ChatGPT review

What ChatGPT is

ChatGPT is OpenAI’s AI assistant. You type, talk or upload files, and it answers, writes, analyzes, codes, creates images and increasingly carries out longer tasks on your behalf. It runs on the web, as desktop apps for Windows and macOS, and on iOS and Android.

The current lineup is built on OpenAI’s GPT-6 family. Beyond chat, ChatGPT now bundles deep research (multi-step web research reports), image creation, voice (including voice with video), projects and custom GPTs, scheduled tasks, Codex for software work and ChatGPT Work for longer agentic tasks on desktop, web and mobile.

Key features

Models and reasoning

Free users get unlimited text chats with GPT-6. Plus unlocks advanced reasoning models, and Pro adds “Pro reasoning powered by GPT-6 Astra” with the highest limits.

Deep research

ChatGPT browses many sources and returns a structured, cited report. Limits rise from Free (limited) to Plus (expanded) to Pro (maximum).

Images and voice

Create and edit images in chat, and hold spoken conversations, including voice with video on supported devices.

Projects, tasks and GPTs

Group chats and files into projects, schedule recurring tasks and build or use custom GPTs for specific jobs.

Codex and ChatGPT Work

Codex works on code in the cloud, CLI, IDE extension and iOS; ChatGPT Work handles longer multi-step jobs. They share a usage allowance.

Pricing breakdown

US prices, checked October 16, 2026, from OpenAI’s pricing documentation.

Plan	Price	Best for
Free	$0	Trying ChatGPT; unlimited GPT-6 text chats, limited tools
Go	$8/mo	More messages, uploads, images and memory; may include ads
Plus	$20/mo	Advanced reasoning, deep research, projects, GPTs, expanded Codex
Pro	$100, $200 or $500/mo	Heavy research and coding; Ultrafast mode on $500
Business	$20/user/mo billed annually (2+ users); $25 monthly	Teams needing admin controls, SSO and data protections
Enterprise / Edu	Custom	Large organizations and universities

Plus and Pro users can extend usage with ChatGPT credits. Limits apply on all plans and OpenAI adjusts them over time.

Best use cases

• Writing: draft a cover letter, then ask for a tighter version in your own voice.
• Research: run deep research on “pros and cons of heat pumps in cold climates” and check the cited sources.
• Learning: use Study Mode to work through a statistics concept step by step.
• Coding: ask Codex to fix a failing test in a GitHub repository.
• Everyday life: plan a week of meals around a budget and dietary needs.

How to get started

1. Sign up free at chatgpt.com or download the app.
2. Set custom instructions so answers match your role and preferred style.
3. Ask a real task, not a test question, and follow up to refine.
4. Upload files (PDFs, spreadsheets) when you need answers grounded in your material.
5. Create a project for ongoing work to keep files and chats together.
6. Upgrade to Go or Plus when you hit limits on the tools you use most.

Tips and tricks

• Give context, goal and format: who it’s for, what you need and how long.
• Ask it to ask you questions before it writes something important.
• Verify facts in sources, especially numbers, quotes and legal or medical topics.
• Turn on memory carefully and review what it remembers in settings.

Example prompts:

I’m a project manager. Turn these meeting notes into a one-page summary with decisions, owners and deadlines in a table. Flag anything ambiguous.

Explain compound interest to a 14-year-old with one real-life example, then give me three quiz questions to check understanding.

Pros and cons

👍 Pros

• Very capable free plan
• Broadest feature set of any consumer AI assistant
• Apps for web, desktop and mobile with synced history
• Codex coding agent included in paid plans
• Business plan has admin controls, SSO and no training on business data by default

👎 Cons

• Usage limits on advanced features vary and can change
• Go plan may include ads
• Pro tiers are expensive
• Like all chatbots, it can state wrong facts confidently

Who should (and shouldn't) use ChatGPT

✅ A good fit if you…

• Want one assistant for writing, research, coding and images
• Need voice conversations or image creation on mobile
• Run a small team and want shared workspaces

⛔ Look elsewhere if you…

• Need cited, search-first answers by default (consider Perplexity)
• Need guaranteed accuracy without checking sources
• Want a free plan with no usage caps on advanced tools

ChatGPT alternatives

• Claude — Anthropic's AI assistant for writing, analysis, research, coding and long-running work, with Claude Code included on paid plans. (from $17/mo (Pro, annual; $20 monthly); Max from $100)
• Google Gemini — Google's AI assistant for chat, research, image and video generation, built into Gmail, Docs and Android. (from $4.99/mo (Google AI Plus))
• Perplexity — AI answer engine with cited sources, Deep Research, the Comet browser and Perplexity Computer. (from $17/mo billed annually (Pro))
• Microsoft Copilot — Microsoft's AI assistant: free for everyone, built into Microsoft 365 apps on paid plans. (from Free; Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99/mo)
• Grok — xAI's AI assistant for chat, real-time answers and image and video creation, sold through The X Subscription. (from $8/mo (Plus) or $80/yr)

FAQ

Is ChatGPT free?

Yes. The free plan includes unlimited text chats with GPT-6 (subject to abuse guardrails) plus limited uploads, image creation, voice, deep research, memory and Codex access.

How much does ChatGPT Plus cost?

ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month in the US. It adds advanced reasoning with GPT-6, expanded messages, uploads and deep research, projects, scheduled tasks, custom GPTs and more Codex usage.

What is ChatGPT Go?

Go is an $8 per month plan with more messages, uploads, image creation, voice chats and longer memory than Free. OpenAI notes it may include ads.

How much is ChatGPT Pro?

Pro is offered at $100, $200 or $500 per month, with increasing usage. It includes Pro reasoning, longer Codex and ChatGPT Work sessions, maximum deep research, and Ultrafast mode on the $500 tier.

How much is ChatGPT Business?

Business is $20 per user per month billed annually for 2+ users, or $25 per user per month billed monthly, with admin controls, SAML SSO and no training on business data by default.

Does ChatGPT include Codex?

Yes. Free and Go have limited Codex access, while Plus and Pro include Codex on the web, CLI, IDE extension and iOS, with usage shared with ChatGPT Work.

Sources

This is an editorial review based on research of official ChatGPT pages and documentation, not hands-on benchmark testing. Prices are in USD and were checked on October 16, 2026; vendors change plans often, so confirm on the official pricing page before buying.

1. ChatGPT plans and pricing
2. ChatGPT and Codex pricing documentation (USD plan prices)
3. About ChatGPT Pro tiers (OpenAI Help Center)