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Model · xAI · 2025

Grok 4

Grok 4 is the AI model from xAI, Elon Musk's company, built straight into X (the old Twitter) for Premium subscribers. Its unique edge: it reads X posts in real time, so it knows what's happening right now. It's the handy tool for keeping up with the news and the debates of the moment.

Model 4 min read Updated 2026-05-25
— What it is

Grok 4, in plain words

In plain words: it's the AI plugged into X live. When a topic sets the network on fire, Grok gives you the context faster than scrolling back through your own feed.

Grok 4 is the version released in mid-2025. A 1-million-token context, real-time access to every X post (its unique edge), multimodal on the Heavy version, and solid benchmark scores. Its marketing pitch: "less filtered, funnier, ready to joke about anything."

Available through X (starting with the Premium plan at $8/month), through grok.com, and through an API for developers.

What it does for me

  • Real-time watch: Grok reads X posts live, which means it knows what's happening right now. Claude and GPT are usually about 6 months behind on the news.
  • Summarizing an X brawl: a thread with 500 replies, Grok boils it down to 5 points with each side's position.
  • Finding who came up with an idea: "who posted this first on X?" Grok tracks down the original source.
  • Testing a touchy subject: Grok has lighter moderation than Claude or ChatGPT. For journalistic research or a hard-hitting debate, that's useful.
  • Having fun: the tone is deliberately provocative. Works or doesn't, depending on your mood.

How it compares

vs GPT-5.5 / Claude Sonnet 4.6: Grok 4 is slightly behind on writing quality and reasoning, but it has a unique edge: direct, real-time access to X. Pick Grok for keeping up with X, the others for everything else.

vs Perplexity: Perplexity is better at general web search (sources cited cleanly). Grok is better on X specifically.

vs Gemini 3.1 Pro: Gemini is more accurate and cheaper. Grok has the built-in X ecosystem and a more direct tone.

What it costs

Prices as of May 25, 2026 (source: docs.x.ai):

  • API Input: $1.25 / million tokens
  • API Output: $2.50 / million tokens
  • X Premium: $8/month (Grok available with a reasonable limit)
  • X Premium+: $22/month (unlimited Grok + Grok Heavy)

My take

I use it almost exclusively to keep up with AI news on X. When some drama blows up (a Karpathy paper, an OpenAI announcement, a benchmark controversy), Grok gives me the context faster than my feeds do.

What I like: the real-time access to X, and a tone that's a change from the smoothed-over answers the others give.

What bugs me: the "provocative" tone sometimes feels forced, a bit teenage. And Elon Musk as the boss — not neutral, and it shows in the model's biases on certain political topics.

Quick questions

Is Grok really "unfiltered"?

Grok 4 is xAI's AI model (Elon Musk's company), built into X for Premium subscribers. Its unique edge is real-time access to X posts, handy for keeping up with the news.

Do you need to be on X to use Grok?

No, grok.com is open. But the X integration is the main advantage.

Is Grok open-source?

Grok 1 was released open-weight (2024). Grok 2, 3, and 4 are closed.

Checked on 2026-05-25 · next review 2026-11-25

Prices and specs verified on docs.x.ai and X Premium. Personal use: 2-3 questions a week to keep up with AI news on X.

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