Comparison · Model access

Four ways to pay for AI, and when each one stops making sense

Not four competing products — four different billing shapes. One subscription for many models, one subscription for many media types, credits for building, and per-run for volume.

Almost everyone starts by paying four separate twenty-euro subscriptions and only notices months later. The right choice depends entirely on whether you are chatting, creating, building on top of a model, or running things at volume — and the switching point between them is a number you can work out in ten minutes.

Side by side

ToolBilling shapeBest whenRoughlyDeep link
GlobalGPTOne subscription, several leading modelsYou want to compare models without four billsSingle subscriptionVisit
LorkaOne subscription, several media typesWriting, images, video and voice in one place~$30/moVisit
Z.ai (GLM)Credits, pay as you goBuilding on top of a model, not chattingCreditsVisit
WaveSpeedAIPer runImage and video volume beyond a monthly planPer runVisit
BytePlusPer use, cloud scaleA product that outgrew the free tiersPer useVisit

Pick by what you are actually doing

You pay for three or four AI subscriptions already

GlobalGPT. One bill across several leading models is worth it the moment you are paying two of them separately and using neither fully.

Try GlobalGPT

Your spend is spread across writing, images, video and voice

Lorka. A bundle only wins if it replaces at least two things you already pay for — add up today’s bills before you switch, not after.

Try Lorka

You are building on a model rather than using a chat window

Z.ai. Credits and an API are the right shape for something that runs without you sitting in front of it.

Try Z.ai (GLM)

You generate image or video at real volume

WaveSpeedAI. Work out your cost per run against your current plan — that single comparison is the whole reason to move.

Try WaveSpeedAI
Who should skip all of this: if you use one model in one chat window every day, keep paying for that one. Consolidating is only cheaper when you are genuinely spreading spend — otherwise you are adding a bill, not replacing four.

Where this comes from

Playbook 03 — The AI Mastery Playbook

Paying for models is the easy half. The book is the other half: context, delegation and verification — the reasons two people with the same subscription get very different output.

Read it — €20 All eight — €50

The Short Version

Every conclusion from all eight playbooks. 97 chapters, 46 pages, free.

Get it free

Other comparisons

TranscriptionAutomationCoding agentsBuildersVideo3DDocuments and notesAll 58 tools →