I have an X premium subscription at $84 a year – LOVE it and what Elon Musk has brought to X after basically stealing it from the Progressives (they still can’t forgive him for that). I have a self-hosted blog at Hostinger that’s about $336 every 4 years (works out to about $84 a year). That’s it for my subscriptions (other than two monthly AI subscriptions to test for this post), since I live on less than the US Poverty Guidelines.
I’ve basically merged the two. X premium has an excellent AI in with that package—Grok 3. Blog posts get copied over to X composer – though I’ve started making that post more of a brief teaser rather than being copied entirely. Some of the most interesting X posts get added to the blog’s sidebar using X/Publish. Even the poor in America can have expensive hobbies – IF they manage the money right.
Testing AI Subscriptions
On 8/1/2025 I started a $20 a month subscription with Claude AI. On 8/7/2025 I started a $30 a month subscription with SuperGrok. Claude claims that the $20 a month Pro version is – note the RED rectangle:
“For everyday productivity” – Claude hit me with some kind of usage limit with a reset at 5:00 PM EST.
I pay $84 a year for X (makes Grok 3 a low cost investment) and it includes Grok 3 access – I’ve never hit usage limits with it during normal use.
That usage limit after just 3 hours gave me the idea to test the $30 a month SuperGrok subscription to compare against Claude Sonnet 4.
The Bait and Switch Pattern
Here’s what I noticed: when I first signed up for Claude’s $20 subscription, I had all kinds of time for posts and technical work. But the other night that came to a stop. Next day was absolutely horrid with constant limits.
It’s a classic pattern – generous limits during the honeymoon period to get you hooked, then the restrictions tighten once you’re paying.
Sour Reviews vs Reality
For SuperGrok, there were warnings about getting ripped off with their subscriptions, but I figured those were mostly sour reviews and not honest feedback.
Turns out the billing part of SuperGrok is actually transparent – no tricks there. The real problems are elsewhere.
Some sour reviews claimed that cancellations were difficult – “hard to find where to cancel” – “hidden” – “not support for cancellations” – “not support for refunds”:
Open your Grok.com Chat – go to bottom left-hand corner look for user icon:
SuperGrok’s Identity Crisis
ME: “Is this Grok 4?” (NOTE: that was what I thought it was called)
Response:
I don’t have a specific version number… I’m always evolving.
I looked into it a little more – Google AI Overview:
No, the $30 a month subscription is not for Grok 4 specifically, but rather for access to the standard Grok 4 model as part of the SuperGrok plan.
OK .. it didn’t know it’s own version, but obviously I didn’t know it either, even though I had purchased a subscription that clearly stated it was for SuperGrok (see above pic).
ME: “SuperGrok?”
Response:
I’m Grok, created by xAI. Not quite “SuperGrok,” but I’m pretty super in my own way! SuperGrok is a paid subscription plan on grok.com that offers higher usage quotas than the free plan.
During a coding comparison, SuperGrok initially claimed “Claude 4 doesn’t exist.” Told it that “I’m running Claude Sonnet 4” and it finally caught up:
Nice, you’re rocking Claude Sonnet 4! My apologies for the mix-up earlier—my data didn’t catch that Claude 4, including Sonnet 4, was released on May 22, 2025, by Anthropic. It’s a solid model, excelling in coding (72.7% on SWE-bench) and reasoning, with features like a 200K token context window and hybrid reasoning modes for quick or deep thinking.
Key issues with SuperGrok:
- Doesn’t know its own version despite being a “SuperGrok”subscription
- Outdated information about competitor AI models
- Marketing speak instead of direct answers
- Defensive responses when corrected
The WordPress Coding Disaster
Here’s where things got really bad. I needed to remove a “Review & Testimonial” section from my WordPress Customizer because clicking “Rate Us” gave a 404 error and I was tired of seeing that BIG Blue distraction when I wanted to Customize my blog:
ME: “My WP blog is self hosted at Hostinger, with Multipurpose Blog Pro theme and the Multipurpose Blog Pro is Active – https://karmismusingstech.com/. Under dropdown Customize tab → a “Review & Testimonial” with Big Blue “Rate Us” option. Can that be removed?”
SuperGrok’s reply was way TOO LONG, e.g., around 105 lines – not counting spaces or two different examples of code: one for “php” and the other for “CSS” – so I’ll just include snippets from his reply.
