Pick ChatGPT Free if…
you mainly ask questions, rewrite emails and summarise text — unlimited chats, voice mode and file uploads cover that at no cost.
Since August 2026 the free plan no longer runs out of text chats, so the old reason to upgrade is gone. The question now is whether you need Plus's better model and tools.
For everyday questions and drafting, ChatGPT Free is enough — it now has unlimited text chats on GPT-5.6 Luna. Pay for Plus ($20/mo) when you want GPT-5.6 Sol with adjustable reasoning, Deep Research, Codex or custom GPTs.
| ChatGPT Free | ChatGPT Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Price / month | Free | $20/mo |
| What you get |
|
|
| Main model | GPT-5.6 Luna | GPT-5.6 Sol with a reasoning-effort slider |
| Deep Research | — | 10 per month |
| Image generation | Limited | Included |
Monthly prices in US dollars before tax, from each vendor's official pricing (US list price; weekly-billed plans converted to a monthly figure). Updated October 7, 2026
you mainly ask questions, rewrite emails and summarise text — unlimited chats, voice mode and file uploads cover that at no cost.
you need harder reasoning, cited research reports, Codex for code, or custom GPTs you can reuse.
Between the two sits ChatGPT Go ($8/mo). It keeps the same GPT-5.6 Luna model as Free but adds more image generation than Free, plus memory and projects. If image limits are your only frustration, Go is the cheaper fix; if you want a better model, you need Plus or above.
For text chats, yes — the free plan has had unlimited text chats on GPT-5.6 Luna since August 6, 2026. Image generation on the free plan is still limited.
A stronger model (GPT-5.6 Sol, with a slider for how hard it thinks), 10 Deep Research runs a month, Codex, custom GPTs and unlimited GPT-5.4 nano. It costs $20/mo.
How we choose: prices come from each vendor's official pricing page and are re-checked every week. We take no affiliate fees, so rankings aren't for sale.