ChatGPT’s free tier just got a huge upgrade – so stop paying for ChatGPT Plus
Following the GPT-4o announcement at the Spring Update event, OpenAI has finally made its new AI tools available to everyone for free, begging the question: does it make sense to pay for ChatGPT?
With ChatGPT-4o, all users now have access to more advanced tools, such as discussing files and photos you upload to ChatGPT. The generative AI can also perform data analysis and graphing, and has access to the internet to inform its answers.
However, now that all these features are available to everyone – even if they come with usage limits for non-paying users – the big question is whether people should remain subscribed to OpenAI’s premium tier for ChatGPT.
It’s not that ChatGPT Plus is completely outdated. Subscribers will still have exclusive features such as the ability to create custom GPTs, higher usage limits by 4o and first access to new features – this includes early access to Voice Mode when it launches “in the coming weeks”.
But it’s understandable why subscribers might feel a little burned. They pay $20 (about £16 / AU$30) per month for a service that isn’t much different from the free service. Unless you’re an AI power user, this is apparently a terrible time to sign up for ChatGPT Plus.
Think long term
So why would OpenAI want to make its premium service less attractive? Well, there are two prevailing theories.
The far-fetched thing is that OpenAI will soon release an early version of GPT-5, or at least some sort of exciting new features that will be exclusive to its paying members, apart from the voiced version of ChatGPT. It’s not out of the question, although this feels like something OpenAI would have mentioned during the Spring Update event on May 13, so color us skeptical.
The likely reason is that OpenAI is changing course and focusing on acquiring as many users as possible, rather than paid users, at least for now.
That’s because a report recently found that almost none of us use ChatGPT and other AI tools in our daily lives. If OpenAI wants people to get excited about its tools, it can’t lock its best features behind a paywall.
Plus, ChatGPT’s rivals – like Meta AI and Google Gemini – are free to use and offer many of the same premium tools for free. If it’s a struggle to get people to use AI when it’s free, you can bet it’ll be significantly harder when there’s a paywall in the way.
We’ll have to wait and see if ChatGPT Plus gets any improvements in the coming weeks, but if you’re currently subscribed (or considering joining) you might want to hold off for now.