Pros
- Free
- Image generation
- Largely accurate
- Quick response times
- Document and image analysis
Cons
- Low token limit
- Especially for images
- About 15 messages per a 3-hour window (according to OpenAI)
- Condensed responses
- Voice mode in preview only at the moment
- Remembers limited info from previous sessions
Imagine you’re texting someone and they stop responding for 3 hours. That’s sometimes what it’s like to use the free version of ChatGPT as of June 2025, running on the GPT-4o model. It’s handy until it suddenly stops working.
I understand the play by OpenAI, creators of ChatGPT. Ultimately, the company wants you to pay $20 a month for the ChatGPT Plus subscription. It entices you with higher token limits on Plus, meaning you can ask more questions and get larger outputs, as well as access to more advanced «reasoning» models, a fully interactive voice mode and the ability to create custom GPTs.
For casual users, the free version of ChatGPT will suffice. In April, OpenAI retired GPT-4, the model that had been powering the ChatGPT free for the past year in favor of the more advanced GPT-4o. The 4o model is multimodal, meaning it can take multiple inputs, from text, to audio to images. The caveat is that for free users, when traffic is high, ChatGPT will downgrade to the GPT-4o-mini model. This model, as the name implies, is lighter but it’s not as advanced, meaning it can get information wrong and not understand your intent as clearly.
For very occasional use, ChatGPT Free is fine. It’s possible to supplement the free version of ChatGPT with other AI chatbots, like Google Gemini and Claude. But if you find yourself quickly running into rate limits and don’t like the idea of switching between chatbots — or if you plan to do a lot of image generation — it’s probably worth upgrading.
How CNET reviews AI models
To test ChatGPT Free, I took a different approach from last year. Because the models have gotten more advanced, simply asking for recipes or travel itineraries won’t push the models, especially now that it can cross-reference the open internet for up-to-date information. Instead, I tried to take a more experiential approach. Rather than running every model we test this year through the exact same round of questioning, I wanted to live with the models, just like everyone else. This included asking for shopping advice, generating diagrams, chatting with the experimental voice mode and asking ChatGPT about my personal life.
How accurate is ChatGPT free?
With 500 million active users, ChatGPT is quickly growing in popularity, and competing directly against Google Search. Where Google gives you 10 blue links requiring you to sift through articles to find the right answer, ChatGPT can synthesize information for you right away. Of course, AI chatbots can make mistakes, known as hallucinations. In these instances, it can be hard to tell if AI is giving you the best answer because it’ll give an incorrect answer with confidence. A good AI chatbot will be accurate enough that you’re not always second guessing it.
The tricky thing about the free version of ChatGPT is that it’ll switch between the GPT-4o and GPT-4o-mini model at any time, without ever informing you. So, one session you might be getting thorough and creative output. And in other sessions, it might feel a bit barebones, with responses being shorter and less detailed.
Either way, in my experience, I found the free version of ChatGPT to be accurate for my research queries. But note that, unlike the more advanced o3 model, the free version of ChatGPT won’t recursively check over its answers to make sure it’s giving you an accurate output. There should be some skepticism when using ChatGPT for research and be prepared to double-check claims in the sources provided or via Google.
How quickly do you run into rate limits for general questions?
Unlike Google, which lets you search till you can’t type anymore, AI chatbots require a lot more processing, and therefore, companies tend to put limits so that servers aren’t getting overloaded. For those who pay, they have much higher rate limits. So, the rate limits on the free version of ChatGPT must be dramatically less, correct?
It depends. For research, I tried my absolute hardest to push ChatGPT to time out, but found it challenging. When I asked it about the legality of using Nintendo-owned IP for esports competition, it exhausted my line of questioning and I began having to ask ChatGPT for more suggestions on what to ask. To me, it felt unlimited. Output was also quick, suggesting that processing wasn’t as taxing as with more creative queries. Generally, I’ve noticed that more creative questions, where you need ChatGPT to brainstorm or help you write something bespoke, take more time, suggesting it’s using more processing power. It’s these types of queries that’ll most likely make you reach your limit faster.
Don’t ask for too many images
Yes, it’s possible for free ChatGPT users to create AI-generated images. Don’t expect to be filling photobooks in a single session, though. This is where I finally felt the free plan’s rate limits.
Because ChatGPT Free has rather stringent token limits, and because images eat up a lot of processing power, you’re often limited to one or just a handful of images in a single session. If you hit your limit, ChatGPT will make you wait for around three hours to take another crack at it. What’s worse, however, is that if you reach your limit because you were generating too many images, you can’t use ChatGPT for anything, even basic questions.
At the very least, generated images in ChatGPT Free are good. For example, here’s an image of a hippo and a zebra enjoying a cup of coffee at a ski resort with two lions fighting it out in the background.
