The ChatGPT Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about ChatGPT in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
ChatGPT
The Insider’s Guide
OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voice
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among AI assistants, read from ChatGPT’s own pages.
Made by OpenAI · checked Oct 9, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02Insider tipsWhat most people miss: ways to pay less, settings worth changing and the catches
- 03What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 04What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 05Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 06After you payGetting your money back, getting out, and getting help
- 07The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 08Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 09About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from ChatGPT’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on ChatGPT’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
3.4
GPA, above 53 of the 57 other AI assistants we grade
ChatGPT is OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for writing, questions, learning and everyday tasks. Beyond text chat it generates images, holds real-time spoken conversations, searches the web and compiles longer research reports, and the Codex coding agent is included from the Plus plan. It is free to use, with Go, Plus, Pro and Business plans above that.
To get you started, here are 10 things to know about ChatGPT, taken from its own pages and our grades.
If you live in Gmail or Word, Gemini or Copilot plugs straight into those instead.
- 1
Best for everyday questions, writing and images
It chats, makes images, talks out loud and searches the web, and text chat is free with no cap.
- 2
Paid plans start at $8 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $8 per month (Go).
- 3
There is a free plan
Unlimited text chats, with limits on uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory.
- 4
It runs on 6 platforms
Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
- 5
Conversational help
Answers questions, drafts and reworks text, explains topics and reads uploaded photos in a chat, with history synced across your devices.
- 6
Image generation
Creates original images from a description, or transforms existing images from a short instruction.
- 7
Advanced Voice Mode
Hold a real-time spoken conversation in the mobile app by tapping the soundwave icon.
- 8
Refunds: no set window
OpenAI's line is that payments are generally non-refundable. There's one small opening: ask within seven days of a charge, on a subscription you've barely used, and it may refund you at its discretion.
- 9
A 3.4 GPA, above 53 of 57
That is against the other AI assistants we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 10
Keep it
To replace ChatGPT you would be making an AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
ChatGPT at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $8 per month (Go)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
- Made by
- OpenAI, since 2022
- Category
- AI Assistants
- Our grade
- 3.4 GPA, very good
- Store rating
- 4.8 on the App Store, 11,033,891 ratings
The report card
Best for everyday questions, writing and images
ChatGPT is OpenAI's AI assistant. It chats, makes images, talks out loud and searches the web, and text chat is free with no cap. Everything else on the free plan is capped, the parts most people want sit on the $20 Plus plan, the $8 Go plan may show ads, and Pro jumps to $100, $200 or $500 a month. If you live in Gmail or Word, Gemini or Copilot plugs straight into those instead.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Go is $8 a month, and OpenAI says that plan may include ads. The one people actually want is Plus at $20, which is where this category's dearest tenth starts, and above it Pro runs $100, $200 or $500 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | B | Unlimited text chats. Uploads, images, voice, deep research and memory are in there too, but each comes with a cap you'll meet soon enough. |
| Features | A | Chat, image generation, real-time voice, web search and Deep Research reports in one app. Custom GPTs, projects, scheduled tasks and Codex, a coding agent, need the $20 Plus plan, and the always-on agent is on Pro. |
| Ease of use | A | 4.8 from about 11 million App Store ratings. You open it and type a question the way you'd text a friend. There's nothing to set up first. |
| Platforms and integrations | A | Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with your chats synced across all of them, and a Linux app in preview. There's an API for developers too, and Codex hooks into Slack. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who ChatGPT is for
- Fits if you want one app for questions, writing help, images and voice
- Works for trying AI without paying, since text chat is free with no cap
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you live in Gmail and Docs, where Gemini plugs in and costs less to upgrade
- Pricey if you outgrow Plus: Pro is $100, $200 or $500 a month, and SCIM and role controls need Enterprise, price unpublished
- Watch out: Go at $8 may show ads, and ads have been tested in the free version for US adults since January 2026
- Tight if you upload files, make images or use voice a lot on the free plan, since each one is capped
- Watch out: the Linux app is only a preview for a few distros, and features have gone missing after updates
Good to know
Good for
- General-purpose help with writing, questions and brainstorming
- People who want chat, voice, images and web search in one assistant
- Trying an AI assistant at no cost before paying
Worth knowing
- Pro is sold at three price points, $100, $200 or $500 per month, well above the $20 Plus plan.
- Business requires at least 2 users. SCIM, EKM and role-based access control are reserved for Enterprise and Edu.
- OpenAI's pricing page says the Go plan may include ads, and Wikipedia reports ad tests in the free version for logged-in adult US users since January 2026.
- The Linux desktop app is a preview, limited to recent Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and Arch Linux releases on x64 and ARM64.
