As an active ChatGPT user since its public beta and a freelance writer who has crafted over 200 articles with the help of this tool, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on ChatGPT Plus.
I rely on ChatGPT daily for tasks ranging from research and outlining to drafting content for clients. For power users like myself, the new features in ChatGPT Plus—such as real-time data access and enhanced GPT-4 model—promise significant upgrades in speed, accuracy, and capabilities.
To give you a sneak peek, switching to ChatGPT Plus has streamlined my article ideation and outlining process, reducing the time spent on these tasks from approximately 2 hours to about 20-30 minutes. Stay tuned for an in-depth review of ChatGPT Plus and how it fits into a writer’s toolkit.
Upgraded GPT-4 Model Leads To Better Replies
ChatGPT Plus utilizes the GPT-4 model, which I found to be a significant leap from the open-source GPT-3.5 model used in the free version.
Holds Context Better
In side-by-side tests, GPT-4 kept context more accurately over long conversations. For instance, when I tasked it with generating a content calendar based on my popular blog posts, it flawlessly cycled through multiple sub-niches without losing the initial context—something the free version struggled with.
In fact, if you know how to write good prompts, the results you get with ChatGPT plus are more accurate, closer to your instructions, and simply of a higher standard than the free version.
More Detailed Responses, Less Fluff
The quality of responses has also improved. When prompted with “Suggest sub-niches within productivity,” GPT-4 offered practical and novel ideas, complete with focus keywords. This level of detail was missing in the free version, which often provided 1-2 sentence generic replies.
The suggestions given by ChatGPT are just a little better than manual google search. In fact, I learned nothing new. It is regurgitation of old advice.
Whereas just look at the output ChatGPT plus gave – it has novel ideas, practical suggestions on topics, and mentions the keywords to focus on.
ChatGPT Plus is also much better at repurposing old content or at mimicking different writing styles.
Real-time Data Access: A Research Powerhouse
ChatGPT free version cannot use internet, so it relies on the knowledge cutoff of its training data. Previously, this cutoff used to be September 2021. With recent updates it might have improved a little but still cannot match the real time internet access capabilities of ChatGPT Plus.
With access to the internet, ChatGPT Plus can incorporate up-to-date information, statistics, and real-world examples into its responses. As a writer, this supercharges my research.
For an article about the impact of AI on mental health, ChatGPT plus could cite latest research with sources. The free version lacks this recency.
I also asked for writing advice for my blog posts. ChatGPT Plus analyzed my website URL (with the help of linkreader plugin) and integrated recommendations from authoritative sources like HubSpot and Neil Patel to build my topical authority. Again, the free model lacks the contextual internet research.
Plugins Expand Capabilities for Math, Code, and More
While the core conversational intelligence impressed me, the added plugins elevate ChatGPT Plus into an essential productivity tool:
- Wolfram Alpha integration – This boosted mathematical abilities 5x based on test problems, showing step-by-step workings. Helpful for my finance blog posts.
- Code interpreter – I can type Python snippets and ChatGPT Plus will explain what they do line-by-line. Extremely useful for documentation.
- Ask Your PDF – Helpful to summarize PDFs and ask questions from them.
- Link reader – As the name suggests, it helps ChatGPT read text from links. Incredibly useful for analysis.
- Vox Script – Helped me summarize Youtube videos related to my content.
These plugins make it easy to extend ChatGPT’s knowledge into specializations that typically require separate expert systems. That flexibility brings exponential value.
How Does ChatGPT Plus Compare to Alternatives?
ChatGPT vs Bing Chat
If you’re looking for a chatbot that’s better suited for research and provides sources for all of its responses, then Bing Chat is a good choice.
However, if you’re looking for a chatbot that’s better at creating long-form content and provides access to GPT-4, then ChatGPT Plus is worth considering.
| Feature | ChatGPT Plus | Bing Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Requires payment | Free |
| Language Model | Uses more advanced GPT-4 | Uses GPT-4 |
| Content Creation | Better for long-form content like essays | Better for research and provides sources |
| Platform Availability | Limited platforms | Available across platforms like Bing, Edge, Skype |
| Image Generation | No | Yes, with Bing Image Creator |
| Accessibility | No mobile or desktop app | Cross-platform accessibility |
| Message Limit | 50 per 3 hours | No limit |
ChatGPT Plus vs Poe
ChatGPT Plus is a better option if you’re looking for a chatbot that can provide faster response times and has greater potential for integration with third-party products. On the other hand, Poe Chat is a better option if you’re looking for multiple chatbots, higher message limit, etc.
| Feature | ChatGPT Plus | Poe Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Language Model | GPT-4 | GPT-4, Claude Instant, Claude 200k, and many more |
| Cost | Paid subscription required | GPT-4 is paid |
| Response Time | Slower response times | Faster response times |
| Availability | High availability even during peak demand | Can sometimes be unavailable |
| Integration | Greater potential for integration. Has plugins, now Open AI is also rolling out vision and voice abilities. | Limited integration currently. Only text. |
| Message Limit | 50 per 3 hours | Fast up to 600 messages/month, after that slow |
Verdict: Is ChatGPT Plus Worth It?
I can see ChatGPT Plus being overkill for more casual use cases. 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 like myself, 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.
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