Worth It? Wednesday: ChatGPT Plus Edition

ChatGPT is the AI Tool Everyone Has Heard Of, But Is It Worth Paying For?

I've spent $200 over 10 months using ChatGPT Plus so you don't have to. Let's discuss what you get for that $20 per month so you can decide if it’s worth the price for your uses.

What is ChatGPT Plus? 

It's the premium version of OpenAI's conversational AI that offers access to their most advanced models (GPT-4o Preview), no wait times, and several exclusive features. Like most software products these days, OpenAI uses the freemium model. You can access some of the models, a few of the features, and your conversations are limited unless you bump up to the paid subscription. But is the upgrade worth it?

Closest Competitors: Perplexity Pro, Google Gemini Pro, Claude Pro (all priced at $20/month)

Base Price: $20/month. You can try it month-to-month with no commitment. There are also Business (Teams of 2+), Education, & Enterprise subscriptions.

Free vs Paid Version Features

The free version still gives you access to the GPT-4o model, which is powerful enough to handle most tasks. Unless you are doing highly complex math, science, or coding tasks, the 4o model is usually adequate. Free users can:

• Chat with GPT-4o, 4o mini when throttled
• Use voice mode (not Advanced voice mode)
• Upload documents
• Generate limited images with DALLE-3
• Access CustomGPT store (but not build their own) 

What does ChatGPT Plus offer over the free version?

Image Generation

Chat GPT users can generate images with the DALLE-3 image model. The free version of ChatGPT only allows two images to be generated per day. Paid users should be able to generate fifty images per day. DALLE-3 is decent, but I prefer Flux.1 & Midjourney for artistic details and text accuracy. The image generation alone is not worth paying the pro subscription for as most serious AI art users will prefer a standalone image model.

Build Custom GPTs

This is the single best feature of the paid plan! While free users can now access Custom GPTs, you have to pay for the Pro subscription in order to build them. If you have a task or specific use that you find yourself relying on an LLM for, you can build a customized version of ChatGPT to help you with it. These Custom GPTs allow you to

• Create specialized AI assistants
• Share them with others
• Build files into their knowledge base
• Customize responses based on no-code instructions

Unique Interfaces

None of these are must have features for me…yet! One of the trends we see with Generative AI tools is the ability to interface with them in ways besides just a chat box. ChatGPT Plus gives you access to:

Advanced Voice Mode

This is the best voice interface I have used with an LLM. While it’s far from perfect, the latency is low, the emotion & tone of the voice responses are unbelievably “real”, and it makes for an amazing live translation tool.

If you have only interfaced with LLM’s through a chat box, I strongly encourage you to experiment with voice conversations. Most apps have this built in now (Except Claude), but none that I have tried are as good as ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode. Put your earbuds in & go for a walk, but instead of listening to a podcast, have a conversation with ChatGPT. It will change the way you view & interact with Generative AI!

I use Advanced Voice Mode intermittently for my own conversations when I’m driving, working out, or don’t feel like typing in a chat window. I have also used it regularly to translate with a student in my class who is new to speaking English. Our non-scientific conclusion is that Advanced Voice Mode is far more effective at maintaining a conversation & accurately conveying regional dialects, accents, and emotion than Google or Apple Translate apps.

Search GPT

This is the newest unique interface added to ChatGPT. It is only available on the paid plan. It allows for internet searches, which GPT has been able to do previously, but now adds a side bar with sources. The output also adds citations which link back to the sources. For example: 

I asked ChatGPT to make me a Christmas shopping list for my family & include links to gift ideas. Sounds simple enough, right?

It generated an outline, and the gifts sounded applicable enough. But… try the links! My results were: 13 links generated. 2 were accurate, 2 went to different items than they were labeled as, 4 opened to an Amazon “item not found” page with a dog on it. 5 links were blue but didn’t open at all.

This feature is relatively new, and I still much prefer Perplexity.ai for this type of LLM based searching. This interface is definitely not worth paying for alone!

Canvas Mode

This interface is essentially a word processor or code terminal, with a chat conversation on the side. One of the issues with using an LLM for writing or coding is that you cannot directly edit the output. You have to prompt it to revise the text, or copy & paste it into your working document. Canvas Mode changes this. 

Think of it as a Google Doc with ChatGPT bolted on the side. You can prompt it to add a section, increase the vocabulary, etc. but now you can also type directly on the output without having to copy & paste it somewhere else. It’s not nearly as feature rich as Google Docs or Microsoft Word, but it has potential.

The biggest drawback to these unique interfaces? You cannot use Custom GPTs within them. Basically, the Pro features are one off tools that aren’t integrated into the rest of the application. Here is an example:

Let’s say you build a Custom GPT to help with copywriting. You give it specific instructions, upload some writing samples & frameworks into its knowledge base. This allows you to get specific feedback & content that vanilla GPT 4o could not produce without a large amount of prompting, copy and pasting, etc.

This is awesome, right? Let’s just do our copywriting with this Custom GPT in Canvas mode so you don’t have to copy & paste outputs into a world processing app.

Wait… you can’t!

Canvas mode ONLY allows for the GPT 4o model to be used. No Custom GPTs, no 4o Preview model. No SearchGPT. You can chat with Advanced Voice Mode, but not edit your document.

The same is true with Advanced Voice mode. You can’t turn a voice thread into a Canvas document, or access Custom GPTs in your voice conversation.

This is the true issue with these novel interfaces. They are great…but currently live on an island. I am sure all of the features will be integrated into them eventually, but are they worth paying $20/month for in their current state?

*Update from December of 2024: Canvas is now free for all users, and CustomGPT's now work in Canvas!

The Verdict 

Worth It For:

• People building and sharing Custom GPTs
• Users who want a single LLM subscription that is a jack of all trades but master of none
• Individuals who find value in the unique interfaces like Canvas or Advanced Voice Mode

Not Worth It For:

• Casual users who only need basic chat features
• Users who primarily need search capabilities (Perplexity is better)
• Those who don't build Custom GPTs

Key Takeaways

If you find yourself frustrated with the limitations of free ChatGPT, hitting usage limits, or needing access during peak hours, Plus might be worth considering. However, the free version is still incredibly capable for basic tasks and casual use.

The real value of Plus comes from its ecosystem of features—GPT-4, Custom GPTs, DALL-E 3, and advanced voice mode. If you'll use at least two of these features regularly, the $20 monthly fee becomes easier to justify.

Have you tried ChatGPT Plus? Do you think it's worth the subscription? Tag someone in your network who needs to read this Worth It? Wednesday on ChatGPT Plus, or share this article so they can leave their thoughts.