Part 02 · Tips
Insider tips
What most people miss: ways to pay less, settings worth changing and the catches
7
Things most people miss, each from its own help pages
The things about ChatGPT that are easy to miss until they cost you: ways to pay less, settings worth changing and the catches at renewal or when you leave. Each one is from ChatGPT’s own pages, linked beside it.
Read on Oct 17, 2026. Read from ChatGPT's pricing page and teachers plan page, and its desktop app docs on usage, keyboard shortcuts and slash commands, on 17 October 2026. Not tried out: these tips are what its own pages say.
- 1
Privacy
On Free, Go, Plus and Pro, your chats train OpenAI's models by default
The plan table on its pricing page says content on all four personal plans is used to train its models, with an opt-out available. On Business and Enterprise it isn't. If that bothers you, opt out before you paste in anything private.
chatgpt.com - 2
Pay less
Go at $8 keeps as much of a long chat in mind as Plus does
Its plan table gives the everyday model a 27K context window on Free, 54K on both Go and Plus, and 128K on Pro. So if long documents or long chats are your problem, Go doubles what Free can hold for less than half the price of Plus.
chatgpt.com - 3
Pay less
Nonprofits can get up to 75% off Business
The pricing page's FAQ says nonprofits can get up to 75% off ChatGPT Business or Enterprise through OpenAI for Nonprofits, by contacting its sales team. Business needs at least 2 users.
chatgpt.com - 4
Pay less
US school teachers and staff get a free plan of their own
ChatGPT for Teachers is free for verified US K-12 teachers and school staff, and what you share isn't used for training by default. Its plan page says free through June 2028, while the pricing FAQ says June 2027, so check before you rely on it.
chatgpt.com - 5
Setting
Leave Fast mode off unless you need it, as it eats your limit faster
Its usage page says Fast mode uses your plan's included allowance at 2.5 times the normal rate in ChatGPT Work and Codex. Making images uses it about 3 to 5 times faster than a similar turn without one. Plus and Pro can buy extra credits instead of upgrading.
learn.chatgpt.com - 6
Shortcut
In the desktop app, press Cmd+K for the command menu
Cmd+/ lists every shortcut, Ctrl+Shift+M opens the model picker, Cmd+Shift+A archives the chat and Cmd+1 to 9 jumps between chats. On Windows, use Ctrl where the Mac uses Cmd.
learn.chatgpt.com - 7
Easy to miss
Type /status in the desktop app to see how much of your limit is left
Its list of slash commands says /status shows the chat's context use and your rate limits. /side opens a temporary side chat without derailing the main one, and /compact squeezes a long chat's context down.
learn.chatgpt.com
Part 03 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$8
A month to start. There is a free plan too
ChatGPT has a free plan. Paid plans start at $8 per month (Go).
Uploads, images, voice, deep research and memory are in there too, but each comes with a cap you'll meet soon enough.
Free
$0
Unlimited text chats, with limits on uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory.
Go
$8
per month
More messages with tools, more uploads, image creation and voice chats than Free, and longer memory. OpenAI notes this plan may include ads.
Plus
$20
per month
Advanced reasoning models, expanded deep research and memory, plus projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs.
Business
$20
per user / month, billed annually
For 2 or more users: a dedicated workspace with admin controls, SAML SSO and MFA. $25 per user / month when billed monthly.
Pro
From $100
per month
A choice of three usage tiers at $100, $200 or $500 per month, with the highest limits, pro reasoning and an always-on agent.
Enterprise & Edu
Custom
Sold through sales, with priority request processing, SCIM, EKM, user analytics, domain verification and role-based access control.
The free plan
Unlimited text chats, with limits on uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory.
Read from learn.chatgpt.com on Oct 9, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Business is cheaper when billed annually
OpenAI's pricing page lists Business at $20 per user / month when billed annually, against $25 per user / month when billed monthly.
Stated on learn.chatgpt.com
How its prices have moved
- Jul 9, 2026Go: new, $8 per monthThe archived copy of OpenAI's plans page of 9 July 2026 lists Go at $8 a month; the last copy of its earlier pricing page with prices in it, of 19 August 2025, has no Go plan. The plan arrived between the two.
- Jul 9, 2026Business (formerly Team): $25 per user / month billed annually, $30 billed monthly → $20 per user / month billed annually, $25 billed monthlyThe archived copy of 9 July 2026 shows Business at $20 billed annually and $25 monthly; the last earlier copy with prices, of 19 August 2025, shows the same plan, then named Team, at $25 and $30. Both moved between the two.
