Is ChatGPT free? (Oct 2026)

Yes. Free $0: 'Unlimited text chats with GPT-6' subject to abuse guardrails; limited uploads, image creation, voice, deep research, memory, Codex access. Help center says Free users have GPT-5.6 Luna; tools have separate limits. Ads may appear in some countries. The cheapest paid plan is ChatGPT Go at $8/mo.

Free tierChat assistantsChecked

Yes: what ChatGPT gives you for $0

Yes
Free tier
Free $0: 'Unlimited text chats with GPT-6' subject to abuse guardrails; limited uploads, image creation, voice, deep research, memory, Codex access. Help center says Free users have GPT-5.6 Luna; tools have separate limits. Ads may appear in some countries.Source: chatgpt.com · checked 2026-10-16

Free vs ChatGPT Go

FactFreeGo
Price$0$8/mo
What you getFree $0: 'Unlimited text chats with GPT-6' subject to abuse guardrails; limited uploads, image creation, voice, deep research, memory, Codex access. Help center says Free users have GPT-5.6 Luna; tools have separate limits. Ads may appear in some countries.Source: chatgpt.com · checked 2026-10-16More messages with tools, more uploads, image creation and voice than Free; longer memory. May include ads. Exact caps not published.Source: chatgpt.com · checked 2026-10-16
Top planPro 500 · $500/mo

Free alternatives to ChatGPT

Chat assistants tools with a permanent free plan; ones that put a number on the allowance first, as in our free rankings. Full list: Free AI chatbots: what each free plan actually gives you.

ToolFree?What you get for $0 & source
GeminiChat assistantsFree tier
Allowance stated
Free $0 with a Google Account: 'standard limits' (compute-based; refresh every 5 hours until a weekly limit); 32k-token context window; limited Nano Banana Pro; 15 GB storage.
Source: support.google.com · checked 2026-10-17
ManusChat assistantsFree tier
Allowance stated
Free users get daily refresh credits, capped at 1,500 credits/month, usable only for Manus 2.0 lite. Free credits never expire.
Source: help.manus.im · checked 2026-10-16
ClaudeChat assistantsFree tier
Free $0: chat on web/desktop/mobile, web search, file creation & code execution, memory, connectors, Artifacts, up to 5 Projects. Sonnet and Haiku models (no Opus); no Claude Code. Usage limits reset on a rolling five-hour session window; message counts not published.
Source: claude.com · checked 2026-10-16
PerplexityChat assistantsFree tier
Free (Standard): 'practically unlimited basic searches'; Pro Searches 3/day; Research queries 1/month; no advanced models or image generation; limited file uploads.
Source: perplexity.ai · checked 2026-10-16
GrokChat assistantsFree tier
'Free to try on the web and in the apps'; free tier has limited Chat, Imagine and Build usage. Limits not published.
Source: x.ai · checked 2026-10-16

ChatGPT plans and prices

Go

$8/mo
Limits More messages with tools, more uploads, image creation and voice than Free; longer memory. May include ads. Exact caps not published.Source: chatgpt.com · checked 2026-10-16

Plus

$20/mo
Limits Expanded messages/uploads, advanced reasoning with GPT-6, expanded deep research and Codex. 'Limits apply'; message caps may vary with demand and are not published.Source: help.openai.com · checked 2026-10-16

Pro 100

$100/mo
Limits Pro reasoning (GPT-6 Astra), longer Codex/Work sessions, 'unlimited' subject to abuse guardrails. Lowest of three Pro tiers; per-model allowances vary by tier and are not published.Source: help.openai.com · checked 2026-10-16

Pro 200

$200/mo
Limits More usage than Pro 100. New (non-grandfathered) Pro 200 subscriptions get a lower usage allowance than previously offered.Source: help.openai.com · checked 2026-10-16

Pro 500

$500/mo
Limits Highest included usage; includes GPT-6 Astra Ultrafast and GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast.Source: help.openai.com · checked 2026-10-16
Price watch

Get an email when ChatGPT changes its prices or limits

We re-check chatgpt.com every day. One email per verified price, limit or free-tier change. Last verified change: .

Compare ChatGPT with similar tools

ChatGPT's cheapest paid plan: Go $8/mo. Prices are the month-to-month price of each tool's cheapest individual plan, the same basis as our rankings; "billed yearly" when that's all the vendor publishes.

  • GeminiChat assistants$4.99/moGoogle AI Plus · free plan too$3.01/mo less
  • GrokChat assistants$8/moPlus · free plan tooSame price
  • Microsoft CopilotChat assistants$9.99/moMicrosoft 365 Personal · free plan too$1.99/mo more

Is ChatGPT free? Questions

Is ChatGPT free?

Yes. Free $0: 'Unlimited text chats with GPT-6' subject to abuse guardrails; limited uploads, image creation, voice, deep research, memory, Codex access. Help center says Free users have GPT-5.6 Luna; tools have separate limits. Ads may appear in some countries.

What does the free ChatGPT plan include?

Free $0: 'Unlimited text chats with GPT-6' subject to abuse guardrails; limited uploads, image creation, voice, deep research, memory, Codex access. Help center says Free users have GPT-5.6 Luna; tools have separate limits. Ads may appear in some countries.

How much does ChatGPT cost after the free plan?

ChatGPT Go is $8/mo; the top individual plan, ChatGPT Pro 500, is $500/mo. Checked 2026-10-16.

What are free alternatives to ChatGPT?

Gemini: Free $0 with a Google Account: 'standard limits' (compute-based; refresh every 5 hours until a weekly limit); 32k-token context window; limited Nano Banana Pro; 15 GB storage. Manus: Free users get daily refresh credits, capped at 1,500 credits/month, usable only for Manus 2.0 lite. Free credits never expire. Claude: Free $0: chat on web/desktop/mobile, web search, file creation & code execution, memory, connectors, Artifacts, up to 5 Projects. Sonnet and Haiku models (no Opus); no Claude Code. Usage limits reset on a rolling five-hour session window; message counts not published.

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