chatgpt free: what you get and what paid plans add

yes, ChatGPT is free: on the standard free plan everyday text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna are unlimited, and you can also search the web, upload files, create images and talk by voice – but those tools have their own limits. paid plans start with Go at $8 a month, then Plus at $20 and Pro from $100 (US prices; they can differ by country). everything below was checked on OpenAI's pricing page and help center on September 27, 2026; plans change often, so the date matters.

*per OpenAI's model guide; the pricing page describes Plus as "advanced reasoning models with GPT-6". ChatGPT Work and Codex have their own model lineup, covered below. sources: ChatGPT pricing, models by plan, Business FAQ.

is chatgpt free?

yes. OpenAI's help center puts it plainly: "ChatGPT is free to use", and "free users have unlimited everyday text chats, subject to abuse-prevention safeguards" (Free tier FAQ). unlimited text arrived in August 2026, when GPT-5.6 Luna became the default model for Free and Go users (release notes).

"unlimited" covers ordinary text chats on the standard free plan. file uploads, image generation, voice, data analysis and other tools have limits of their own, separate from text chats. one exception: if you switch to the ad-free version of Free (see the section on ads), you get fewer messages. you need a free account to keep history; without one you can still chat, with restrictions covered below.

what the chatgpt free plan includes

according to the Free tier FAQ, the pricing page and OpenAI's feature articles, a free account gets:

• GPT-5.6 Luna in regular chats – the fastest and cheapest model in the GPT-5.6 family (models by plan). there's also a Think option for harder questions, on the web and in the mobile app (release notes; the Free tier FAQ still says it's "rolling out" on the web);
• web search with up-to-date answers;
• file and image uploads and data analysis: 3 file uploads a day, possibly fewer at peak hours (file uploads FAQ);
• image generation, "limited and slower";
• voice chats with GPT-Live-1 mini, limited (ChatGPT voice);
• deep research, limited;
• memory, "limited memory and context";
• projects, up to 5 files per project (projects);
• scheduled tasks: up to 3 active, one-time or at most once a day, delivered in flexible windows such as morning or night rather than at an exact time (scheduled tasks);
• Codex (OpenAI's coding agent) and ChatGPT Work in the desktop app, both limited;
• GPTs: you can find and use existing ones;
• Library with 500 MB of storage for your files.

what Free doesn't have: the stronger chat models. in regular chats Free and Go get Luna; Sol starts at Plus and GPT-6 Pro at Pro. Work and Codex have their own lineup: in Codex, Free and Go get GPT-5.6 Terra, while Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise get GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra and Luna (models by plan). since September 22, 2026 there are also GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna in Work and Codex; they aren't available in regular chats, and access depends on your plan, workspace settings and rollout (ChatGPT Work and Codex, release notes). if you're curious how Luna compares with rivals on price and benchmarks, we covered OpenAI's 80% cut to Luna's API pricing.

GPTs are changing too: new GPTs can't be created on personal accounts, Free through Pro (Free tier FAQ), and OpenAI plans to retire custom GPTs on December 11, 2026 in favour of plugins (custom GPT retirement FAQ). the pricing page still lists custom GPTs for Plus.

chatgpt free plan limits

OpenAI publishes some free-plan limits (3 file uploads a day, 5 files per project, 3 active scheduled tasks), but not a full table: the help center says limits "can change over time". what the help center says:

• text chats: unlimited on the standard free plan, with anti-abuse safeguards;
• tools with their own limits: data analysis, file and image uploads, image creation; the pricing page also marks voice, deep research, Codex and Work as limited on Free. Work and Codex draw on one shared allowance (Codex with your ChatGPT plan);
• GPTs follow the free model's limits: when you hit it, GPT access pauses until the reset;
• resets: ChatGPT tells you when you hit a limit and shows the reset time where it can; for uploads it doesn't show how much of your quota is left;
• upgrading resets limits: if you hit a limit on Free and move to Plus, Pro or Business, your usage resets.

according to OpenAI, everyday text chats are unlimited, while uploads, image generation, voice and research are capped. if those tools are what you use ChatGPT for, that's the signal to look at Go or Plus.

one more thing a free account should know: by default your chats can be used to train OpenAI's models. you can turn that off in data controls, and while a Temporary Chat remains temporary it isn't used for training or shown in your history; saving it makes it a regular chat that follows your account's model-improvement settings (data controls, how your data is used).

ads on the free plan

ChatGPT Free and Go can show ads. OpenAI started testing them in the United States on February 9, 2026 and is rolling them out to more regions (ads in ChatGPT). the rules, per OpenAI:

• ads are labeled and shown separately from the answer; OpenAI says they "do not influence ChatGPT's answers";
• no ads for accounts identified as under 18;
• Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu have no ads;
• eligible Free users in the test regions can switch to an ad-free version, but it comes with lower limits: fewer messages and no access to some tools such as image generation and deep research.

