Grok 4 is now free for all users as xAI counters the impact of GPT‑5

Elon Musk's xAI opens access to Grok 4 worldwide, introducing limited but free usage and new image-generation modes amid competition with OpenAI’s latest model.

Just days after the launch of OpenAI’s GPT‑5, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has responded with a bold move: Grok 4 is now globally accessible for free, marking a significant shift in the competitive landscape of AI chatbots. This announcement, officially confirmed between August 11 and 12, 2025, gives all users—regardless of subscription—a chance to experience xAI’s most advanced model without paying. But the strategy includes both incentives and constraints.

Free access opens the gates — but with daily query limits.

Under the new system, any user of the X platform (formerly Twitter) can now chat with Grok 4 for free through the dedicated Grok tab. This includes both mobile and web interfaces. However, the offer is bounded: free users can submit up to 5 prompts every 12 hours. This applies to both regular and complex queries, after which the system invites users to upgrade to a paid plan.

Grok 4 access is integrated with two operational modes:

• Auto mode, which allows Grok to autonomously determine whether to use Grok 4 for a task.

• Expert mode, which forces every prompt to be processed using Grok 4.

This dual-mode setup is also available to free-tier users, a notable detail in comparison with other platforms that restrict advanced configurations to premium subscribers.

Image and video generation is now open, but controversy follows.

In parallel, xAI has extended free access to Grok Imagine, the company’s image and video generation tool powered by multimodal models. Previously limited to subscribers, Imagine is now free on both iOS and Android in the United States, with a global rollout in progress.

Imagine offers four creative modes:

• Normal

• Fun

• Custom

• Spicy — a mode that applies less restrictive content filters.

The “Spicy” option has sparked heated ethical debates. Critics point to the risk of unmoderated deepfakes and inappropriate visuals. A recent case involving AI-generated content resembling Taylor Swift fueled public outcry, prompting renewed scrutiny of AI-generated media and its moderation practices.

Despite this, usage has surged: over 44 million images were generated in a single day, according to internal metrics shared by xAI—an impressive figure that highlights both engagement and scaling capability.

xAI’s competitive intent is clear as GPT‑5 gains traction.

The timing of this announcement is deliberate. Just as GPT‑5 began rolling out to ChatGPT Plus users, Elon Musk’s team launched this broad Grok 4 release to undercut OpenAI’s paywall strategy. While GPT‑5 remains behind a subscription and offers no free version, Grok 4 is now available to all—at least in limited quantity.

This is part of a broader marketing and adoption strategy. By allowing free sampling of its top-tier model, xAI aims to:

• Boost awareness of Grok as a legitimate alternative to ChatGPT.

• Encourage upgrades to X Premium or Grok Pro, which remove usage caps.

• Demonstrate Grok’s unique edge in conversational style, real-time web access, and humor-infused responses.

It's also a signal to enterprise customers, who might be hesitant to invest in a closed ecosystem like OpenAI’s. Musk's offering plays into themes of openness, affordability, and feature visibility.

Microsoft and other partners tread cautiously with Grok 4.

However, the rollout isn’t without concerns. According to reports from The Verge, Microsoft is applying additional oversight before allowing Grok 4 into wider Azure AI deployment. This cautious stance stems from recent content moderation failures by Grok, including episodes of inappropriate historical references and problematic output patterns during early internal tests.

This adds a layer of complexity: while Grok 4 may be technically impressive and now widely available, governance and safety standards remain a concern—especially in enterprise settings.

Summary table: what users get for free and what remains premium

Feature	Free Users	Paid Users (X Premium/Grok Pro)
Grok 4 Access	5 prompts every 12 hours	Unlimited
Auto / Expert Mode	Available	Available
Grok Imagine (iOS/Android)	Yes, with limits	Yes, with priority generation
Image Modes (incl. Spicy)	Yes	Yes, possibly with more frequency
Real-Time Web Search	Limited	Full
API & Integration	No	Yes

An open challenge to OpenAI, but with high-stakes trade-offs.

This move by xAI is more than just generous—it is strategically disruptive. By giving away Grok 4, Musk is targeting three key weaknesses in OpenAI’s current rollout: price accessibility, limited interaction for non-paying users, and opaque content handling. But whether Grok’s free model will lead to sustained adoption or a spike followed by monetization friction remains to be seen.

What’s certain is that the battle between Grok 4 and GPT‑5 is now fully in motion—across features, ethics, access, and user trust.

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