Is ChatGPT Free? Free Plan Limits and What Not to Paste

Is ChatGPT free? Yes. OpenAI's pricing page says "The free version of ChatGPT is available to everyone," and the Free plan lists "Unlimited text chats with GPT-6" (checked Nov 1, 2026). File uploads, image creation, voice, deep research and data analysis are available but limited. What Free doesn't include is API access for building apps. And free or not, a chat window is no place for your API keys.

By Gary, Greenlight My App. Checked Nov 1, 2026. How we checked this: we read chatgpt.com/pricing and OpenAI's data controls help page on Nov 1, 2026 and quote them below. We captured the pricing page on Nov 1, 2026. We didn't sign in to a ChatGPT account, so the settings steps below come from OpenAI's help page, not our own test. This page covers what's free. For paid plan prices, see our ChatGPT pricing guide. Drafted with AI tools and reviewed by a person before publishing.

Is ChatGPT free?

Yes. You can use ChatGPT at chatgpt.com (external) or in the mobile and desktop apps without paying. OpenAI's pricing page (external) FAQ says: "The free version of ChatGPT is available to everyone."

The plans on that page are Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise. Everything above Free costs money; we keep those prices on our ChatGPT pricing page so this post stays focused on what you get for nothing.

What does ChatGPT Free include?

Here's the Free plan's feature list as OpenAI shows it, word for word (checked Nov 1, 2026):

• "Unlimited text chats with GPT-6"
• "Limited messages with uploads"
• "Limited image creation"
• "Limited voice chats"
• "Limited deep research"
• "Limited memory and context"
• "Limited Codex access"
• "Limited ChatGPT Work access on desktop"

That's a lot for a free plan. Everyday writing, explaining, brainstorming and simple coding questions are all covered by unlimited text chat.

What are the ChatGPT Free plan limits?

OpenAI doesn't publish exact message counts for the "Limited" items. When you hit a limit, ChatGPT tells you and suggests waiting or upgrading. Two concrete details from the pricing page:

• "Unlimited" has a guardrail. The footnote reads "Unlimited text chats subject to abuse guardrails." Normal use is fine; scripted or abusive use isn't.
• Context is smaller on Free. The comparison table lists a 27K context window for Free on GPT Instant, which OpenAI describes as about 12 pages of input. Long documents may get cut off.

If you keep running into limits, our pricing guide compares what each paid plan adds.

What is the data analysis limit for ChatGPT Free?

The comparison table lists data analysis on Free as "Limited", without a number. You can upload a spreadsheet and ask questions, but heavy use will hit the cap sooner than on paid plans.

How does ChatGPT Free compare with Go and Plus?

Without repeating prices (those are on our ChatGPT pricing page), here's the shape of it:

Check chatgpt.com/pricing (external) for each plan's full list, since features shift often.

Is the ChatGPT API free?

Partly. Free ChatGPT is a chat product. It can write code for you, explain errors and plan an app. It doesn't give you API access: the comparison table shows a dash, not a check, for monthly API credits on Free.

That difference matters:

• ChatGPT (the chat app) is what you use in a browser. Free works.
• The OpenAI API is what your app calls in code. It needs a separate API account and is billed by usage. See how to get an OpenAI API key.

Free also includes "Limited Codex access". OpenAI's Codex pricing page (external) describes the Free tier as "Explore Codex capabilities on quick coding tasks." Our Codex vs Claude Code post covers Codex in more depth.

Can ChatGPT make me a website for free?

It can write the code for one. Ask for a simple page and it'll give you HTML, CSS and JavaScript you can copy. You still need somewhere to host it, and you need to check what's in that code before it goes live.

The most common mistake we see: an AI-written page that calls an AI API straight from the browser with the key inline, like this:

// Don't do this: anyone can read this key in the page source
const apiKey = "sk-XXXX";

Keys belong on a server, in an environment variable. If a key has already been exposed, read what to do if your AI API key was stolen.

Does free ChatGPT use my chats for training?

By default, yes. OpenAI's data controls help page (external) says: "On personal workspaces with ChatGPT Free, Plus, or Pro, data sharing is enabled by default. You can turn off Improve the model for everyone and keep your chat history."

