Yes, GPT-5 Is Free… Unless You Need It to Work Harder: Pricing Details

GPT-5 Price: OpenAI has officially taken the wraps off GPT-5, its most advanced language model yet, and it’s not just about smarter AI , it’s also about how you’ll access it, and at what price. The company is rolling out GPT-5 across all ChatGPT subscription tiers, along with multiple pricing options for developers accessing the API. The goal is clear: make cutting-edge AI more accessible, but within a carefully structured pricing ecosystem.

Unlike previous versions where users picked between models, GPT-5 now operates as a unified experience. That means ChatGPT automatically delivers the most suitable response, adjusting to the complexity of your prompt, whether you’re on the free plan or paying for Pro-level perks.

GPT-5 is Free, But With Limits

Yes, GPT-5 is available on the free tier, a move likely aimed at encouraging broader adoption. Users on the free plan can:

• Access GPT-5 for general tasks
• Use real-time web search for live information
• Try limited file uploads, data analysis, image generation, and voice mode
• Edit code via the ChatGPT macOS desktop app
• Create and use custom GPTs

While functional, the free plan keeps advanced features behind a paywall, especially for those needing deeper AI capabilities or larger usage limits.

$20 ChatGPT Plus Unlocks Advanced Features

The popular ChatGPT Plus subscription, still priced at $20 per month, adds a major boost in capability. Subscribers get:

• Extended access to GPT-5, OpenAI’s flagship model
• Increased limits on messaging, uploads, and creative tools
• Full access to standard and advanced voice modes, including video and screensharing
• Use of the ChatGPT agent
• The ability to create and manage projects and tasks
• Limited access to Sora, OpenAI’s video generation tool
• Early access to new features as they roll out

This tier is targeted at professionals and creators looking to level up productivity without committing to the heavy-duty Pro plan.

Pro Tier Offers Unlimited GPT-5 Access at $200

For power users, the ChatGPT Pro plan, priced at $200 per month, delivers the highest level of access. It includes everything in Plus, along with:

• Unlimited access to GPT-5
• Access to GPT-5 Pro, a version that uses more compute to handle the most complex queries
• Unlimited voice and video capabilities with higher limits
• Access to the OpenAI o3-pro model for high-compute reasoning tasks
• Extended availability of the ChatGPT agent and Sora video generation
• Access to the Codex agent research preview
• Unlimited usage, subject to abuse guardrails

This tier is best suited for businesses, researchers, or developers needing enterprise-grade AI performance.

GPT-5 API Pricing Caters To Developer Needs

OpenAI is also offering GPT-5 to developers in three variants with clear pricing:

• GPT-5 (Standard): $10 per 1M tokens, $1.25 input rate, 256K context, 128K max output
• GPT-5 mini: $2 per 1M tokens, $0.25 input rate, same context/output specs
• GPT-5 nano: $0.40 per 1M tokens, $0.05 input rate, same specs

All API variants come with 256K context windows and 128K output tokens, providing consistent capability across tiers, but varying in cost and computational power.

Whether you’re a casual user or a developer building advanced tools, OpenAI’s GPT-5 release marks a significant expansion of AI access, with pricing designed to scale with your ambition.