I’ve used ChatGPT Plus daily for 18 months as a freelance writer and YouTuber. In that time, I’ve written over 200 articles, created scripts and thumbnails, and saved roughly 20 hours per week on client work.
Here’s my hot take: the FREE version of ChatGPT is now a deliberately bad product.
The free-tiee GPT is intentionally limited as I’ll show you and you’re likely losing hours of productivity each month without realizing it.
By the end of this review, you’ll know exactly if ChatGPT Plus is worth $20/month for your specific situation.
I’ll show you the key differences between plans, what you can skip, and the best alternatives.
What You Actually Get With ChatGPT Plus ($20/Month)
1. Better Models & Bigger Context Windows
When you use the free plan, you’re not getting the fully featured GPT-5.
OpenAI carefully words it as “GPT-5” on the free tier, but notice they don’t say “flagship model” like they do for Plus users.
Here’s what you actually get access to, based on the fine-print on OpenAI website:
| Plan | GPT-5 | GPT-5 Thinking | GPT-5 Pro | Context Window (Standard) | Context Window (Reasoning) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Yes (likely GPT-5 Mini/Nano) | Limited | No | 16K tokens | 196K tokens |
| Plus | Full flagship model | Extended access | No | 32K tokens | 196K tokens |
| Pro ($200/mo) | Unlimited | Unlimited | Yes | 128K tokens | 196K tokens |
That context window difference matters. With 16K tokens on free, the AI forgets earlier parts of your conversation. With 32K on Plus, it maintains coherence across longer documents.
Real example from my work:
I asked both Free and ChatGPT Plus to “Suggest sub-niches within productivity for blogging with sample titles.”
I uploaded the list of existing articles on my site to guide the AI.
For example, I have previously written about To-Do apps (Forest, Todoist) and AI note takers (Notion) for improving productivity.
Free version gave me generic ideas which were not based on the list I had uploaded.
ChatGPT Plus delivered actionable, keyword-aware suggestions. These were actually relevant to the articles I had already written.
The Plus version has better “memory” and larger context limits. So it uses more of my data to give me more tailored suggestions.
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2. Extended Usage Limits
OpenAI won’t tell you exact numbers, but from my testing, Plus gives you roughly:
- 10x more messages before hitting limits
- 50+ image generations per day (vs 2-3 on free)
- Unlimited file uploads for analysis (vs 10 per month)
- Deep research mode 30+ times monthly (vs 3-5 on free)
I hit the free plan’s limits within 2 hours of serious work. On Plus, I can work all day without restrictions.
3. ChatGPT Agent
This feature alone justifies the $20 for many businesses. Agent mode lets ChatGPT browse the web and complete tasks autonomously.
Free users do not get access to Agent mode. Plus users get about 25-30 uses per month.
How I use it: Last week, I had ChatGPT Agent scrape top Google search results for a topic I was writing about. In 5-mins, it found the top-performing posts, and compile their key points into a spreadsheet.
In the output, it provided me with:
- 10 different titles
- Descriptions and suggestions for what content to include to each one
- 23 suggestions for FAQ section to include in my blog
- A list of keywords to include on the page
This would’ve taken me 4 hours manually or cost $50+ on Fiverr.
Other Agent tasks I’ve automated:
- Research competitor blog posts and create content gap analysis
- Find all my media mentions online for a PR report
- Book calendar appointments by checking availability
- Create weekly AI news summaries from multiple newsletters I follow
How to Use Agent Mode
- Log in to a paid account: Agent Mode is available on premium plans like Plus, Pro, and Enterprise, not the free version.
- Select Agent Mode: Click the plus icon (+) in the chat box and choose “Agent mode” from the dropdown menu.
- Assign a task: Clearly describe the task you want the agent to complete, such as “create a presentation about my Q4 sales performance” or “plan a trip to Japan with a budget under $5000”.
- Monitor the agent’s work: The agent will start working, showing you each step it takes, such as opening websites or running scripts.
- Take control (if needed): You can pause the task or take over the browser at any point to guide the agent or perform actions yourself.
4. Custom GPTs & Projects
Free users can use other people’s GPTs but can’t create their own. This is like using someone else’s email templates vs writing your own — it works, but it’s not optimized for you.
I’ve built 12 custom GPTs for different clients, each trained on their brand voice. This saves me 20 minutes per article because I don’t have to re-explain context every time.
My most valuable custom GPTs:
- Client Voice Analyzer: Upload their past content, it mimics their style
- YouTube Thumbnail Reviewer: Trained on my best-performing thumbnails
- SEO Meta Writer: Follows my exact formula for descriptions
Projects are even better than GPTs for ongoing work. They maintain memory across multiple chats and organize everything in one place.
5. Advanced Voice Mode & Mobile App
Advanced Voice mode uses the best conversational voice model by Open AI- it laughs, pauses naturally, and remembers context.