- Jul 9, 2026Pro: $200 per month → From $100 per monthThe archived copy of 9 July 2026 shows Pro from $100 a month, with a choice of 5x or 20x the Plus limits; the last earlier copy with prices, of 19 August 2025, shows one Pro plan at $200. A cheaper tier arrived between the two.
- Dec 8, 2024Pro: new, $200 per monthThe archived copy of 8 December 2024 lists a Pro plan at $200 a month between Plus and Team; the copy before it, of 3 December 2024, shows only Free, Plus and Team. The plan arrived between the two.
What the app costs elsewhere
Each country’s App Store price for “ChatGPT Plus”, against $19.99 in the United States, in dollars at the day’s rate. The four cheapest and the four dearest of 11.
| Country | Price there | In dollars | Against the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | ₱ 999.00 | $15.90 | 20% less |
| Canada | $24.99 | $17.57 | 12% less |
| Indonesia | Rp 349ribu | $19.52 | about the same |
| Brazil | R$ 99,90 | $19.96 | about the same |
| Mexico | $399.00 | $21.92 | 10% more |
| South Africa | R399.99 | $24.19 | 21% more |
| Germany | 22,99 € | $25.76 | 29% more |
| United Kingdom | £19.99 | $26.43 | 32% more |
Part 04 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
6
Places it runs: Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voice. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, chat assistant, AI search.
Chat, image generation, real-time voice, web search and Deep Research reports in one app.
- Conversational help
- Answers questions, drafts and reworks text, explains topics and reads uploaded photos in a chat, with history synced across your devices.
- Image generation
- Creates original images from a description, or transforms existing images from a short instruction.
- Advanced Voice Mode
- Hold a real-time spoken conversation in the mobile app by tapping the soundwave icon.
- Search and Deep Research
- ChatGPT Search draws on the web for more up-to-date answers, and Deep Research generates a report from extensive web searches.
- Codex
- A coding agent that runs on the web, in a CLI, in an IDE extension and on iOS from the Plus plan, with integrations such as automatic code review and Slack.
- GPTs and agents
- GPTs customize ChatGPT's behavior for a specific use case, and ChatGPT agent carries out multi-step tasks.
Where it runs
- Web
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Slack
Who makes ChatGPT
ChatGPT is made by OpenAI, an AI research and product company whose for-profit arm, OpenAI Group PBC, is controlled by the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation. It earns money from ChatGPT subscriptions and business plans, from developers paying for its API, and from an ads pilot it started in 2026.
- Founded
- 2015openai.com
- Based
- San Francisco, Californiaopenai.com
- Ownership
- Owned by a nonprofit. OpenAI Group PBC is a public benefit corporation controlled by the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation, which held 26% of it after the October 2025 recapitalization; Microsoft held about 27% and employees and investors the other 47%, per its structure page.openai.com
- Funding
- Closed a round of $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation on March 31, 2026, co-led by SoftBank, according to its own announcement. It announced $40 billion in March 2025 and $6.6 billion in October 2024, and Microsoft invested $1 billion in 2019 and more in 2021 and 2023. No overall total is stated.openai.comopenai.comopenai.comopenai.com
- Founders and leaders
- Sam Altman, CEOopenai.com
- Greg Brockman, Founding member (CTO at the launch in 2015)openai.com
- Ilya Sutskever, Founding member (research director at the launch in 2015)openai.com
- Hiring
- 813 open jobs across the whole company; the largest groups are technical success (69), applied AI engineering (68), sales (41) and marketing (38)openai.com
- Partner program
- The OpenAI Partner Network is for consultancies and integrators that build, co-sell and deliver solutions on OpenAI's models; companies apply through a partner portal. No payment terms are published.openai.com
- Lately
- GPT-Live-1.1 and new voices in ChatGPT · Oct 15, 2026
- Applications for the Rosalind Academic Plan · Oct 15, 2026
- Site limits for Plus and Pro · Oct 15, 2026
- ChatGPT Sites updates for Enterprise · Oct 15, 2026
Read on Oct 18, 2026 from the company’s own pages and from news reports. What is not stated there is left out.
Part 05 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
53/57
Other AI assistants it is graded above
ChatGPT's GPA of 3.4 is higher than 53 of the 57 other AI assistants we grade, and level with 3.
It stands best on features (A, above 53 of 57) and worst on value for money (C, above 5).
Its paid plans start at $8 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 10 of the 38 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 4.0 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 58 AI assistants we grade, cut by the letter each got. ChatGPT’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 5 of 57
- BFree plan and trialAbove 34 of 57
- AFeaturesAbove 53 of 57
- AEase of useAbove 44 of 57
- APlatforms and integrationsAbove 45 of 57
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 45 AI assistants. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. ChatGPT is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace ChatGPT you would be making an AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.4 is higher than 53 of the 57 other AI assistants we grade. It costs $96 a year.