chatgpt pricing plans compared

go – $8 a month

$8 is the US price (introducing ChatGPT Go). Go gives everything in Free with higher limits: more messages with tools, more uploads, more image creation, more voice and longer memory (pricing). voice on Go is 3 hours of GPT-Live-1 mini in a rolling 24 hours, while Free gets limited access with no fixed number (ChatGPT voice). the Go FAQ contradicts this and says Go's voice limits are the same as Free's; we give the voice article's numbers because it is the more specific page, but check the app. projects hold 25 files instead of 5. the chat model is the same GPT-5.6 Luna, and the plan "may include ads". Go is sold in every country where ChatGPT works; OpenAI bills it in US dollars with some local currencies, and prices can differ by country (what is ChatGPT Go).

plus – $20 a month

the plan most people mean by "paid ChatGPT". on top of Go: stronger reasoning models, more messages and uploads, images with thinking (images in ChatGPT), expanded deep research, memory and Codex, 5 active scheduled tasks with hourly repeats, ChatGPT Work on desktop, web and mobile, early access to new features, and no ads (pricing, scheduled tasks). voice is 3 hours of the full GPT-Live-1 in a rolling 24 hours. OpenAI's model guide lists GPT-5.6 Sol with Instant, Medium and High for Plus chats (models by plan); GPT-6 Astra comes with Plus inside Work and Codex, not in regular chats (ChatGPT Work and Codex). the pricing page words it as "advanced reasoning models with GPT-6", so check the model picker on your account.

pro – $100 or $200 a month

two tiers with the same features and different allowances: Pro $100 gives 5x the usage of Plus, Pro $200 gives 20x (Pro tiers). both add GPT-6 Pro, powered by GPT-6 Astra, in chats, but with its own quota: 50 messages a week shared across Pro models on Pro $100 and 200 GPT-6 Pro messages a week on Pro $200 (models by plan). Work and Codex are counted separately.

since September 10, 2026, OpenAI has paused new sign-ups and upgrades to Pro $200. existing subscribers keep it, eligible former Pro $200 subscribers can come back once within 30 days after their access ends, and Pro $100 is open as usual.

business and enterprise

Business is a shared workspace for teams that starts at two paid seats (Business FAQ):

so the smallest Standard team costs $50 a month, or $480 a year for two seats. Premium seats get 5x the usage of Standard and no five-hour usage limit; you can mix both types in one workspace. the strongest models are rationed on Business: GPT-6 Pro and GPT-5.6 Sol Pro share 15 messages a month on a Standard seat and 50 a week on Premium (models by plan). new subscriptions since August 24, 2026 are capped at 200 paid seats. OpenAI says it doesn't train on Business workspace data by default. Enterprise pricing is by request.

nonprofits get Business Standard for $10 per seat a month or $8 billed yearly (Premium isn't discounted), and larger nonprofits can get up to 75% off Enterprise through sales (OpenAI for Nonprofits). the pricing page sums this up as "up to a 75% discount on ChatGPT Business or ChatGPT Enterprise".

the API is a separate bill: a ChatGPT subscription doesn't include API usage (what is ChatGPT Plus), and developers pay by usage – tokens plus some tool calls and storage – on OpenAI's API pricing.

which plan should you pick?

our read of the plans, not a test:

• stay on Free if you mostly ask questions, draft and edit text, and upload a file now and then. in our view, unlimited text on Luna covers most everyday use. better prompts get more out of any model – see how to write AI prompts.
• Go ($8) if you keep hitting the upload, image or voice limits but don't need a stronger model.
• Plus ($20) if you need a stronger reasoning model, higher limits on deep research and Codex, GPT-6 Astra in Work and Codex, scheduled tasks at exact times, or no ads. projects hold 25 files on Plus, the same as on Go.
• Pro ($100) if you hit Plus limits every week or need GPT-6 Pro. if you only run out of Codex or Work now and then, you can buy credits instead – a pay-as-you-go add-on for Codex, Work and a few other features, not API credits and not a lift on every limit; for Free and Go, credit purchases are currently available only to a limited group of users (credits).
• Business once more than one person needs it and you want shared admin and billing.

and if ChatGPT's limits don't suit you, see what Gemini, Claude and others offer in our guide to Claude alternatives.

use chatgpt free online, with or without an account

the official address is chatgpt.com. you can start typing there without signing up, with limits (ChatGPT home page):

• only one conversation at a time – starting a new chat closes the old one;
• no saved history: the chat lives only in the current browser session;
• by default, logged-out chats can be used to train models; you can opt out, but the setting resets when you clear cookies or change browsers;
• not available in Europe, except the UK.

