ChatGPT Plus costs the same as Adobe Photoshop – and that’s still too much
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ChatGPT is testing a paid version of its AI chatbot that costs the same as a monthly subscription to Adobe Photoshop — and that might be too expensive for most casual users.
ChatGPT Plus, which is being tested in the US, costs $20 per month (about £16 / AU$28) and comes with some benefits. These include access to ChatGPT during peak hours, which is currently an issue with the free version. You also apparently get “faster response times” and “priority access to new features”.
The good news for anyone who has worked with the AI chatbot for coding, factual information or songwriting help is that ChatGPT’s free tier will continue. In fact, the creator of the chatbot, OpenAI, says that ChatGPT Plus is essential so that it can “give free access to as many people as possible”.
But for all but the most hardcore users, ChatGPT Plus will probably be hard to justify. By comparison, Adobe’s photography plan, which includes both Photoshop and Lightroom, has the same monthly cost. And as impressive as ChatGPT is today, it remains an embryonic research project, rather than a polished program with decades of refinement like Photoshop.
Still, there is no doubt that certain users (particularly programmers and researchers) derive huge time-saving benefits from ChatGPT that could justify the expense. OpenAI says it will start the process of inviting people to join her ChatGPT Plus waiting list (opens in new tab) “in the coming weeks”.
Analytics: Good news for free users
ChatGPT Plus is currently just a trial version – and OpenAI probably doesn’t need a large number of signups to be considered a success. The $20 per month fee is also significantly lower than the $42 per month Professional tier that was rumored a few weeks ago.
But the main winners of the Plus version could be free users for now. OpenAI was keen to emphasize that subscription pricing is necessary to keep a free version of its AI chatbot available to a wide audience. It also says it is “exploring options for cheaper plans” and a ChatGPT API waiting list (opens in new tab) coming soon for those who want to build products with the AI tool.
We’ve asked OpenAI how it expects ChatGPT Plus to affect the free version in terms of access and response times, and we’ll update this article when we hear back. But another big challenge for ChatGPT right now is how to evolve it in an ethical way without losing the playfulness that made it a viral hit.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has admitted on Twitter (opens in new tab) that ChatGPT has “shortcomings around bias” and that it is “working to improve on this”. But some users have also become frustrated with the chatbot’s increasing reluctance to engage in creative topics with humor or artistic endeavors.
And then there’s the looming threat of competition from rivals like Google. According to the The New York Times (opens in new tab)Google has as many as 20 AI projects in the works, while Microsoft is seemingly in the process of integrating some of ChatGPT’s skills into programs like Word and Outlook.
The AI chatbot battle is heating up and ChatGPT has put its flag in the ground with its new $20 per month tier – whether that ultimately proves to be good value for an AI assistant or too high a premium, we’ll see the discover in the coming months.