What you could not
- An AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
- A search engine with an AI model behind it.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
- It plugs into other products, Slack among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features A, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. ChatGPT’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 06 · Refunds
After you pay
Getting your money back, getting out, and getting help
What happens once you have paid: whether you can get your money back, how to leave, and how to reach a person when something goes wrong. Each is graded from ChatGPT’s own terms and help pages.
Refunds and cancelling
Ordinary · checked Oct 12, 2026
OpenAI's line is that payments are generally non-refundable. There's one small opening: ask within seven days of a charge, on a subscription you've barely used, and it may refund you at its discretion. Don't count on it. Leaving is easy, though. Cancelling is four steps in Settings, and you keep the paid plan until the period you paid for ends. No refunds as a rule with an easy way out is the ordinary deal, so it's a C.
- Refund window
- No set window
- How you cancel
- Yourself, in settings
- Getting your money back
Payments are generally non-refundable. For an unused individual subscription, a discretionary refund may be available if you ask within seven days of the charge, with limits on repeat refunds and on substantial use. Refunds may also be approved for a verified billing error, an unauthorised charge or a documented service failure. Residents of the EU, the UK and Turkey get a prorated refund within 14 days of purchase.
Stated on help.openai.com- How to cancel ChatGPT
A plan bought on chatgpt.com is cancelled in the account's settings, under Billing. One bought through the Apple App Store or Google Play is cancelled in that store, and a self-service Business plan in the workspace's billing settings. Uninstalling the app cancels nothing. OpenAI says to cancel at least 24 hours before the next billing date to avoid the next charge.
- Sign in to ChatGPT
- Open your account menu and select Settings
- Select Billing
- Under Cancel plan, select Cancel
- What you keep afterwards
Paid features stay until the end of the current billing period, and the account itself remains: cancelling does not delete it. If a refund is granted, the access that charge paid for normally ends early. A separate article on deleting an account says deletion is permanent and that data is deleted within 30 days, apart from a limited set kept where the law requires or allows it.
Stated on help.openai.com- Renewals
The terms say a paid subscription is charged automatically at each renewal until you cancel, and that payments are non-refundable except where the law requires. If OpenAI raises a subscription's price it gives at least 30 days' notice, and the rise takes effect at your next renewal so that you can cancel first. No reminder before an ordinary renewal is mentioned.
Stated on openai.com
In your favour
- You cancel yourself in Settings, under Billing. It's four steps and there's nobody to write to.
- After cancelling you keep the paid plan until the period you paid for runs out.
- A price rise comes with at least 30 days' notice, so you can leave before it bites.
- Billing errors and charges you didn't authorise are named as things it will refund.
Watch out for
- Payments are generally non-refundable. Forgetting to cancel, or not liking it, doesn't qualify.
- The seven-day refund is at OpenAI's discretion and only for a subscription you've hardly used.
- Cancel at least 24 hours before the billing date, or the next charge may already have gone through.
- Subscribed in the iPhone app? Apple handles the cancelling and the refund, and deleting your ChatGPT account doesn't stop Apple billing you.
Customer support
Ordinary · checked Oct 12, 2026
There's one door to a person: the chat bubble in the Help Center. A virtual assistant answers first, and a human agent joins only if it can't sort you out. No page says when agents work or how long you'd wait, and there's no email address to fall back on. The phone line is an AI that can't pass you to anyone. The help centre is big and does a lot of the work. Chat with no hours and no reply time is ordinary, so it's a C.
Ways to get help
Live chat
The chat bubble at the bottom right of the Help Center. A virtual assistant answers first, and a human agent may join if it cannot resolve the issue. Support is offered in most languages. Refund requests go through the same chat, signed in to the account that was charged.
Stated on help.openai.comPhone
An automated AI phone agent for general questions about ChatGPT, in the countries OpenAI lists. Its own page says it cannot connect you to a live agent, submit a request or promise a follow-up.
Stated on help.openai.comHelp centre
Written articles on accounts, billing, subscriptions, each ChatGPT plan and troubleshooting, open to anyone without logging in.
Stated on help.openai.com
Not listed on ChatGPT’s pages: email, contact form or ticket.
- When people answer
Its pages do not say.
- How fast it says it replies
Its pages do not say.
- What depends on your plan
The plan comparison on the pricing page lists Enhanced support, Dedicated onboarding and Ongoing account management under Customer Service. The marks showing which plans include them could not be read, so this page does not say which. The article on contacting support describes one route for everyone.
