Is Grok Imagine Free? We Got 5 Images Before the Paywall

Independent review: we don't accept payment for reviews, scores or rankings. How we test

Tested October 15, 2026, on a free account. Limits change often, so treat these numbers as a snapshot.

Short answer: not without an account, and not for long with one. Logged out, Grok made no images and asked us to sign up. With a free account it made 5 images in total: 1 in Grok chat, then 4 on the Imagine page, before a paywall appeared.

Grok without an account: 0 images

We typed an image prompt on grok.com without logging in. Grok replied “Continue your conversation: Sign up to continue”, and listed AI images among the sign-up features. No image.

Grok chat with a free account: 1 image

After logging in and confirming our age, Grok chat made one image: a red vintage bicycle against a brick wall.

Grok chat, free account: the one image we got before the “High Demand” message.

It’s a good image: realistic light, a believable bike, a worn wall. But the very next prompt (a snowy cabin) got this reply instead:

High Demand: Grok is under heavy usage right now. Please try again later or upgrade your plan to get priority access.

After that, the send button stayed greyed out in that chat.

Grok Imagine with a free account: 4 images

Grok has a separate image page called Imagine (grok.com/imagine), and it worked better. Each prompt returned 2 portrait images. We got two prompts through: a robot in a greenhouse and a bowl of ramen.

Robot watering plants in a greenhouse made by Grok Imagine free account
Grok Imagine, free account: robot in a greenhouse
Bowl of ramen with a soft-boiled egg made by Grok Imagine free account
Grok Imagine, free account: bowl of ramen

The third prompt (a puppy in autumn leaves) opened a full-screen “Unlock your creativity with Imagine” paywall instead.

What Grok’s paid plans cost

The paywall we saw listed these plans (Canadian prices, taxes extra):

PlanPrice shownNotes on the paywall
PlusCA$9.99/monthShared usage across Grok Chat, Voice, Imagine and Build
PremiumCA$21 first month, then CA$41.994x the usage of Plus
SuperCA$70 first month, then CA$139.9915x the usage of Plus, 1080p video
UltraCA$140 first month, then CA$279.9950x the usage of Plus

Is Grok worth it for free images?

Grok (our test)
Logged out0 images
Free account, chat1 image, then “High Demand”
Free account, Imagine4 images (2 per prompt), then a paywall
Total5 images

Five images is the lowest of the four tools we tested. ChatGPT gave us 18, Ideogram 8 and Gemini 6 (full results). If you only want to see Grok’s style, use the Imagine page rather than chat. You get 2 images per prompt there.

Note: Grok asks for your birth year before generating, and image tools are for adults only on most platforms.
Making videos with AI? See which tools are actually free in best free AI video generators, or compare quality in best AI video generators.

FAQ

Is Grok Imagine free?

Partly. With a free account we got 4 images on Grok Imagine (2 prompts, 2 images each) before a paywall. Logged out, we got none.

Why does Grok say “High Demand”?

Grok shows it when servers are busy and free users are pushed back. In our test it appeared right after the first free image in chat.

How much is Grok Plus in Canada?

The paywall we saw listed Grok Plus at CA$9.99 a month.

Sources