# Grok Business vs the xAI API vs a custom agent

Use Grok Business (~$30 per seat) when people need a governed assistant. Use the xAI API when you are embedding a model in software you control. Use a Grok bot — often through Cursor — when the work is “do this job across several apps.” Many companies end up mixed.

## Questions

### Should a business use Grok Business or the xAI API?

Use Grok Business (~$30 per seat) when people need a governed assistant. Use the xAI API when you are embedding a model in software you control. Use a Grok bot — often through Cursor — when the work is “do this job across several apps.” Many companies end up mixed.

### What does the Grok 4.6 API cost?

As of August 2026, Grok 4.6 bills $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens under 200,000 prompt tokens, with cached input at $0.50. At or above 200,000 prompt tokens the whole request doubles.

### What does Grok Business cost?

About $30 per seat per month in 2026, with centralized billing and a default that your data is not used for training.

### When is a custom agent system the right buy?

When you need a shared graph, named loops, evaluation, and a human acceptance path that a raw seat or API call does not give you. That is an install, not a subscription SKU.

### Can Helixfield mix Grok seats and the API?

Yes. A Field Survey often recommends Business seats for staff, a bot for one operational loop, and a small API bill for an internal tool.