AI plans · OpenAI
ChatGPT's free plan: what it includes, and its limits
What ChatGPT's $0 plan gives you, in OpenAI's own words and dated: its limits, which of OpenAI's newest models it leaves out, and what each upgrade costs.
Other companies' plans checked . Updated .
Short answer
ChatGPT's free plan costs nothing. OpenAI doesn't publish a message count: uploads, images, voice and data analysis have their own limits, and its chat runs GPT-5.6 Luna, not GPT-6. llmwise Free is a one-time trial of 5 messages, on every model but Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Opus 5.5, and GPT-6 Astra; Pro ($20) has up to 31 GPT-6 Astra messages a month.
Sources: OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT Free Tier FAQ, OpenAI: Introducing GPT-6 Sol and Luna and OpenAI Help Center: GPT-6 Pro in ChatGPT, checked .
What ChatGPT Free costs
OpenAI's own figures, checked September 28, 2026, before tax.
| Billing | Price | In OpenAI's words |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $0 | “ChatGPT is free to use.” (OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT Free Tier FAQ) |
ChatGPT Free's limits, in OpenAI's words
Quoted word for word from OpenAI's own pages, checked September 28, 2026. OpenAI publishes no message count for ChatGPT Free.
“File uploads, image generation, voice, data analysis, and other tools have separate usage limits. ChatGPT will notify you when you reach an applicable limit.”
“Users on ChatGPT Plus have access to higher rate limits.”
Which of OpenAI's newest models ChatGPT Free has
ChatGPT Free's chat doesn't run GPT-6: OpenAI's help center says Free users get GPT-5.6 Luna, which also powers Think, and not GPT-5.6 Sol.
| Model | In ChatGPT Free's chat? | What the plan gives | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-6 Astra | Not in its chat | Not on Free: as GPT-6 Pro, from Pro $100 up | “GPT‑6 Pro, powered by GPT‑6 Astra, is available in ChatGPT for Pro $100, Pro $200, Business and Enterprise plans.” (OpenAI Help Center: GPT-6 Pro in ChatGPT) |
| GPT-6 Sol | Not in its chat | Not in Chat on any plan yet | “These models are not yet available in Chat.” (OpenAI: Introducing GPT-6 Sol and Luna) |
| GPT-6 Luna | Not in its chat | In the desktop app, not in Chat | “Free and Go users can access GPT‑6 Luna in the desktop app.” (OpenAI: Introducing GPT-6 Sol and Luna) |
Also in ChatGPT Free, in OpenAI's words: “Search the web and obtain up-to-date information” (OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT Free Tier FAQ); “Use Library with 500 MB of storage” (OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT Free Tier FAQ).
Is ChatGPT Free worth it?
Quick questions, emails and homework help
Yes. It costs nothing, and the limits OpenAI describes fall on uploads, images, voice and data analysis rather than plain questions.
Lots of files, images or spreadsheets
Probably not. Those tools have separate caps on Free; ChatGPT Go raises them for $8 a month.
You want OpenAI's newest model
No. Free's chat has no GPT-6 model; GPT-6 Astra in the chat starts at ChatGPT Pro. llmwise Pro ($20) has it in the chat: up to 31 messages a month.
You want to try Claude or Gemini too
It can't: ChatGPT is OpenAI's models only. llmwise's free trial covers 5 messages across 7 AI families, 15 models.
What llmwise gives free, beside ChatGPT Free
The free trial beside ChatGPT Free, model by model, counted the way the app counts.
| Model | On ChatGPT Free | On llmwise Free |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-6 Astra | Not on Free: as GPT-6 Pro, from Pro $100 up | Paid plans only |
| GPT-6 Sol | Not in Chat on any plan yet | In the 5-message trial |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | Not offered: GPT only | Paid plans only |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) | Not offered: GPT only | In the 5-message trial |
| Grok 4.7 | Not offered: GPT only | In the 5-message trial |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | Not offered: GPT only | Paid plans only |
| Claude Sonnet 5 | Not offered: GPT only | In the 5-message trial |
| Kimi K3 | Not offered: GPT only | In the 5-message trial |
llmwise Free (a 5-message trial): once, on the models it reaches; the paid plans count every model.
Every limit is published. Paid plans also have a monthly fair-use limit on AI cost: Pro $7.50, Max $20, Ultra $42, Studio $85. Using every message on your plan at typical sizes stays under it; very large messages and heavy research use it faster. Every limit, explained.
ChatGPT Free against other plans
- ChatGPT's free plan vs ChatGPT Plus
- ChatGPT Go
No count; higher caps than Free on uploads and images
- ChatGPT Plus
No fixed count; an estimated 5–45 GPT-6 Astra messages every 5 hours, in Work and Codex
- ChatGPT Pro
GPT-6 Pro in the chat: 50 a week on Pro $100, 200 a week on Pro $200
- ChatGPT's pricing: every plan and the API
- ChatGPT's price in India: Go, Plus and Pro in rupees, and the free Go offer
Questions
How many messages does ChatGPT Free give?
No count is published (checked September 28, 2026). OpenAI's Free Tier FAQ says uploads, image generation, voice and data analysis have separate limits, and ChatGPT tells you when you reach one.
Does ChatGPT Free include GPT-6?
Not in the chat. GPT-6 Astra reaches ChatGPT's chat only as GPT-6 Pro, from Pro $100 a month; OpenAI says GPT-6 Sol and Luna aren't in Chat yet, and Free gets GPT-6 Luna only in the desktop app.
What do you get if you upgrade from ChatGPT Free?
Go costs $8 a month in the US and raises Free's limits on uploads, images and data analysis, but OpenAI says it doesn't add GPT-5.6 Sol or GPT-6 to the chat. Plus ($20) is the first plan with GPT-6 Astra: in Work and Codex.
Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Kimi, and GLM, in one chat.
See what a message costs before you send it. Free is 5 messages to try; sign in with an email link, no password or card.