If you’re looking for ways to use ChatGPT for free, you’re not alone. Many users are hesitant to subscribe to the paid plan, mainly due to cost considerations and the fact that they only use the service casually.
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OpenAI offers two plans for individuals, namely the Free plan and ChatGPT Plus:
(Captured on 1 September 2024 from “Pricing”, https://openai.com/chatgpt/pricing/)
Free ChatGPT users currently have access to GPT-4o mini and limited usage of GPT-4o, while paid ChatGPT Plus users enjoy the full suite of GPT-4, GPT-4o, and GPT-4o mini models. We will discuss what this means if you’re using ChatGPT for free in a while.
If you’re not ready to subscribe to the paid plan yet, this guide is for you. We will explore the ways to access ChatGPT for free and tell you why you could stay with the free plan. Look out for suggestions to other platforms that offer similar AI tools too.
How to Sign Up for ChatGPT Free Plan
Signing up to use the ChatGPT free plan is simple. Just follow these steps:
- Visit the Website: Go to chat.openai.com.
- Sign Up: Click on “Sign Up” and enter your email address or continue with Google or Microsoft accounts.
- Verify Email: Check your email for a verification link and confirm your account.
- Set Up Your Account: Complete the setup by adding your name and phone number for verification.
- Start Using ChatGPT: Once verified, you can start using ChatGPT for free.
“Why Do I Need to Subscribe to ChatGPT Plus When I Can Use ChatGPT for Free?”
If you’ve used ChatGPT for long enough, you might recall how advanced features were once exclusive to paid subscribers, like the distinction between GPT-3.5 and GPT-4.0.
However, with the recent rollout of GPT-4o mini, the line is starting to blur. Free users now have access to many of the advanced capabilities of the newest flagship model, GPT-4o, which were previously reserved for paying users.
This shift naturally begs the question: “Why should I subscribe to ChatGPT Plus when so many features are now available when I use ChatGPT for free?”
Let’s make a comparison.
What Users Can Do with the Free Plan
The ChatGPT free plan, mainly powered by GPT-4o mini, offers a variety of features particularly appealing to casual users.
Long story short, if you’re only not using ChatGPT for heavy-duty tasks, the free version is usually sufficient to get you the assistance you need. Here’s a more elaborate explanation of what you can expect when you use ChatGPT for free though:
Access to GPT-4o Mini and Limited GPT-4o
GPT-4o mini, the model that free users primarily interact with, is a “thinner” version of the flagship ChatGPT 4o model—nonetheless, it still provides robust experience and is good enough to handle most users’ AI needs.
You can use it for most everyday or professional tasks, like answering questions, generating content, brainstorming ideas, and more. But since it’s free, you should expect restrictions. More about this below.
Multimodal Features (Text, Images, Voice)
Previously, ChatGPT interactions for free users were limited to text only, while ChatGPT Plus users had access to a multi-modal experience—meaning that the AI could understand and respond in text, images, or voice.
But since the introduction of ChatGPT 4o mini, free users can also experience ChatGPT’s multi-modal capabilities (albeit with limitations). For example, they can upload a photo for ChatGPT to analyze, or speak directly with ChatGPT through its Voice capability.
Limited Web Browsing and File Uploads
ChatGPT, like most AI tools, answers questions based on its training data. There will inevitably be gaps in the training data or updates that the AI has missed, which can lead to inaccuracies or outdated information in its responses.
OpenAI addressed this by implementing web browsing capability to enable ChatGPT to pull the latest information from the Internet. Free users enjoy this feature too, but as with other features mentioned above, there are restrictions.
Image Generation with DALL-E
Free users can now generate images with ChatGPT, thanks to a recent update. The images are generated images through DALL-E, OpenAI’s high-end image generation model—so the quality is prettry stunning.
What might be disappointing is, that the number of prompts allowed is pathetically limited. Typically, users can only generate 2 or 3 images daily before hitting the limit.
Advanced Features of the Paid ChatGPT Plus Plan
While the free version meets basic needs, the paid ChatGPT Plus plan offers advanced features tailored for more demanding tasks.
Paid users can access GPT-4 and the complete version of GPT-4o, which offer more accurate and contextually aware responses. These are especially useful for professional writing, coding, data analysis, or other intensive tasks.
In addition, they receive up to five times more message capacity for GPT-4. This reduces worries about hitting the prompt limits, and will benefit those who use the AI extensively for demanding work.
ChatGPT Plus subscribers also enjoy fewer limitations on advanced features. For instance, the multi-modal capability, web browsing, and image generation functions are less restricted for them. Furthermore, they can customize ChatGPT’s behavior, tone, and knowledge scope to fit their particular purposes through custom GPT—a feature that’s not accessible for free users.
By paying just $20 a month, ChatGPT Plus users unlock enhanced capabilities, fewer restrictions, and the ability to customize their ChatGPT experience
An Alternative Way to Use ChatGPT for Free…
Do you know that you don’t necessarily need to stick to the official ChatGPT platform to experience GPT models for free? Here’s an alternative you might consider:
Microsoft Bing AI/Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Bing AI/Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant integrated into the Bing search engine. It is accessible from the Bing website, the Microsoft Edge browser (sidebar), or the Bing mobile app.
Powered by the Microsoft Prometheus model built upon the GPT-4 foundational large language model, this AI tool shares many similarities with ChatGPT in terms of functions, such as:
• General Tasks: Answering questions, generating content, brainstorming ideas, and so on.
• Image Generation: Creating images through Microsoft Designer.
• Web Searching: Providing “AI-powered search”—well, it’s made to be integrated into a search engine after all.
• Multi-Modal Capability: Supporting interactions with text, voice, and image.
Doesn’t it sound like a free version of ChatGPT Plus? Yes, probably. But people prefer ChatGPT over Microsoft Copilot.
ChatGPT’s Alternatives
If you’re open to exploring other AI tools, several alternatives to ChatGPT offer free access, each with its unique strengths. Similar to ChatGPT, they all have free versions and paid ones.
Google Gemini
Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini (formerly known as ‘Bard’), is designed for conversational use. Like ChatGPT, it is trained on massive datasets and supports multi-modal interactions. As a Google product, it has the added advantage of seamless integration with other Google services like Search and Workspace. It operates on a web user interface just like ChatGPT.
Claude AI
Claude AI is a well-kept secret among content creators. It’s known to excel in tasks such as summarization, editing, Q&A, decision-making, and code-writing. On top of that, it is able to read and analyze extensive texts of up to 75,000 words, making it ideal for processing large documents. Claude AI’s user-friendly interface allows for easy interaction, positioning it as a strong alternative to ChatGPT.
Perplexity AI
Perplexity AI emerges as a popular tool for people using AI for research and brainstorming. Unlike ChatGPT and other AI models, it accesses the internet in real-time for every query to pull up-to-date answers, and cites sources for its responses. This makes it a reliable tool for accurate, sourced information. Perplexity AI is particularly beneficial for research and academic purposes.
(For more suggestions, check out our recommendations: What Are ChatGPT Alternatives? What Other Leading AI Tools Are There in the Market?)
Conclusion
We have covered how you can use ChatGPT for free and what to expect from doing so. You can see that if you’re not ready to sign up for ChatGPT Plus, the free version is capable enough to handle most of your everyday and professional needs. Unless you need features with fewer limitations or plan to use ChatGPT intensively, the free tier should offer a solid experience.
Plus, we’ve highlighted several alternative methods to use AI without paying. Feel free to stick to the free plan—until your needs grow.
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