To turn it off on the web, per that page:

1. Open your account menu.
2. Select Settings.
3. Select Data controls.
4. Turn off Improve the model for everyone and select Done.

On iOS and Android, it's the same under your profile, then Data controls.

Two details from the same help page:

• Temporary chats "are not used to improve OpenAI models" and "may be retained for up to 30 days for safety purposes."
• Feedback counts. If you rate a response with thumbs up or down after opting out, the page says "the entire conversation associated with that feedback may be used to train OpenAI models."

What should you never paste into ChatGPT?

This applies to every AI chat, free or paid, ChatGPT or any other:

• API keys and tokens. Anything starting sk-, pk_live_, ghp_ or similar. Replace them with XXXX before asking for help.
• Passwords and recovery codes.
• Database connection strings, which often contain a password.
• Customer data: names, emails, payment details, health information.
• Private keys and certificates.
• Your whole .env file. Our .env explainer covers what's in it and why it's private.

If you need help debugging an error that involves a key, paste the error message, not the key. Something like Authorization: Bearer XXXX gives the AI everything it needs.

What if I already pasted a key?

Assume it's exposed. Rotate it in the provider's dashboard: create a new key, update your app, then delete the old one. Deleting the chat doesn't un-share the key. Our stolen API key guide walks through each step.

Does free ChatGPT have ads?

The pricing page says the Go plan "may include ads." It doesn't list ads for Free in its plan description. Ad policies change, so check the pricing page (external) and OpenAI's help center for the current position. The data controls page notes that "Where ads are available, separate controls can determine how ads are personalized."

Is ChatGPT free for teachers?

For U.S. K–12 teachers, yes, for now. The pricing page FAQ mentions "ChatGPT for Teachers, a free plan for verified U.S. K–12 educators through June 2027". Verification is required, and the end date may change, so check OpenAI's page before you plan around it.

Is there a free chatbot besides ChatGPT?

Yes. Claude, Gemini (external) (checked Nov 1, 2026) and others have free plans with their own limits. Our Is Claude free? post covers Claude's. The same safety rules apply to all of them: no keys, no passwords, no customer data.

If ChatGPT isn't responding, it may be an outage rather than a limit. See Is ChatGPT down? for how to tell.

What are the ethical concerns with ChatGPT?

Common concerns include:

• Privacy: what happens to what you type. Use data controls and keep sensitive data out.
• Accuracy: ChatGPT can state wrong things confidently. Check important facts against a primary source.
• Academic honesty: schools have different rules about AI help. Ask before you use it for graded work.
• Bias: answers can reflect biases in training data.
• Attribution: AI-generated text or code may resemble existing work. Review before publishing.

None of these is a reason to avoid ChatGPT. They're reasons to use it with your eyes open.

Should you upgrade from ChatGPT Free?

Stay on Free if you mostly chat in text and rarely hit limits. Consider a paid plan if you use uploads, images, voice or deep research daily, need longer context or want fuller Codex access. Compare plans on our ChatGPT pricing page, which lists current prices.

FAQ

Is ChatGPT completely free? The Free plan costs nothing and OpenAI says it's available to everyone. Text chat is unlimited, subject to abuse guardrails; other features are limited.

Can ChatGPT make me a website for free? It can write the code. You still need hosting, and you should check the code for exposed keys before it goes live.

What are the ethical concerns? Privacy, accuracy, academic honesty, bias and attribution. Keep sensitive data out and check important facts.

Is there a free chatbot? Yes. ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini (external) (checked Nov 1, 2026) all have free plans with limits. Don't paste keys or passwords into any of them.

What is the data analysis limit for ChatGPT free? OpenAI's pricing table lists data analysis on Free as Limited, without a published number (checked Nov 1, 2026).

Does free ChatGPT have ads? OpenAI's pricing page says the Go plan may include ads. It doesn't list ads in the Free plan description (checked Nov 1, 2026).

Is ChatGPT free for teachers? OpenAI lists ChatGPT for Teachers, free for verified U.S. K–12 educators through June 2027 (checked Nov 1, 2026).

Does ChatGPT Free include the API? No. The pricing table lists no monthly API credits on Free. The API is a separate, usage-billed account.

Used free AI to build your site? Run a free scan with Greenlight My App to check your live site's public code for exposed API keys and missing security headers.