Create an xAI account

Before you start

To use Grok, you need an xAI account. Creating one is free and takes a few minutes, but two or three decisions you make when signing up are hard to undo later. Better to know about them before you click.

xAI account creation page

This lesson walks you from sign-up to your first sign-in, pointing out the irreversible choices along the way.

The two entry points

xAI runs two separate platforms that share the same account system. grok.com hosts conversations: that’s the consumer side. console.x.ai gives access to the API and technical management: that’s the developer side.

You have a single account that works on both. Billing, however, is kept separate: Grok subscriptions (Premium) are managed on grok.com, and API usage on console.x.ai. A user who signs up for Premium and then finds their API calls billed separately hasn’t missed anything: these really are two separate budget lines.

Step 1: create your account

Go to accounts.x.ai. You’re offered three ways to sign up: sign in with X, the fastest if you already have an account on the platform, which links your identities automatically; sign up by email, with an address and a password; or sign in with Google, which reuses an existing account.

This choice deserves two minutes of thought. Technically, nothing stops you from creating several accounts with the same email address through different methods, but those accounts can never be merged. If you sign up by email today and with X six months from now, you’ll end up with two separate histories and two separate bills. So decide now which method you’ll stick with. Note that signing in with X automatically links your Grok account and your API account.

Step 2: secure your account

Once the account exists, don’t put off securing it. From accounts.x.ai, open the Security section and turn on two-factor authentication. This step becomes essential if you plan to use the API with prepaid credits: a compromised key means calls billed against your balance.

Turning on MFA gives you recovery codes. Store them right away in your password manager, not in a text file on your desktop. xAI can’t remove or reset MFA on your behalf: without those codes, the only way out if you lose your second factor is deleting the account, along with everything in it.

Step 3: open the developer console

If you’re interested in the API, sign in to console.x.ai with the account you just created. Generating a key takes four steps.

Go to console.x.ai/team/default/api-keys
Click the button to create a new key
Give your key a descriptive name (for example, “test-project”)
Copy the generated key immediately: it won’t be shown again

The fourth point is the one that catches everyone: the key appears only once. If you close the tab without pasting it somewhere, all you can do is revoke it and create another.

To go beyond the free quota, you’ll need to set up a payment method in the console’s Billing section, by adding a card and, if you like, buying prepaid credits. Check your billing information carefully before any purchase: prepaid credits are non-refundable, and invoices can’t be regenerated with corrected information. A mistyped company name becomes a lasting accounting headache.

Head to grok.com to sign in. You land directly in the conversation interface, and the free plan already lets you chat with Grok, ask it about current events, run web searches, and try image generation within certain limits. That’s more than enough to follow the upcoming lessons.

Managing your account

A few operations will come in handy sooner or later. You change your email on accounts.x.ai, on the Account page. You delete your account at accounts.x.ai/account, with a useful nuance: the account can be restored for thirty days if you sign back in, which gives you time to reverse a hasty decision. Finally, requests about personal data go to privacy.x.ai.

Key takeaways

Creating an account is free at accounts.x.ai
A single account works for both grok.com and console.x.ai
Turn on MFA and keep your recovery codes
You generate API keys on console.x.ai
Billing is separate for Grok (subscription) and the API (usage)
Prepaid credits are non-refundable