Generate an image of two anthroponomic animals, one hippo and one zebra, drinking hot cups of coffee on a ski resort. Their style should be artistic and hand drawn with a painterly aesthetic. In the background, as skiers are skiing, there should be two lions fighting in the background.
While the image isn’t perfect, as noted by the wonky skiers in the background, overall, ChatGPT Free did a splendid job of mixing painterly art with anthropomorphic animals.
Image generation on ChatGPT Free does take time, however. This image took 10 to 15 minutes to generate. I immediately hit my token cap and had to wait a few hours to be able to try again.
Major shopping improvements
ChatGPT has always been a great tool for helping find which products to buy. And earlier this year OpenAI pushed out an update to make shopping even better. For free users, the main benefit is direct linking within ChatGPT to related products so you don’t have to search separately via Google.
When I was researching jeans, ChatGPT Free was able to cross-reference material online and help me narrow down the wide swath of opinions regarding denim from Muji and Uniqlo. It was also able to show me alternative brands in that specific price range.
I’ve also been hunting down a pair of now sold-out denim jeans from the Canadian brand Naked and Famous. When asked where I could find a pair in the aftermarket, ChatGPT Free recommended sites like eBay and Grailed where they might appear, but admitted it’d be difficult to find. Still, ChatGPT was able to link to similar products at that more premium price range.
Document analysis
As companies use machine learning systems to weed out resumes, job applicants are having to tune their resumes to AI models rather than to potential hiring managers in an attempt to out-AI the AIs. Thankfully, the free version of ChatGPT lets you upload documents for analysis.
When I uploaded my resume, ChatGPT complimented me on things I got right and also gave me areas on which to improve. For example, it suggested adding a summary section and removing certain redundancies.
Weirdly, when I asked it to analyze a document from a recent federal court ruling against Google, ChatGPT got it horribly wrong. Instead of analyzing the uploaded 115-page PDF, it ended up pulling US v. El Shafee Elsheikh, an appeal to a ruling against an ISIS member. When I pointed this out to ChatGPT, that’s when it actually took the time to read the PDF and give a thorough breakdown. This breakdown, while not heavily detailed, was accurate.
Privacy
Like with all AI chatbots, especially ones available for free, be careful with what information you tell it or the data you upload. Would it be easier to have a chatbot do your taxes or parse through your medical documentation? Sure. Would you want that information in the hands of a private company? Probably not.
Don’t upload personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers, license numbers or addresses. Medical information or lab results shouldn’t be given, either. Other data points that shouldn’t be uploaded include credit card numbers, account numbers, login credentials, business data, client information or trade secrets. More information can be found at OpenAI’s privacy policy page.
For those that are concerned about their data, it’s possible to opt out of model training. All you have to do is go into ChatGPT settings, click on Data Controls and disable «improve model for everyone,» which is a sly way of making the use of your data sound like an act of altruism.
It’s also possible to use ChatGPT in a sort-of private mode via the Temporary Chats function. Here, in the top-right corner of a new chat, you can click on a dotted-line chat icon so that your chat data won’t be stored or used for training purposes. It’s also possible to delete chat history, which, after 30 days, will be taken off OpenAI’s servers.
Of course, OpenAI will still gather some of your data. This includes your name, date of birth or other details you shared when opening your account. OpenAI will also know your IP address, web browser and other device information.
Should you upgrade to ChatGPT Plus?
OpenAI is offering a tremendous product for free. ChatGPT Free can do a significant amount of research and data processing before it starts asking you to fork over cash. In some instances, I tried hard to push the model far beyond its normal use case to get it to limit me. Sometimes, it would let me keep going and going.
In one session, I was able to have it break down how a specific online company worked, develop a business plan for an idea I had, look at denim reviews, analyze documents and verbally talk to it about my hypothetical relationship problems. I didn’t hit my rate limit, surprisingly. That’s impressive.
It’s image generation and photo analysis that taxes ChatGPT Free’s system quickly. Apart from occasional use, it’s best to use the paid version of ChatGPT for images.
I’ve spoken to other people who are avid users of the free version of ChatGPT and get annoyed by its rate limits. A friend of mine is juggling multiple accounts to get the most out of it without having to pay. Another friend found it frustrating when writing play scripts. In these instances, she’d ask ChatGPT Free to rewrite a script without specific words only for it to apologize and make the exact same error, again.
Variability is what makes reviewing AI chatbots tricky. Every person will have a different experience. In my use, however, I found ChatGPT Free to be more than adequate and think it delivers an incredibly powerful product for those using it semi-casually.
If you’re the type to casually use ChatGPT when a Google Search isn’t giving you what you want, stick to the free version for now. If, however, you constantly hit rate limit walls and are finding the general output of ChatGPT Free to be lackluster, then it’s time to pull out your credit card.
