UK vs US
What AI apps cost in the UK vs the US
Across 20 subscriptions in 5 AI apps, UK App Store prices are a median +30.2% higher than US prices once converted to pounds. Take out UK VAT and the gap is +8.4%.
- 9 of 20 subscriptions cost the same number in pounds as in dollars (for example Captions Basic - weekly at £5.99 and $5.99).
- 13 of 20 are still dearer in the UK after taking out VAT.
- Biggest UK premium: Character.AI+, £99.99 against $94.99 (+39.8%, +16.5% without VAT).
| App | Subscription | UK | US | US in £ | UK premium | Without VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character.AI | Character.AI+ | £99.99 | $94.99 | £71.55 | +39.8% | +16.5% |
| Captions | Captions Basic - weekly | £5.99 | $5.99 | £4.51 | +32.8% | +10.6% |
| Captions | Captions Max | £24.99 | $24.99 | £18.82 | +32.8% | +10.6% |
| Character.AI | Character.AI Lite | £4.99 | $4.99 | £3.76 | +32.8% | +10.6% |
| Character.AI | Character.AI+ | £9.99 | $9.99 | £7.52 | +32.8% | +10.6% |
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT Plus | £19.99 | $19.99 | £15.06 | +32.8% | +10.6% |
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT Plus | £200 | $200 | £150.64 | +32.8% | +10.6% |
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT Pro 200 | £200 | $200 | £150.64 | +32.8% | +10.6% |
| Claude | Claude Pro - Monthly | £20 | $20 | £15.06 | +32.8% | +10.6% |
| Claude | Claude Max 20x - Monthly | £249.99 | $249.99 | £188.30 | +32.8% | +10.6% |
| Claude | Claude Max 5x - Monthly | £119.99 | $124.99 | £94.14 | +27.5% | +6.2% |
| Claude | Claude Pro - Annual | £199.99 | $214.99 | £161.93 | +23.5% | +2.9% |
| Captions | Caption Basic - yearly | £59.99 | $64.99 | £48.95 | +22.5% | +2.1% |
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT Pro 500 | £444.99 | $500 | £376.61 | +18.2% | -1.5% |
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT Pro 100 | £88.90 | $100 | £75.32 | +18% | -1.6% |
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT Go | £6.99 | $8 | £6.03 | +16% | -3.3% |
| Canva | Canva Pro - Yearly | £99.99 | $119.99 | £90.38 | +10.6% | -7.8% |
| Character.AI | Character.AI Lite | £1.99 | $2.49 | £1.88 | +6.1% | -11.6% |
| Canva | Canva Business - Monthly | £18 | $25 | £18.83 | -4.4% | -20.3% |
| Canva | Canva Pro - Yearly | £100 | $143.99 | £108.46 | -7.8% | -23.2% |
How we work this out
- Prices come from each app's public UK and US App Store pages, which list its in-app subscriptions. We only use official apps from the tool's own company. These are Apple's in-app prices; buying on the tool's website can cost a different amount.
- A subscription is compared only when it has the same name in both stores. If a name has several prices (usually monthly and yearly), they're paired in price order, and only when both stores list the same number.
- US prices are converted to pounds at $1 = £0.7532 (European Central Bank reference rate, 6 Oct 2026). UK prices include 20% VAT; US App Store prices don't include sales tax, which varies by state. "Without VAT" divides the UK price by 1.2.
- Each app is re-read weekly. Credit packs and other one-off purchases are left out.
Download the data: uk-vs-us.csv. Free to use with a link to ToolTally AI.