a free account keeps your history and memory and unlocks the free plan's tools. plenty of sites and apps use "ChatGPT free online" in their names; check the domain and the app publisher before you type anything personal. the official web address is chatgpt.com, and the apps are published by OpenAI.

official chatgpt apps

the free plan works in OpenAI's own apps (download page):

• web: chatgpt.com in any modern browser;
• iOS and Android: the ChatGPT app in the App Store and Google Play;
• macOS and Windows: desktop apps from chatgpt.com/download, which offers both the current app and ChatGPT Classic (Windows is also in the Microsoft Store);
• Linux: a public preview for Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04 LTS, Debian 13 and Fedora 43 and 44 since August 14, 2026 (release notes);
• chrome: an official browser extension that works together with the desktop app.

on the free plan, ChatGPT Work runs only in the desktop app; Plus also opens it on the web and mobile (pricing).

is there a chatgpt plus free trial?

there's no standing free trial of Plus for everyone. what exists:

• invites: OpenAI sometimes gives eligible users codes or links for a free, limited-time trial. who can invite, how long it lasts and who can redeem it (usually new or free users) depend on the campaign; some promos ask for a payment method, and a trial can turn into a paid subscription unless you cancel before it ends (promotional trials FAQ);
• students in the US: four free months of Plus, below;
• Go at $8 is the cheap way to try higher limits for one month.

free chatgpt offers for students, teachers and researchers

• college and graduate students in the US, full-time or part-time at eligible degree-granting institutions, get four free monthly billing periods of Plus through the 2026 back-to-school offer. existing monthly Plus subscribers billed directly by ChatGPT can claim it too, and an earlier student promo doesn't rule you out. verification is through SheerID, the offer must be claimed by October 31, 2026, and a payment method is required. after four months it renews at $20 a month. if you cancel early, access runs to the end of the current monthly billing period and the remaining free months are lost. subscriptions billed through Apple or Google Play aren't eligible (student offer).
• US K–12 teachers and school staff at accredited schools and districts get ChatGPT for Teachers, a separate education workspace, free through June 2028 according to the help center (ChatGPT for Teachers); the pricing page says June 2027.
• universities can buy ChatGPT Edu for their students and staff; that's a campus plan, not a personal discount (ChatGPT Edu). approved academic researchers can get up to five seats for 12 months (academic researchers).

how we checked

this is a summary of OpenAI's own pages, not a test of the free plan. we opened the pricing page and each help-center article linked here on September 27, 2026 and quoted plan names, prices and limits from them. where OpenAI's own pages differ – the pricing page against the help center on models on Plus, custom GPTs, the teachers' offer and the nonprofit discount, and help articles against each other on voice on Go and Think on the web – we say so and give both. our own ChatGPT use is on a paid plan: we run Codex on a ChatGPT subscription every day for code review and fact-checking, so we don't report free-plan limits from experience.

faq

is chatgpt free to use?

yes. everyday text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna are unlimited on the standard free plan; uploads, images, voice, deep research and Codex have their own limits.

is chatgpt free unlimited?

only for everyday text chats, subject to abuse safeguards, and not on the ad-free version of Free. tools have their own limits; Free users can upload 3 files a day.

can i use chatgpt free without login?

yes, at chatgpt.com, but only one chat at a time and without saved history. it isn't available in Europe except the UK.

is chatgpt free on iphone?

yes. the official ChatGPT app is free in the App Store and gives you the same free plan; paid plans bought in the app are billed by Apple.

how much is chatgpt plus?

$20 a month. Go is $8, Pro is $100 or $200, Business is $25 per seat a month or $20 billed yearly.

is chatgpt free for students?

the free plan is free for everyone in the countries where ChatGPT is supported. US college students can also get four months of Plus free if they claim the offer by October 31, 2026.

does chatgpt free have ads?

it can. ads are rolling out on Free and Go in some regions; Plus and higher plans have no ads.

sources

• ChatGPT pricing, OpenAI API pricing, ChatGPT download, ChatGPT in the Microsoft Store
• OpenAI help center, plans: ChatGPT Free tier FAQ, what is ChatGPT Go, what is ChatGPT Plus, about ChatGPT Pro tiers, ChatGPT Business FAQ, OpenAI for Nonprofits, supported countries, introducing ChatGPT Go, ads in ChatGPT, ChatGPT release notes
• OpenAI help center, models and features: GPT-5.6 and GPT-6 Pro in ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex, using Codex with your ChatGPT plan, file uploads FAQ, projects, scheduled tasks, ChatGPT voice, images in ChatGPT, credits for flexible usage, custom GPT retirement FAQ, data controls, how your data is used, the ChatGPT home page
• OpenAI help center, offers: back-to-school offer for students, promotional subscriptions and trial invites, ChatGPT for Teachers, ChatGPT Edu, ChatGPT for academic researchers