Changed Each Generation
- Grok 1 (November 2023): Original. Roughly GPT-3.5 level. Novel for real-time X data access but limited general capability.
- Grok 2 (August 2024): Major jump. Added Aurora image generation and image understanding. Competitive with GPT-4o. The version that made the world notice xAI.
- Grok 3 (February 2025): Breakout model. DeepSearch, Think mode, Big Brain mode. Competed with o1 and Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
- Grok 4 (July 2025): Current flagship. 256K token context (vs 128K for Grok 3). Native tool use. MMLU 92%. Coding competitive with Claude Sonnet 4.5. Strong on scientific benchmarks.
- Grok 4 Heavy: Multi-agent variant with parallel reasoning agents. Exclusively on SuperGrok Heavy ($300/month). Designed for research-grade complex analysis.
| Benchmark | Grok 4 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU (knowledge) | 92% | ~91% |
| MATH (mathematical) | ~85% | ~93% |
| Real-time social data | Yes — live X + web | Web search only |
| Context window | 256K tokens | 1M tokens |
| Creative writing ELO | 1268.6 | Higher |
The Full Pricing Structure
- Free tier: Grok 3 (not Grok 4). ~10 queries per 2 hours. Frequent capacity limits. No image generation.
- X Premium ($8/month): Moderate Grok 4 access. X platform features included. 25% off SuperGrok.
- SuperGrok ($30/month or $300/year): Full Grok 4 — DeepSearch, Think, image generation, Big Brain. 3-day free trial. The direct ChatGPT Plus equivalent for Grok.
- SuperGrok Heavy ($300/month): Multi-agent Grok 4 Heavy. 500 videos/day. Early access to Grok video generation. For professional researchers with specific high-value use cases.
Who Should Actually Switch to Grok 4?
- Switch to SuperGrok if: You spend significant time on X/Twitter and need real-time social media intelligence. You are a journalist, analyst, or researcher needing live trending data.
- Stay with ChatGPT/Claude if: Your primary use is coding, writing, document analysis. ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro both produce higher quality output for general tasks.
- For Indian students: Grok charges in USD only. SuperGrok at $30/month = approximately Rs 2,520/month — significantly more than ChatGPT Plus (Rs 1,950) or Claude Pro (Rs 1,750). The value case is weak unless you specifically need X integration.
- Free tier verdict: Grok 3 free is a legitimate tool for real-time news queries and casual AI use. The free access to Grok's news and trending data — without SuperGrok — is genuinely useful.
LumiChats at Rs 69/day includes multiple frontier models — Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5.4, Gemini 3.1 Pro. On active study days, this gives you access to all the top models without committing to any single subscription. The best way to test Grok 4 vs others before paying SuperGrok prices.