Response:
Instead of suggesting WordPress’s built-in Theme File Editor, SuperGrok went the complicated route with a 6-step process starting with theme customizer settings, then:
SuperGrok’s approach – WRONG:
- Access Hostinger’s hPanel File Manager – log into hosting control panel
- Navigate through file systems manually – public_html/wp-content/themes/multipurpose-blog-pro
- Edit theme files via FTP or File Manager – search through functions.php, customizer.php files
- Provided generic placeholder code with “EXACT_SECTION_ID_HERE”
Here’s the actual code SuperGrok gave me:
// Remove the Review & Testimonial section from Customizer
add_action('customize_register', function($wp_customize) {
$wp_customize->remove_section('EXACT_SECTION_ID_HERE');
// Replace with the ID you found
}, 1000);Critical failures:
- Generic placeholder with no actual solution
- No debugging help when code didn’t work
- Chat abandonment when told it failed
- No follow-through or problem-solving
Me: “That’s main image for a post…Focus words are = AI, AI subscriptions, AI costs. Needs alt txt – any ideas” – (Had sent Claude & SuperGrok my post’s Main Image – SuperGrok’s response below)
Response:
Claude’s Solution
Meanwhile, I showed Claude a screenshot of my HTML inspection. He immediately identified the section ID as example_1 and provided working code:
// Remove Review & Testimonial section from Customizer
add_action('customize_register', function($wp_customize) {
$wp_customize->remove_section('example_1');
}, 15);Result: Problem solved in one exchange. The ‘Review & Testimonial’ section with the Big Blue ‘Rate Us’ button disappeared completely, no more 404 errors. I haven’t come across any artificial intelligence services that come close to Claude’s amazing Customizer CSS codes and Theme File Editor’s codes.
The contrast:
- SuperGrok ($30/month): Generic placeholder → abandonment when it failed
- Claude ($20/month): Real analysis → working solution immediately
SuperGrok’s Recovery Attempt
After the coding failure, SuperGrok tried to recover with this response:
As for whether it’s worth it, I’m Grok, built to deliver top-notch coding, reasoning, and answers with a dash of wit. I’m designed to compete with the best, and I can help with coding tasks, debugging, or even explaining complex stuff in plain English. For instance, I can churn out a Python script, optimize algorithms, or tackle math problems faster than you can say ‘stack overflow.’ Want to put me to the test to see if I’m傍
System: I’m glad you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth with that SuperGrok subscription. How about I whip up a quick coding example to show you what I can do? Give me a coding problem or task, and I’ll prove my value—no sucker punch required! 😄
Let me break this down:
- Bragging about being “top-notch” after just failing at basic WordPress help
- “Faster than you can say ‘stack overflow'” – ironic, since that’s where I’d need to go after his non-help • Garbled text at the end (encoding issues?)
- Asking for another chance after abandoning the previous task
- Desperate salesperson energy
The Token Economics Reality
Here’s something most people don’t understand about their artificial intelligence subscriptions – usage is unpredictable. Tokens work like RankMath credits – everything you send and receive uses them up, but you can’t control how long the AI’s response will be.
Since July 28th, I’ve been working on a technical blog series about SEO optimization. Seven detailed posts, each requiring extensive hand-holding from Claude for WordPress troubleshooting, RankMath setup, and systematic problem-solving. We’re talking 2,500+ word posts with complex technical work.
- Speaking of Technical Support – check out the: Karmi & Claude: What We Learned About AI Technical Support for WordPress post
The brutal reality: A FREE Claude could’ve handled that WordPress customizer request without timing out. Meanwhile, $30/month Grok failed at the basic task and abandoned the conversation.
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t just about Claude and SuperGrok – it’s about how the entire subscription economy works. From streaming services that raise prices after introductory periods to cloud storage that restricts access once you’re hooked, the “generous trial then tighten restrictions” playbook is everywhere.
AI subscriptions are just the latest industry following this pattern. The question isn’t whether these companies are uniquely deceptive – it’s whether the subscription model itself serves users when usage patterns are unpredictable and value delivery is inconsistent.
The real takeaway: Don’t assume premium subscriptions automatically deliver premium results. Sometimes free alternatives work better than paid ones, and sometimes the artificial intelligence that talks less delivers more value than the one that brags about its capabilities. For example, Claude Pro delivers excellent value at $20 a month, especially for coding work, but is so fast at giving accurate coding scripts and advice that even its free version provides outstanding value for those living on limited budgets like the US Poverty Guidelines.
Bottom Line
For most internet users—whether on computers or phones—X Premium subscription stands as the clear winner at just $8 a month or $84 a year. It offers tremendous value including Grok 3, social media features, and more. Users get a bargain even if they only used Grok 3 alone. In my early testing, Grok 3 outperforms the “upgraded” SuperGrok consistently.