For beginners
Is ChatGPT free?
Yes. You can use it without paying. The $20 plan is called Plus.
Not sure where to start? Take the 1-minute quiz.
What you get for free
From ChatGPT's pricing page, checked October 30, 2026.
The free plan is available to everyone.
You get unlimited text chats with GPT-6. Abuse guardrails still apply.
You also get a limited amount of file uploads, pictures, voice chats, deep research, and memory. The page does not say how many times "limited" is.
Study mode is included.
You do not get GPT-6.1 Sol or GPT-6 Astra. You do not get voice with video, image generation with Thinking, or scheduled tasks.
What $20 adds
From OpenAI's Plus help page, checked October 30, 2026.
Plus is $20 a month. You pay every month. There is no yearly plan, and you cannot pay for several months at once.
It works on the ChatGPT website and in the supported apps. API use is not included. That is billed on its own.
You get more models and tools than on the free plan, priority when the site is busy, higher limits, advanced reasoning, and faster replies. Voice, pictures, file uploads and analysis, and Deep Research (where it is offered) are included. The models change, so check the model picker in your account.
The pricing page adds the details. Plus includes GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra, which the free plan does not. You also get more messages and uploads, picture creation the page calls more complex and accurate, more deep research, more memory, projects, scheduled tasks, and custom GPTs.
The free plan already includes some pictures, voice, uploads, and deep research. Plus gives you more of those, not your first chance to try them.
The expensive plans
From OpenAI's Pro help page, checked October 30, 2026.
Pro is the heavy set. All three are monthly.
- Pro 100 is $100 a month. Ultrafast is not included.
- Pro 200 is $200 a month. You get more usage than Pro 100. Ultrafast is not included.
- Pro 500 is $500 a month. You get the most usage of the three, and Ultrafast is included.
The pricing page also lists a Go plan. It did not show a price, so none is listed here.
Every plan we store is on ChatGPT plans and what to pay. ChatGPT vs Gemini compares the free plans. Is ChatGPT safe? covers what not to paste in.
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