Pay-as-you-go AI can cost less than a subscription, but the answer depends on your usage, chosen models and the work included in each plan. NanthAI Edge is pay-as-you-go for AI usage, with no AI subscription, so you can check where your own usage falls.
How does Edge charge for AI?
Edge has no monthly AI plan. You connect an OpenRouter account, add credit, and pay OpenRouter's listed rate for each model you use. The Edge site says NanthAI adds no markup on top of those rates. You can start with as little as $5 of credit.
The app itself has a £4.99 one-time Pro purchase, shown in your local currency in the app stores. It is paid once with no recurring fee. Free covers multi-model chat, basic web search, folders, themes and bring-your-own-key. Pro adds things like personas, memory, scheduled tasks and the knowledge base. See Pro vs Free for the full split.
The Pro purchase is separate from model usage. It does not pay for any AI messages. Model usage always goes through your OpenRouter credit (or, for the local runtime, through the provider you configure).
What do subscriptions cost?
These are the individual prices shown on each company's own pricing page, checked in October 2026. Prices change, so check the page before you decide.
- Claude Pro: $20 billed monthly, or $200 billed up front for an annual subscription, on Claude’s pricing page, as of October 2026. The page excludes applicable tax and says prices can change.
- Google AI Pro: $19.99 a month on the United States version of Google’s subscriptions page, as of October 2026. Regional pricing and offers may differ.
The ChatGPT pricing page did not expose a numeric Plus price in the version checked as of October 2026, so no Plus price is quoted here.
A subscription price is only the start of the comparison. It buys one company's app and its allowance, and it does not give you the other companies' models. Pay-as-you-go gives you access to many models, but each message you send is billed.
How do you estimate your own cost?
You do not need to guess. Edge can show you what each message costs.
- Open Settings and turn on Show Advanced Stats.
- Use Edge as you normally would for a week. Each assistant message shows its cost next to the timestamp, to four decimal places.
- Tap the cost total in the chat header to see the breakdown. It splits the spend into Responses, Memory, Search and Other, so you can see where the money goes.
- Take your average cost per message for the model you use most. Multiply it by how many messages you send in a typical month.
For example, if your average message costs a figure you have read off the screen, then 100 messages cost 100 times that figure. Do the same for the subscription price above. Compare the two totals, and remember the subscription may include things you would not otherwise pay for.
Two things make the estimate higher or lower. Long chats cost more per message, because the model reads more of the conversation each time. Search and memory add costs in their own buckets, so count those too if you use them. Edge shows the cost of each message as the model finished it, so a figure can take a moment to appear while the reply streams.
When might pay-as-you-go suit you?
- You use AI in short bursts, a few times a week.
- You want to try several models without paying for each one every month.
- You want to follow your balance and actual usage rather than pay a recurring app fee.
When might a subscription suit you?
- You use AI most days and for long sessions.
- You only ever use one company's models and its app.
If you are not sure, start with a small credit balance, use it for a few weeks, and read the cost totals. The numbers will tell you more than any general rule.
Try it
Start free at https://chat.nanthai.tech, add a little OpenRouter credit, and turn on Advanced Stats. For how the cost display works, see Price Transparency. For the connection steps, see Bring Your Own Key.
