This guide will help you decide whether ChatGPT Plus is worth paying, taking a look at its features, costs, and how it compares to the free version of ChatGPT.
Who Should Get ChatGPT Plus?
ChatGPT Plus is great for heavy ChatGPT users and those who want the latest features. Consider subscribing if you:
- Want or need to use ChatGPT more than the free tier allows.
- Want access to the latest ChatGPT multi-modality features.
- Want to make images and advanced graphics using AI.
Who Shouldn’t Get ChatGPT Plus
The free version of ChatGPT offers many of the same features. You don’t need to subscribe to ChatGPT Plus if you:
- Only want to play around with ChatGPT casually.
- Don’t care about voice and image-generation support.
- Are fine using the latest language models with a limited number of messages per day.
ChatGPT’s free version still lets you use the latest GPT-4o language model, albeit with fewer daily messages allowed. Considering text generation is ChatGPT’s strongest feature, that should be enough for casual users, and new features are being added all the time.
Why You Should Subscribe to ChatGPT Plus
The free ChatGPT tier might offer a lot to new AI users, but more experienced users or those wanting access to the latest features before anyone else may well want to consider paying for it.
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More ChatGPT Tickets
ChatGPT Plus gives users far more credits/tickets to use with ChatGPT than the free tier. Although many features have changed for ChatGPT Plus over the past year and a half, it has always given premium subscribers more messages to send ChatGPT in any given time period.
As of June 2024, ChatGPT Plus subscribers get five times as many monthly messages with ChatGPT as free-tier users.
Access to New and Advanced GPT Models
When OpenAI starts developing new versions of ChatGPT, it makes them available to Plus subscribers first. Your subscription basically gives you a pass to test out new and upgraded features before anyone else. For example, when OpenAI was making ChatGPT 4o (which replaced 4), Plus members got to try it before it became available to everyone.
Additionally, ChatGPT Plus subscribers can still access the previous language model, which may be slower but still better at other functions.
Use More Multi-Modality Features
A big feature of the newer ChatGPT language models has been their introduction of multi-modality– that is, support for audio, image, video, and other features outside of text input and comprehension. While newer versions may bring the latest model to free users, not all of them can access the additional features yet.
For example, ChatGPT Plus subscribers could use the DALL-E 3 image generation and the audio support before free users. People with paid accounts also have full, uninhibited access to the platform’s data analysis, file uploads, code interpretation, and web browsing, whereas free users may only have limited access.
ChatGPT Plus subscribers can also create and browse custom GPTs at will, with no restrictions.
First Look at New Features
If a new feature is coming to ChatGPT, it’s coming to ChatGPT Plus first. With the launch of the GPT-4o language model, for example, a major focus on the auditory processing of the new model, how it could understand tone and pacing, and create more nuanced responses.
ChatGPT Plus users get these features first, and they may remain exclusive for subscribers for some time to come. If ChatGPT adds more support in the future, it will almost certainly be a ChatGPT Plus feature before it becomes freely available, if it ever does.
Sharing Free Trials
If you know anyone who’s interested but uncertain about ChatGPT Plus’ worth for them, or you just want to share your own access to the latest features, you can use your subscription to give out free trials to friends and family. You can dish out three for each ChatGPT Plus subscription you have,
Why You Shouldn’t Subscribe to ChatGPT Plus
ChatGPT Plus isn’t for everyone, and there are some good reasons why you shouldn’t bother paying extra for it.
The Free Tier Has a Lot of Great Features
The standard, free ChatGPT is really impressive in its own right. It offers extensive access to older GPT language models and limited daily access to the latest version. If you’re only going to use ChatGPT to rewrite a few emails and social media messages, this is absolutely plenty for day-to-day use.
More Features Are Coming to the Free Tier
With newer versions of ChatGPT becoming much more efficient, OpenAI has said it will bring many more new features to the free tier.
It may be a while, and it’s likely that the free version will always lack some features of ChatGPT Plus’ premium experience. However, features from that Plus tier have made it to the free version several times over the past couple of years, so expect the free model to continue to improve in the future.
You’re Happy With the Competition
ChatGPT and ChatGPT Plus don’t exist in a vacuum. Other capable AI chatbot services are also available, and they’re constantly improving their own feature sets.
You can also use Microsoft’s Copilot in Windows 11, Google’s Gemini, and Claude, among others. Some will even let you do much of what ChatGPT Plus can, for free.
Should You Wait for GPT-5?
Much has been made of OpenAI’s rumored next-generation language model, GPT-5. However, there is no indication if it’s even officially in development or, if so, when it might debut. GPT-4o was somewhat of a surprise release, so it seems likely we’ll only really hear about any future language models as and when they’re launched.
OpenAI seems more committed in the short term to further developing the multi-modality of GPT-4o, which is expanding its speech recognition and conversational abilities, as well as its integration with drawing and video generative tools.
That said, there’s no real reason to wait for GPT-5. We don’t know if or when it’s coming. ChatGPT Plus represents a real upgrade over the free option today, and it’s readily available.
