ChatGPT free vs. paid: what a subscription changes

In brief

ChatGPT’s free plan is enough to get started: writing is unlimited, and you can already attach files, create images, and search the web, with a limit. Paying removes ads, raises those limits, and opens “Work” mode everywhere: that is the Plus plan, at $20 per month. Move to it the day a limit blocks you every week, not before.

What the free plan already does

Free ChatGPT is not a demo version. Written conversations are unlimited. Everything else is included, but metered.

Write, rephrase, summarize, translate: no limit.
Attach a PDF, a Word document, or a spreadsheet: yes, with a daily limit.
Search the web, all the way to a full deep research report: yes, with a limit.
Create and edit images, talk out loud: yes, with a limit.
Open ChatGPT inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Google Sheets: yes, with limited usage.
Schedule a recurring task: three scheduled tasks.

Two things to know. The free plan may show ads. And OpenAI does not publish the number of images or files allowed: ChatGPT warns you when the limit is reached, then it resets.

What each plan adds

Prices checked on October 3, 2026 on OpenAI’s pricing page, which publishes them in dollars.

Plan	Price	What it adds	Who it’s for
Free	$0	Unlimited writing; files, images, voice, and deep research with a limit	Getting to know it, occasional use
Go	$8 per month	More files, images, and analyses; voice 3 hours per day; longer memory. Ads are still possible	Light daily use, small budget
Plus	$20 per month	Advanced reasoning, “Work” mode on desktop, web, and phone, extended deep research, no ads, 5 scheduled tasks	An employee who uses it every day
Pro	From $100 per month	Three tiers: $100, $200, or $500. Much higher limits, 15 scheduled tasks	Heavy use, all day long
Business	$25 per user per month ($20 if billed yearly)	Two people minimum. OpenAI does not train its AI on your data	Any team that handles company data

In euros: on the French App Store, we recorded €7.99 per month for Go and €22.99 for Plus. The exact price is shown at checkout. An Enterprise plan also exists, with custom pricing.

The signs that it is time to pay

A subscription is justified by a blocker that keeps coming back, not by wanting “the full version.”

You hit a limit every week: files or images refused, deep research used up. That is the clearest sign.
You want to hand it a whole job: “Work” mode plans, searches, and returns a document, a spreadsheet, or a presentation. It is complete from Plus up; on the free plan, access is limited and desktop only.
Your requests are hard: a contract to compare, a spreadsheet to untangle. Plus’s advanced reasoning takes the time to think.
Ads bother you: they disappear from Plus up. The Go plan can show them, just like the free plan.
You work on company data: that is no longer a question of personal plan, but of the Business plan.

Conversely, stay on the free plan if you mostly write emails, meeting notes, and rewrites: that is exactly what is not metered.

At work, the type of account matters more than the price

Paying for Plus does not change the rule about your data. On all personal plans, free or paid, your conversations can be used to train the AI, unless you turn the setting off.

Click your profile icon, then “Settings,” then “Data controls.”
Turn off “Improve the model for everyone.”
For a one-off, delicate topic, open a temporary chat: it does not appear in your history, is not used for training, and is deleted after 30 days at most.

With the Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans, it is the opposite: by default, OpenAI does not use your data for training. If you handle customer files, contracts, or salaries, ask your employer for a Business plan rather than paying for Plus out of pocket. Our guide details what not to share with AI at work.

What the subscription does not change

Errors. Paid or not, ChatGPT can be confidently wrong about a figure, a date, or a quote. Check what matters.
Limits. They go up; they do not disappear. In Work, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, continuing past the limit means buying credits, valid for 12 months.
The European timeline. Some new features arrive later in Europe, whatever the plan.
The quality of your requests. A vague prompt gets a vague answer, at $0 as at $20. See how to write a good prompt.

Custom GPTs are being retired on December 11, 2026, according to OpenAI. Don’t take out a subscription to build something lasting on them.

What Nova brings

Nova is subscription software. Its ChatGPT page keeps the plans, the prices, and their check date up to date, and the “Free or paid?” screen says what each action uses up and when to pay. You will also find demos to recreate step by step, with the plan required shown for each. Try the interactive demo.

Frequently asked questions

Is free ChatGPT really unlimited?

For writing, yes: written conversations are unlimited. Files, images, voice, and deep research have a limit that resets. OpenAI does not publish the numbers: ChatGPT warns you when you get there.

What is the difference between ChatGPT Go and ChatGPT Plus?

Go, at $8 per month, raises the free limits: more files, images, and voice, and a longer memory. Plus, at $20 per month, adds advanced reasoning and “Work” mode on all your devices, and removes ads, which Go can still show.

How much does ChatGPT Plus cost in euros?

OpenAI lists $20 per month. On the French App Store, we recorded €22.99 per month on October 3, 2026. The exact amount is shown at checkout.

If I pay for Plus, are my conversations still used for training?

Yes, as long as you have not turned off the “Improve the model for everyone” setting: Plus is still a personal plan. Only the Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans exclude your data from training by default.

Do ads read my conversations?

According to OpenAI, your conversations are not shared with advertisers. The Free and Go plans may show ads; in the European Economic Area, personalized ads are not offered for now.

Should my company choose Plus or Business?

Business, as soon as two or more people work on company data: $25 per user per month, $20 if billed yearly, and your conversations are not used for training. Plus suits one person, for use without sensitive data.

Sources

ChatGPT pricing, OpenAI
Chat, Work, and Codex, OpenAI, help center
Data controls FAQ, OpenAI, help center
Ads in ChatGPT, OpenAI, help center
What is ChatGPT Business?, OpenAI, help center
Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ, OpenAI, help center

ChatGPT free vs. paid: what the subscription changes