AI plans · OpenAI
Updated · By llmwise, AI-assisted.
ChatGPT's free plan: what it includes, and its limits
ChatGPT's free plan costs nothing. OpenAI publishes no message count: uploads, images, voice and data analysis each have limits, and the chat runs GPT-5.6 Luna, not GPT-6. llmwise Free is a one-time trial of 5 messages on Claude Haiku 5.5; Pro ($20) has up to 31 GPT-6 Astra messages a month.
How much does ChatGPT Free cost?
Before tax, as OpenAI lists them on October 1, 2026.
| 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 October 1, 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 does ChatGPT Free include?
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 8 AI families, 20 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-6.1 Sol | Not named on its pages | Paid plans only |
| GPT-6 Sol | Not in Chat on any plan yet | Paid plans only |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | Not offered: GPT only | Paid plans only |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) | Not offered: GPT only | Paid plans only |
| Grok 4.7 | Not offered: GPT only | Paid plans only |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | Not offered: GPT only | Paid plans only |
| Claude Sonnet 5 | Not offered: GPT only | Paid plans only |
llmwise Free (a 5-message trial): once, on the models it reaches; the paid plans count each model they have.
llmwise Pro keeps a fair-use limit of $7.50 in AI cost per month. Spending its whole count on typical messages stays below that; outsized messages and research eat into 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
No count; each dearer tier has more usage than the last
- Every ChatGPT plan and its price
- ChatGPT's price in India: Go, Plus and Pro in rupees, and the free Go offer
Asked about ChatGPT's free plan
How many messages does ChatGPT Free give?
No count is published (checked October 1, 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.
After ChatGPT's free plan: GPT-6 Astra, counted
llmwise Pro ($20) gives up to 31 GPT-6 Astra messages a month, beside the other families' models. Free is 5 messages, once, with no card.