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ChatGPT

by OpenAI · San Francisco, USA

The most popular AI assistant. General-purpose, strong at writing & images.

Founded Nov 2022
Lowest plan Free
Top plan $200/mo
API range $0.05–$180 / 1M
Visit ChatGPT ↗ Updated September 7, 2026
§ Quick answer

Is ChatGPT free?

Yes — ChatGPT has a free tier you can use without paying anything. Paid plans start at $8/mo.

§ Pricing

All plans, in full.

Free
Free
Free
  • GPT-5.6 Luna
  • Unlimited text chats (since Aug 6, 2026); replaces GPT-5.5 Instant
  • Voice mode
  • File uploads
  • Image generation (limited)
Go
$8 /mo
ChatGPT Go
  • GPT-5.6 Luna
  • Unlimited text chats; Terra in Work/Codex only
  • Image generation
  • Voice mode
  • Memory & projects
Plus
$20 /mo
ChatGPT Plus
  • GPT-5.5 Instant + GPT-5.6 Sol (reasoning modes)
  • 20 GPT-5.6 Sol msgs / week
  • 100 GPT-5 thinking / week
  • Unlimited GPT-5.4 nano
  • 10 Deep Research / mo
  • Custom GPTs, Sora, Codex; Terra/Luna in Work & Codex only
Pro
$100–200 /mo
ChatGPT Pro
  • $100: 5× Plus usage, 5× Codex, ~50 Deep Research/mo
  • $200: 20× Plus usage, unlimited Sora, Operator, adv. voice, 250 Deep Research/mo
  • Full GPT-5.6 family + GPT-5.5 pro mode; GPT-6 Astra rolling out (since Sep 3, 2026)
  • Priority access

The honest take

The most popular AI assistant. General-purpose, strong at writing & images.

Best for: Everyday writing, brainstorming, image generation, casual coding

Where it falls short: Output quality varies between model tiers; pricing tiers can confuse

What you actually get

  • Writing
  • Images
  • Voice
  • Web browsing
  • DALL-E
  • GPTs

Pricing history

Jan 2023
Plus launched at $20/mo
Sep 2024
Pro tier introduced at $200/mo
2026
ChatGPT Go added at $8/mo
Apr 9, 2026
New $100/mo Pro tier added (5x Plus usage), between Plus and $200 Pro
Apr 23, 2026
GPT-5.5 released; API doubled to $5/$30 per 1M
Jul 9, 2026
GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna released publicly (API $5/$30, $2.50/$15, $1/$6) after US lifts limits Jul 8
Jul 30, 2026
GPT-5.6 Terra & Luna repriced: Terra $2.50/$15 -> $2/$12, Luna $1/$6 -> $0.20/$1.20
Aug 6, 2026
GPT-5.6 Luna becomes default for Free & Go, with unlimited text chats
Aug 21, 2026
GPT-5.6 Sol API cut 20% to $4/$20 per 1M (promo thru Nov 21); new >272K-token tier at $8/$30
Sep 3, 2026
GPT-6 Astra released; API $10/$50 per 1M, cache read $1 (>272K tokens: $20/$75, cache $2); rolling out to Plus, Pro, Business & Enterprise

Should you pay for it?

The free tier of ChatGPT is good enough for casual use. Pay $8 only when you start hitting daily caps or need access to the better models.

API model pricing pages

Plan deep dives

§ FAQ

Common questions, answered.

Is ChatGPT free?

Yes — ChatGPT has a free tier you can use without paying anything. Paid plans start at $8/mo.

How much does ChatGPT cost in 2026?

ChatGPT pricing in 2026: Free — $0; ChatGPT Go — $8/mo; ChatGPT Plus — $20/mo; ChatGPT Pro — $100–200/mo. Full plan-by-plan details are in the table above.

What does the free version of ChatGPT include?

The free tier includes: GPT-5.6 Luna, Unlimited text chats (since Aug 6, 2026); replaces GPT-5.5 Instant, Voice mode, File uploads, Image generation (limited).

Is ChatGPT Go worth $8/mo?

The free tier of ChatGPT is good enough for casual use. Pay $8 only when you start hitting daily caps or need access to the better models.