ChatGPT vs ChatGPT Plus: Should You Upgrade?

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a natural language processing model developed by the artificial intelligence company, OpenAI. The model works as a chatbot that allows users to interact in a conversational manner and enter prompts that receive detailed responses from the model. ChatGPT’s abilities range from simple requests such as making a list of the ten most popular desserts to writing complex code for building a website.

The program is able to do this because it has been trained on a large dataset that spans various books, websites, articles, and more, which gives it a vast amount of knowledge to pull from when responding to user queries.

ChatGPT does have some limitations, however. The dataset the model was trained on only included events up through September 2021, so it cannot give factual responses about events after that time. When ChatGPT lacks information about a topic, it can sometimes have what are referred to as “hallucinations” where it will make up information based on the knowledge that it does have to fill in the gaps of the knowledge that it lacks. This is why it is crucial for users to not rely solely on chatbots like ChatGPT when researching or presenting information.

What is ChatGPT Plus?

ChatGPT Plus is a premium version of ChatGPT priced at $20/month. Some of its most notable features include priority access to ChatGPT even during peak usage times. It also promises priority access to new ChatGPT features and faster response times. More on that later. For now, let’s look at some of the other features that make ChatGPT Plus so interesting.

ChatGPT Plus gives you access to two different models that you can interact with, GPT-3.5 and GPT-4. GPT-3.5 is the same model that the standard, free version of ChatGPT uses, however on ChatGPT Plus you will get quicker responses with GPT-3.5 than you will with the free version. Note that this difference in speed is not always consistent and can vary based on the current server load that ChatGPT is experiencing.

Speaking of speed, there is also a difference between GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 when it comes to response speed. You might assume that GPT-4, being the newer and more powerful model, would be the quickest, but this is not necessarily the case. Users have actually experienced that GPT-3.5 often gives quicker responses than GPT-4, although with different quality and depth. This processing time difference is especially evident when asking ChatGPT to write code. This is something to keep in mind when using the Plus platform and deciding which model best serves your prompt’s needs.

GPT-4 still shines in its own respect. The most notable upgrades of this model include its ability to reason more efficiently even when presented with more complex prompts. It is also more creative than its predecessors, it can accept and analyze image inputs, and it can work with over 25,000 words of text. However, these aren't even the most exciting improvements that come with GPT-4.

The most significant and exciting additions that come with ChatGPT Plus, and specifically with GPT-4, are the Browse with Bing, Plugins, and Code Interpreter features. Let’s look at each, starting with Browse with Bing.

Browse with Bing

Browse with Bing is a feature that allows ChatGPT to browse the internet to find useful information when it deems it helpful in responding to a prompt. This solves the problem of ChatGPT only having access to information pre-September 2021. With this new functionality, ChatGPT can interact with the internet to pull up-to-date information, making its answer more relevant and accurate than the standard ChatGPT.

Note: at the time of publishing this feature has been disabled due to legal issues with ChatGPT’s browser access.

Plugins

ChatGPT Plugins are third-party features that Plus users can enable to pair the power of ChatGPT with some of the internet’s biggest companies. ChatGPT can interact with and fill in information on third-party sites when plugins are enabled so that it can take actions on the user’s behalf outside of the ChatGPT program interface.

For example, let’s say you want to book a trip to Arizona. You could enable the Expedia plugin and tell ChatGPT that you want to find a luxury hotel for a weekend stay in Phoenix. ChatGPT would interact with Expedia’s website using your prompt and then deliver you results directly from Expedia straight into the chat.

Users can run multiple plugins at once, allowing them to prompt ChatGPT to do fairly complicated tasks.

Some notable early adopters of the ChatGPT plugin feature are Expedia, Kayak, OpenTable, Wolfram Alpha, Zapier, and Instacart.

Code Interpreter

ChatGPT Code Interpreter is a new feature that allows users to run working Python code in an enclosed environment right in the ChatGPT interface. While this feature might sound very technical in name and only helpful to coders, it is far from that. While the feature uses the Python coding language, Code Interpreter can perform a breadth of tasks, many of which don't actually have anything to do with coding.

Some of the suggested uses for this tool include solving math problems, analyzing and visualizing data, and converting files between different formats. Code Interpreter is able to accomplish all of these things by writing and executing Python code to create custom solutions for your prompts.

The Code Interpreter allows users to upload many different file types, including some of the most commonly used like .pdf, .txt, .jpg, .mp4, .xlsx, .HTML, and more.

How do ChatGPT and ChatGPT Plus Compare?

Final Thoughts: Is ChatGPT Plus Worth It?

You might now be asking, should you upgrade to ChatGPT Plus? The honest answer is, it depends on how you intend to use ChatGPT.

If you are new to ChatGPT I would recommend starting with the free plan and practicing writing effective prompts and figuring out how the program works. You will likely find that the basic ChatGPT can accomplish most of the tasks you need. If your work doesn't require having the most current information and you aren’t doing a lot of sophisticated coding work, I would recommend the standard ChatGPT over ChatGPT Plus.

Alternatively, if you plan to use ChatGPT in a more professional manner, I would recommend upgrading to Plus. The Code Interpreter alone is a significant addition to the Plus tier and can be an invaluable tool for complex tasks like data analysis, visualization, and coding. OpenAI has stated before that they plan on continuing to slowly roll out more features to ChatGPT and being a Plus user will give you early access to those brand-new features. So if being on the cutting edge for these tools is important to you, Plus is the way to go.

It is important to note that ChatGPT Plus does currently have a limit of 25 messages every three hours, so even if you pay for the premium service, you may still run into usage limitations.

If you want to look outside of the OpenAI ecosystem there are alternatives to ChatGPT Plus like Google Bard, Microsoft Bing Chat, Claude, and many others. They have some awesome features and can be very cost-effective (and even free!). Check out our picks for the 3 Best Free ChatGPT Alternatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ChatGPT free?

Yes, ChatGPT is free to use. You will only need to pay if you want to upgrade to ChatGPT Plus, which is $20/month.

Is ChatGPT updated to 2023?

ChatGPT is not updated with information into 2023. ChatGPT was only trained on information through September 2021 so it does not have data for anything after that date. In order to use more up-to-date information you will need to upgrade to ChatGPT Plus and utilize Browse with Bing.

Is ChatGPT Plus connected to the internet?

ChatGPT has its own internet browser plugin called Browse with Bing that allows ChatGPT to pull current and relevant information from the internet when it deems it necessary in order to answer a prompt. However, at the time of publishing this article, this feature has been disabled by OpenAI over legal issues.

Can anyone use chatGPT?

Yes, anyone can use ChatGPT, which includes the GPT-3.5 model. However, ChatGPT Plus and GPT-4 are restricted to paying users. ChatGPT is not currently available for use in Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Syria, Italy.

Is there a GPT-5?

No, there is not. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that OpenAI is not currently working on a GPT-5 model, however, updates are likely still being made to the GPT-4 model.