A Big Mac Index
for the AI age.
AI carries a dollar price. Your work pays for it.
How many hours at the local minimum wage buy one month of AI?
In 🇯🇵 Japan — Tokyo, work
to afford AI for one month.
$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.
| Rank | Country | Work for 1 month of AI | IHI · hours | Minimum / hour | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇦🇺 AustraliaAustralian Capital Territory | 1h 05m | 1.08 | $18.46AUD 26.44 | |
| 2 | 🇺🇸 United StatesWashington DC | 1h 05m | 1.09 | $18.4USD 18.4 | |
| 3 | 🇱🇺 LuxembourgLuxembourg City | 1h 06m | 1.1 | $18.19EUR 16.02 | |
| 4 | 🇳🇱 NetherlandsAmsterdam | 1h 11m | 1.18 | $17.02EUR 14.99 | |
| 5 | 🇬🇧 United KingdomLondon | 1h 11m | 1.19 | $16.85GBP 12.71 | |
| 6 | 🇮🇪 IrelandDublin | 1h 15m | 1.24 | $16.06EUR 14.15 | |
| 7 | 🇩🇪 GermanyBerlin | 1h 16m | 1.27 | $15.78EUR 13.9 | |
| — | 🇧🇪 BelgiumBrussels · Estimated · see notes | 1h 18m | 1.3 | $15.4EUR 13.57 | |
| 8 | 🇫🇷 FranceParis | 1h 26m | 1.43 | $13.98EUR 12.31 | |
| 9 | 🇳🇿 New ZealandWellington | 1h 29m | 1.48 | $13.53NZD 23.95 | |
| 10 | 🇨🇦 CanadaOntario | 1h 35m | 1.58 | $12.67CAD 17.95 | |
| 11 | 🇮🇱 IsraelJerusalem | 1h 44m | 1.73 | $11.54ILS 35.4 | |
| — | 🇸🇮 SloveniaLjubljana · Estimated · see notes | 2h 04m | 2.06 | $9.71EUR 8.55 | |
| — | 🇪🇸 SpainMadrid · Estimated · see notes | 2h 09m | 2.14 | $9.33EUR 8.22 | |
| 12 | 🇯🇵 JapanTokyo | 2h 27m | 2.46 | $8.14JPY 1,280 | |
| 13 | 🇱🇹 LithuaniaVilnius | 2h 30m | 2.5 | $8EUR 7.05 | |
| 14 | 🇰🇷 South KoreaSeoul | 2h 38m | 2.63 | $7.62KRW 10,320 | |
| — | 🇵🇱 PolandWarsaw · Estimated · see notes | 2h 47m | 2.78 | $7.2PLN 27.73 | |
| — | 🇬🇷 GreeceAthens · Estimated · see notes | 2h 51m | 2.85 | $7.03EUR 6.19 | |
| 15 | 🇪🇪 EstoniaTallinn | 3h 06m | 3.11 | $6.44EUR 5.67 | |
| 16 | 🇨🇿 CzechiaPrague | 3h 12m | 3.2 | $6.25CZK 134.4 | |
| 17 | 🇵🇹 PortugalMainland — Lisbon | 3h 19m | 3.32 | $6.03EUR 5.31 | |
| 18 | 🇸🇰 SlovakiaBratislava | 3h 21m | 3.35 | $5.97EUR 5.26 | |
| 19 | 🇭🇺 HungaryBudapest | 3h 29m | 3.48 | $5.75HUF 1,856 | |
| — | 🇱🇻 LatviaRiga · Estimated · see notes | 3h 55m | 3.91 | $5.11EUR 4.5 | |
| — | 🇹🇷 TürkiyeAnkara · Estimated · see notes | 5h 47m | 5.79 | $3.46TRY 169.38 | |
| — | 🇨🇷 Costa RicaSan José · Estimated · see notes | 5h 52m | 5.87 | $3.41CRC 1,554.55 | |
| — | 🇨🇱 ChileSantiago · Estimated · see notes | 6h 34m | 6.56 | $3.05CLP 2,961.54 | |
| — | 🇨🇴 ColombiaBogotá · Estimated · see notes | 6h 57m | 6.94 | $2.88COP 9,620.36 | |
| — | 🇲🇽 MexicoMexico City · Estimated · see notes | 9h 10m | 9.16 | $2.18MXN 39.38 | |
| — | 🇨🇳 ChinaBeijing · Estimated · see notes | 9h 11m | 9.18 | $2.18CNY 14.6 | |
| 20 | 🇲🇾 MalaysiaKuala Lumpur | 9h 21m | 9.36 | $2.14MYR 8.72 | |
| 21 | 🇿🇦 South AfricaPretoria | 10h 50m | 10.83 | $1.85ZAR 30.23 | |
| — | 🇮🇩 IndonesiaJakarta · Estimated · see notes | 10h 51m | 10.85 | $1.84IDR 33,056.98 | |
| 22 | 🇵🇭 PhilippinesMetro Manila — general non-agriculture | 13h 16m | 13.27 | $1.51PHP 94.38 | |
| 23 | 🇹🇭 ThailandBangkok | 13h 25m | 13.42 | $1.49THB 50 | |
| 24 | 🇧🇷 BrazilFederal District | 14h 08m | 14.14 | $1.41BRL 7.37 | |
| 25 | 🇻🇳 VietnamHanoi — Zone I | 20h 19m | 20.32 | $0.98VND 25,500 | |
| — | 🇮🇳 IndiaDelhi · Estimated · see notes | 21h 36m | 21.6 | $0.93INR 88.75 | |
| — | 🇳🇬 NigeriaAbuja · Estimated · see notes | 65h 49m | 65.82 | $0.3NGN 403.85 |
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 — Tokyo
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 | 0h 59m | 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 27m | 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 | 24h 35m | 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 27m | 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 | 12h 17m | 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 37m | 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 27m | 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 | 12h 17m | 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 | 24h 34m | 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 | 3h 41m | 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 | 12h 17m | 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 20m | 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 | 4h 48m | 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 | 12h 10m | 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 | 24h 27m | 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 | 61h 26m | 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.