But the added value… Google has set its new Ultra plan at $50 more than any other top-tier AI subscription. While it boasts exclusive tools and integrations, much of the offering repackages features that are already available in other Google services. If competitors follow this lead, AI subscriptions could become significantly more expensive – without offering significantly more value.
Google introduced its AI Ultra subscription at I/O 2025, calling it the most advanced option for users who want “the absolute best” of Google AI. Priced at $249.99 per month, it’s $50 or more higher than top-tier plans from OpenAI ($200/mo) and Anthropic ($100/mo). New subscribers get a 50-percent discount for the first three months, making it temporarily cheaper than OpenAI.
Google frames Ultra as a premium-tier product for creative professionals, developers, and academics who need extended access to its largest models and experimental tools, including the latest Gemini 2.5 Pro model. However, the pricing reflects more than just higher usage limits – it sets a new baseline for what AI companies may soon charge.
For $250, Ultra includes access to Google’s latest versions of Gemini, the new Deep Think mode in Gemini 2.5 Pro, and early access to the Veo 3 video model, which is quite impressive. It also unlocks high-resolution video generation in Flow, a cinematic video creation tool built around Veo, Imagen, and Gemini. The package offers top-tier usage limits across these tools and others like Whisk Animate and NotebookLM, with more enhancements promised later this year.
Many of these features aren’t exclusive to Ultra. Google is rolling out Flow to the $20-per-month AI Pro subscription with fewer capabilities. Some Gemini integrations, such as those in Gmail, Docs, and Chrome, are already free or included in lower tiers. So, Ultra subscribers are essentially paying to beta test features that will soon become standard.
Google Ultra includes 30 terabytes of Google One cloud storage, a YouTube Premium subscription, and Project Mariner, a task manager handling up to 10 concurrent threads. While these add some value, they aren’t AI-specific. YouTube Premium and extra storage are available separately, making this bundle feel more like padding than a core upgrade. For users primarily seeking AI capabilities, paying extra for external subscriptions they may not want or use offers limited additional value.
Meanwhile, tools like Whisk and NotebookLM, framed as Ultra upgrades, are also available in basic forms elsewhere. Even Veo and Flow, which sound exclusive, are already seeing partial rollout to AI Pro users. The most meaningful perk may be higher usage caps, but the practical value of those limits remains unclear – a frustratingly common trait across the AI industry.
If Google’s Ultra tier catches on, it could nudge competitors like OpenAI to introduce similarly priced or bundled offerings – even if the functionality remains essentially identical. That would shift the market from a race to deliver the best AI to a race to monetize “premium” features, regardless of whether they provide real differentiation. Google may be positioning AI Ultra as an elite creative toolkit, but it may also be redefining “premium” as just more expensive.
