You don’t need a subscription — or even an account — to start using OpenAI’s popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT. However, creating an account unlocks additional features, such as access to the latest ChatGPT-4o model with image generation capabilities. For even more advanced tools, a paid subscription is the way to go. ChatGPT Plus, priced at $20/month, provides access to powerful features like enhanced reasoning models (such as the GPT-4.5 preview) and deep research capabilities.
This pricing is on par with Gemini Advanced from Google, which also includes added benefits like extra cloud storage alongside its AI tools.
If you’re a student, I’ve got some great news for you. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that US and Canadian students can use ChatGPT Plus for free through the end of May. That’s a great deal, as students will save about $40/month for premium AI access. But why is OpenAI offering this deal?
“ChatGPT Plus is free for college students in the US and Canada through May!” Sam Altman wrote on X. Signing up for the deal is very easy. Just head over to this page on the OpenAI site and follow the instructions to verify that you’re eligible. OpenAI uses SheerID for verification, so students will likely already know if they’re eligible since it’s the same service used by other companies. Once you’ve determined that you’re eligible, you’ll just need to sign up for an account using your school email address.
Why is the company offering this deal? OpenAI may be reacting to a brilliant move from Anthropic earlier this week. The OpenAI rival announced a huge AI plan for education. Claude for Education includes a Learning Mode for Caude that gives students access to a tutor-like AI persona that will not provide answers outright.
AI can certainly come in handy for schoolwork, as long as you don’t use the AI only to do your homework and cheat your way through projects or exams.
Students deal aside, ChatGPT has been quite popular with users in the past week thanks to that new 4o image generation tool that went viral. The company registered millions of new users but also experienced issues with ChatGPT.