It is surprisingly good for:
- Brainstorming while walking
- Practicing presentations
- Getting quick feedback on ideas
This feature alone changes how I work. I brainstorm article ideas while walking my dog every morning.
Free version only gets around 10 minutes of advanced voice mode. The advanced voice mode on Plus is for 1 hour.
Plus users also get video and screen sharing in voice mode. I can show ChatGPT my screen and get real-time feedback on designs or code which Free version lacks.
Limitation: You can’t export the audio. For my YouTube channel, I need actual voice files, which is why I added ElevenLabs to my stack. I also use ElevenLabs to make custom audiobooks to listen to.
6. Higher Image Generation Limits
ChatGPT’s new 4o image model is genuinely impressive. It can render text accurately and follows complex prompts.
Here’s a thumbnail I generated for my WPX Hosting review, then edited in Canva:
The free plan gives you 2-3 images per day. Plus gives you 50+.
The catch: ChatGPT still censors heavily. Anything remotely edgy for storytelling gets blocked. This is why I eventually added other tools to my stack (more on that later).
7. Connectors & Integrations
ChatGPT Plus users can now connect:
- Google Drive & Docs
- Notion
- HubSpot
- Microsoft Teams
- Dropbox
- Calendar apps
Free users only get basic Google Drive access. These integrations let ChatGPT read your documents and work within your existing workflow.
8. Sora Video Generation
Technically, Plus includes Sora (OpenAI’s video generator). Practically, it’s so limited it’s useless — max 10 seconds at 720p.
Google’s Veo 3 (on Gemini Advanced) destroys Sora for actual video creation.
I don’t recommend upgrading to Plus for Sora.
9. Priority Access & Stability
During peak times, free users get throttled or kicked off. Plus users maintain fast response times.
I’ve never been unable to work due to “capacity issues” on Plus.
On free, it happens a lot whenever OpenAI releases a new feature which goes viral.
Where ChatGPT Plus Falls Short
Let’s be honest about the limitations. ChatGPT Plus isn’t perfect.
Censorship
ChatGPT refuses more prompts every month. Yesterday it wouldn’t help me write a horror story because it was “too violent.”
It won’t generate images of public figures. It refuses medical or legal topics. It’s overly cautious about everything.
When I hit these walls (daily now), I switch to RunPod to run uncensored models (covered in “Alternatives” section)
ChatGPT sounds sycophantic and repetitive
Every ChatGPT article has the same rhythm:
- Short, punchy intro sentence
- Longer explanation
- Bullet points
- “In conclusion” or “Remember” ending
You can prompt around it, but it takes work. The writing often sounds sycophantic and overly agreeable.
For fiction specifically, ChatGPT can’t maintain character voices over long pieces. That’s why I use Sudowrite for creative writing.
Voice Mode Can’t Export
Advanced Voice is amazing for brainstorming, but you can’t export the audio. For my YouTube channel, I need actual voice files.
The API has text-to-speech with exports, but your Plus subscription doesn’t include API credits. You pay twice.
Best ChatGPT Alternatives
These are the AI tools I use instead of ChatGPT Plus when the project demands it.
Runpod - For running open-source AI models
- Runpod provides online GPUs to run AI models for text generation, text to speech, image generation, etc.
- My data is not shared with OpenAI. With open-source models, there’s also no censorship.
- I spin up a GPU only when needed and shut it down after. So I pay by usage. No subscription.
- I use Gemma27B and Kimi V2 for writing and Flux Dev for image generation.
- My setup costs only $0.20/hr with community cloud and spot instances. Only downside is that there’s a slight learning curve. Read full runpod review.
ElevenLabs - For AI voices
- ElevenLabs is the best AI voice generator - far ahead of ChatGPT. Its voices show emotion, laugh, cry, pause, and more.
- Unlike ChatGPT, ElevenLabs has 1000+ AI voices to choose from, categorized by age/gender/genre.
- I use it to turn blog posts into narrated videos and shorts for my YouTube channel. I also have another channel focused on storytelling.
- It’s faster and cheaper than hiring voice talent, and the quality is consistent.
Sudowrite - For long-form storytelling
- Sudowrite is the best AI story generator. Their custom model Muse is better than ChatGPT at prose and fiction writing.
- You also get access to models like Goliath (uncensored), Deepseek, Claude, even GPT-5 in single subscription.
- They have specific features tailored to fiction writers like storyboard, blurb generator, brainstorm, world builder, etc.
Verdict: Is ChatGPT Plus worth it?
I can see ChatGPT Plus being overkill for casual users. Students or hobbyists just using it for short queries or summaries may not need the advanced capabilities. The free model often gets simpler tasks done nearly as well.
But for power users who work with large documents or complex topics, ChatGPT Plus easily returns the $20 through expanded capabilities and time savings. If you rely on ChatGPT daily for content, analysis, planning, or problem-solving, I highly recommend the upgrade. It takes useful AI assistance to the next level.