ChatGPT is completely free to use, but that doesn’t mean OpenAI isn’t also interested in making some money.
ChatGPT Plus is a subscription that gives you access to the GPT-4o large language model, along with faster speeds, more reliability, and first access to new features. Beyond that, it also opens up the ability to create custom GPTs, use DALL-E 3 image generation, and much more.
What is ChatGPT Plus?
ChatGPT Plus, like the standard free version of ChatGPT, is an AI chatbot that debuted in February 2023. It offers a highly accurate machine learning assistant that’s able to carry out natural language “chats.”
“We launched ChatGPT as a research preview so we could learn more about the system’s strengths and weaknesses, and gather user feedback to help us improve upon its limitations,” OpenAI’s announcement blog post states. “Since then, millions of people have given us feedback, we’ve made several important updates, and we’ve seen users find value across a range of professional use cases including drafting and editing content, brainstorming ideas, programming help, and learning new topics.”
How much does it cost?
ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month. Of course, the free version of ChatGPT remains in place, so paying won’t be a requirement to use the service moving forward.
We’ll have to see how long OpenAI keeps this price, however. Some reports indicate that it may be costing as much as $700,000 per day to operate, but then again, we don’t know how many subscribers ChatGPT Plus currently has.
What does ChatGPT Plus include?
When ChatGPT launched, it was described as providing access to three specific features:
- General access to ChatGPT, even during peak times
- Faster response times
- Priority access to new features and improvements
At the beginning, having access to ChatGPT during peak times was the most obvious major benefit of paying for ChatGPT Plus. Some people were having to wait hours to get in, which ensured the popularity of the subscription model right from the get-go.
It’s more than just jumping to the front of the line, though. ChatGPT Plus officially supports GPT-4, which greatly expands on what the previous GPT-3.5 model could do. According to OpenAI, GPT-4 provides 40% more factual responses, and is a much stronger collaborative tool for creative tasks.
Other major features added through GPT-4 are the ability to receive visual input instead of just text, much longer text inputs and outputs, and access to data gleaned from the internet prior to October 2023. In particular, GPT-4 has a massive 25,000-word input limit compared to the 3,000-word limit of GPT-3.5.
OpenAI has also delivered on its promise to bring exciting new features to ChatGPT Plus subscribers. Among the most powerful are the ability to create custom chatbots known as GPTs and generate images with DALL-E 3. The GPT Store is the latest addition, having been launched in January 2024.
People are already doing amazing things with all these new features, including building GPTs that find their way into the GPT Store. This is where the power of ChatGPT Plus really shines, allowing you to access an entire ecosystem of GPTs that have been built for more narrow use cases. There are third-party GPTs that are the equivalent of apps.
In the end, if you’re interested in trying any of this out, you can always easily check it out and cancel your account later if you don’t think it’s worth it.
Why does OpenAI want you to pay up?
ChatGPT has high running costs — for hosting, upkeep, upgrading hardware, updates, satisfying its investors, etc. — while its own popularity has led to an immediate need to improve its accessibility and speed to a greater user base. Some estimates peg daily running costs at $100,000, or up to $3 million a month! The premium subscription should help to cover server upgrades.
It’s safe to assume that a premium tier will let OpenAI control bandwidth issues, especially during peak times of the day.
Can I subscribe to ChatGPT Plus now?
Yes. ChatGPT Plus initially launched in early access phase, which was by invite-only through a waitlist. But now, you can upgrade your account to ChatGPT Plus just by clicking on “Upgrade to Plus” at the bottom of the sidebar.
As an alternative, you can check out some of what GPT-4 has to offer by using Bing Chat, which also uses GPT-4 as a basis for its chats.
The future of ChatGPT Plus
OpenAI is already working on the next versions of its LLM. We don’t know much about this updated model, except that it will build on the foundation laid by GPT-4. OpenAI had suggested in the past that GPT-4.5 could be finished training and ready to go by September or October of 2023. That didn’t happen.
There’s also the question of Sora, OpenAI’s new generative video platform that’s been taking the internet by storm. It’s still being held to a very early circle of testers, but the first videos posted online have already left quite an impression.
GPT-5 was at one point rumored to be in the works, but OpenAI now says it’s no longer even on the road map.