Stated on chatgpt.com
In your favour
- Free users can open the same chat as people who pay.
- A refund request shows you a summary of whether you qualify before an agent picks it up.
- The help centre is large and specific: cancelling, refunds and deleting an account each have an article.
Watch out for
- You go through a bot first. A person joins only if it can't resolve the issue.
- No hours and no reply time are stated on any page read.
- No email address for support is listed.
- The phone line is an AI. It can't connect you to a person or take a request.
What these two grades rest on. Read on 12 October 2026, in a browser because OpenAI's pages turn scripts away: its Terms of Use, its help articles on cancelling a subscription, requesting a refund, deleting an account, contacting support and AI phone support, and its pricing page. Nobody here cancelled a plan or contacted its support. They are graded apart from the five that make the GPA. How we grade refunds and support.
Part 07 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Gemini Notebook
The 4 tools ChatGPT is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.0GPA
Claude
Free plan · from $17/mo
Anthropic's AI assistant for writing, analysis and coding.
- Only Claude lists a browser extension.
- 3.8GPA
Gemini
Free plan · from $4.99/mo
Google's AI assistant, tied into Gmail, Docs and other Google apps.
- Only ChatGPT lists a Linux app.
- 2.8GPA
Perplexity
Free plan · from $17/mo
AI search assistant that answers questions with cited sources.
- Only ChatGPT lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Only Perplexity lists a browser extension.
- 3.4GPA
Gemini Notebook
Free plan · from $4.99/mo
Google's AI research assistant that answers from your own sources.
- Only ChatGPT lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Gemini Notebook also covers notes.
Part 08 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
17
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is ChatGPT free?
ChatGPT has a free plan. Unlimited text chats, with limits on uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory.
How much does ChatGPT cost?
ChatGPT lists 6 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does ChatGPT work on?
ChatGPT is available on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
Does ChatGPT offer any discounts?
ChatGPT publicly lists the following: Business is cheaper when billed annually.
How is ChatGPT rated?
ChatGPT's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 out of 5 from 11,033,891 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 7, 2026.
Is ChatGPT open source?
ChatGPT is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 9, 2026.
Does ChatGPT have an API?
Yes. ChatGPT offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does ChatGPT integrate with?
ChatGPT's listing names Slack. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is made by OpenAI. OpenAI Group PBC is a public benefit corporation controlled by the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation, which held 26% of it after the October 2025 recapitalization; Microsoft held about 27% and employees and investors the other 47%, per its structure page.
What are the alternatives to ChatGPT?
The closest alternatives to ChatGPT in our directory are Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Gemini Notebook.
Does ChatGPT give refunds?
Payments are generally non-refundable. For an unused individual subscription, a discretionary refund may be available if you ask within seven days of the charge, with limits on repeat refunds and on substantial use.
How do I cancel ChatGPT?
A plan bought on chatgpt.com is cancelled in the account's settings, under Billing.
What happens to my data if I cancel ChatGPT?
Paid features stay until the end of the current billing period, and the account itself remains: cancelling does not delete it.
How do I contact ChatGPT support?
ChatGPT's pages list these ways to get help: live chat, phone and help centre.
How does ChatGPT compare with other AI assistants?
ChatGPT's GPA of 3.4 is higher than 53 of the 57 other AI assistants we grade, and level with 3.
Is ChatGPT good value for money?
ToolGPA grades ChatGPT C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $8 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 10 of the 38 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of ChatGPT?
To replace ChatGPT you would be making an AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from ChatGPT’s own pages on Oct 9, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Based on OpenAI's pricing, features and desktop app documentation for ChatGPT as of 9 October 2026, its App Store listing and reviews, and Hacker News threads about it. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-02-16.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by OpenAI. Prices change, so check chatgpt.com before you buy.
Part 09 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- ChatGPT, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/chatgpt
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
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Prices and grades as they are today
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Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "ChatGPT: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 9, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/chatgpt
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See our other guides
The best-graded AI assistants after ChatGPT, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- AI Assistants Insider's GuideEvery one of the 58 AI assistants we grade, compared
- Gemini Insider's GuideGoogle's AI assistant, tied into Gmail, Docs and other Google apps3.8 GPA
- Chatbox Insider's GuideAI chat client for your own API keys or a hosted model plan3.4 GPA
- Gemini Notebook Insider's GuideGoogle's AI research assistant that answers from your own sources3.4 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what ChatGPT’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. ChatGPT is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by OpenAI. Prices and plans change: check chatgpt.com before you buy.