Intelligence Hours
Index.
The Intelligence Hours Index (IHI) measures AI subscription affordability by country: the gross minimum-wage work required to pay for a specified monthly AI plan. It is a labor-time price index, not a benchmark of AI model capability.
A common dollar price. Unequal hours.
How many hours at the local minimum wage buy one
month of AI?
In 🇯🇵 Japan — Wakayama, work
to afford AI for one month.
This result uses older verified inputs. Check the source dates below.
$20 benchmark: median of ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and Google AI Pro.
US list price · before taxes · gross minimum wage. Free AI access also exists.
See the calculation and source dates
General adult, non-tipped employee; sector and coverage exceptions may apply.
Open official sources and regional detailsGold. Oil. Now intelligence.
Gold and oil help us read the dollar’s global role. Dollar-priced AI raises a new question: how much of a country’s work buys access to intelligence? IHI translates a common subscription price into local labour time.
Why now? The US has directed its executive branch to use “SI” and promotes American AI technology exports. SI policy · AI export policy · Read the argument
Lower hours. More purchasing power.
Improving the index means reducing the work needed to buy the same benchmark. Raising the minimum wage is one route. It is not the only one.
- Higher local wages
- More pay per hour buys the same subscription with less work, if the exchange rate holds.
- A stronger currency
- Fewer local currency units per dollar reduce the cost, even when the local wage stays the same.
- Productivity that reaches purchasing power
- Productivity is not a direct input. Its gains affect IHI when they reach the measured wage or exchange rate. Neither link is automatic.
A lower dollar subscription price also lowers hours. National competitiveness can inform this discussion; IHI directly measures the price-to-wage relationship, not competitiveness or productivity. Actual earnings also depend on wage coverage and compliance.
See the formula and its limitsSame $20 AI. Different hours.
A hypothetical starting point: 50 local units per hour and 10 local units per USD give 4 hours of work.
The same hours as the starting point
Illustration only. Inputs stay in this page and do not change country scores, ranks or shared results. A lower rate in local units per USD means a stronger local currency. Rank also depends on other countries.
Where is AI most affordable?
Lower IHI = fewer hours of work and greater purchasing power for this benchmark. Rank 1 requires the fewest hours.
Data coverage: 354 verified or structural · 73 estimated · 119 awaiting data · 25 countries not ranked
Estimates, comparison-only price scenarios, missing data and countries with no general statutory minimum are excluded from verified rankings. Reference times are shown with their assumptions. They are never assigned zero hours.
One country. Different plans.
🇯🇵 Japan — Wakayama
Regular monthly USD prices from official providers. Country access refers to the
consumer web service; local paid-plan checkout may differ.
| AI plan | USD / month | Hours of work | Service availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT GoOpenAI | $8 | 1h 10m | Available Sources & scopeChatGPT · Available Listed for consumer web access. Paid-plan checkout, payment methods and individual features may have additional restrictions. Official support list Checked 2026-09-29 |
| ChatGPT PlusOpenAI | $20 | 2h 54m | Available Sources & scopeChatGPT · Available Listed for consumer web access. Paid-plan checkout, payment methods and individual features may have additional restrictions. Official support list Checked 2026-09-29 |
| ChatGPT Pro — MoreOpenAI | $200 | 29h 02m | Available Sources & scopeChatGPT · Available Listed for consumer web access. Paid-plan checkout, payment methods and individual features may have additional restrictions. Official support list Checked 2026-09-29 |
| Claude ProAnthropic | $20 | 2h 54m | Available Sources & scopeClaude · Available Listed for consumer web access. Paid-plan checkout, payment methods and individual features may have additional restrictions. Official support list Checked 2026-09-29 |
| Claude Max — 5×Anthropic | $100 | 14h 31m | Available Sources & scopeClaude · Available Listed for consumer web access. Paid-plan checkout, payment methods and individual features may have additional restrictions. Official support list Checked 2026-09-29 |
| Google AI PlusGoogle | $4.99 | 0h 43m | Available Sources & scopeGemini · Available Listed for consumer web access. Paid-plan checkout, payment methods and individual features may have additional restrictions. Official support list Checked 2026-09-29 |
| Google AI ProGoogle | $19.99 | 2h 54m | Available Sources & scopeGemini · Available Listed for consumer web access. Paid-plan checkout, payment methods and individual features may have additional restrictions. Official support list Checked 2026-09-29 |
| Google AI Ultra — 5×Google | $99.99 | 14h 31m | Available Sources & scopeGemini · Available Listed for consumer web access. Paid-plan checkout, payment methods and individual features may have additional restrictions. Official support list Checked 2026-09-29 |
| Google AI Ultra — 20×Google | $199.99 | 29h 02m | Available Sources & scopeGemini · Available Listed for consumer web access. Paid-plan checkout, payment methods and individual features may have additional restrictions. Official support list Checked 2026-09-29 |
| SuperGrokxAI | $30 | 4h 21m | Country access unconfirmed Sources & scopeGrok · Country access unconfirmed We have not verified an official country-level support statement for this service. A working website or status page does not establish local access. Provider guidance |
| SuperGrok PlusxAI | $100 | 14h 31m | Country access unconfirmed Sources & scopeGrok · Country access unconfirmed We have not verified an official country-level support statement for this service. A working website or status page does not establish local access. Provider guidance |
| Kimi PlusMoonshot AI | $19 | 2h 45m | Country access unconfirmed Sources & scopeKimi · Country access unconfirmed We have not verified an official country-level support statement for this service. A working website or status page does not establish local access. Provider guidance |
| Kimi ProMoonshot AI | $39 | 5h 40m | Country access unconfirmed Sources & scopeKimi · Country access unconfirmed We have not verified an official country-level support statement for this service. A working website or status page does not establish local access. Provider guidance |
| Kimi MaxMoonshot AI | $99 | 14h 22m | Country access unconfirmed Sources & scopeKimi · Country access unconfirmed We have not verified an official country-level support statement for this service. A working website or status page does not establish local access. Provider guidance |
| Kimi UltraMoonshot AI | $199 | 28h 53m | Country access unconfirmed Sources & scopeKimi · Country access unconfirmed We have not verified an official country-level support statement for this service. A working website or status page does not establish local access. Provider guidance |
| ChatGPT Pro 500OpenAI | $500 | 72h 34m | Available Sources & scopeChatGPT · Available Listed for consumer web access. Paid-plan checkout, payment methods and individual features may have additional restrictions. Official support list Checked 2026-09-29 |
How much of your time?
Enter your gross hourly wage in US dollars. Your input stays in this browser and is excluded from the index, share links and downloads.