Last night I was sitting in my kitchen with a very cold coffee. My head was hurting because I wanted to write a story for my nephew's birthday, but my brain was like a dry sponge. No water, no ideas. I heard about this thing called ChatGPT Plus. People say it is like having a super-brain in your computer. But then I saw the price. Twenty dollars! For me, that is a lot of money just to write a story about a dragon who likes eating broccoli. I started searching the internet like a crazy person. I was typing "how to use chatgpt plus for free" over and over. I found some things that work and some things that are just lies. I want to tell you everything I learned so you don't have to drink cold coffee and be sad like me.
Why everyone wants the Plus version
First, let's talk why people even care. The normal ChatGPT is okay. It is like a nice neighbor who helps you carry groceries. But the Plus version is like a neighbor who is also a scientist, a poet, and a chef. It uses something called GPT-4. It is much smarter. It doesn't make as many mistakes. If you ask the free version to solve a hard math problem, it might give you a number that is totally wrong but it says it with a lot of confidence. GPT-4 is more careful.
Also, the Plus version has "DALL-E". This is a robot that draws pictures. You say "make a cat wearing a space suit on Mars" and boom! You have a picture. In the free version, you just get text. Plus users also get "Browse with Bing." This means the AI can look at the internet right now. The free one usually only knows things from the past. If you ask who won the big game yesterday, the free one says "I don't know, I am just a robot from 2023." The Plus one knows everything.
The Microsoft Bing Secret
The biggest secret I found is Microsoft Bing. Microsoft gave a lot of money to the people who make ChatGPT (they are called OpenAI). Because of this, Microsoft put the smart GPT-4 brain inside their own search engine. And guess what? It is totally free.
When you go to the Bing website or use the Edge browser, you see a button that says "Copilot." This is basically the Plus version but with a different hat on. I used it to make my dragon story. It worked so good! I asked it to make a picture of the dragon, and it did it for free. You don't have to pay the twenty dollars. You just need a Microsoft account, which is free to make.
Sometimes Copilot is a bit bossy. It might stop the conversation if it gets confused. But if you want to know how to use chatgpt plus for free, this is the most honest way. You get the smart brain, you get the internet searching, and you get the pictures.
The Mobile App Magic
It is like a free sample at the grocery store. You get a small piece of the fancy cheese. After you use your turns, the app says "Okay, no more fancy cheese for you today, go back to the regular cheese." But for a beginner writer like me, those few turns are enough to fix a big problem in my story. I use the smart turns for the hard parts and the free version for the easy parts like "how do you spell broccoli?"
Using LMSYS Chatbot Arena
This is a very nerdy thing I found. There is a website called LMSYS. It is like a tournament for robots. Different companies put their AI there, and people test them to see who is the best. On this website, you can pick "Direct Chat" and sometimes you can choose the GPT-4 model.
It is free because you are helping them with research. You are like a person testing a new car. You get to drive the fancy car for free, and they watch how you drive. It is not a place to save your work, though. If you close the window, your story is gone. Poof. So, if you use this, make sure you copy and paste your writing into a Word file or a notebook.
Why "Free" can be Dangerous
I have to tell you a warning. My mother always said, "If it is free, you are the product." While I was looking for how to use chatgpt plus for free, I saw many bad websites. They say "Click here for free ChatGPT Plus Premium Cracked Version!"
Do not click! These people are thieves. They want to steal your password or put a virus in your computer that makes it go "clunk clunk." There is no "cracked" version of a website. ChatGPT lives on a big computer in a building far away. You cannot "crack" it like a video game from 1998. Only use the real ways like Bing or the official app. If a website asks for your credit card to give you something for free, run away very fast!
Group Buying - A Bad Idea?
I saw some people on the internet saying you can "share" an account. They say five people pay four dollars each and use one login. This sounds smart, right? Like sharing a pizza. But it is very annoying.
If my friend is using the AI to write a long code for a website, and I try to use it to write my dragon story, the AI gets confused. Also, your private stories are not private. My friend will see all my secrets about the broccoli dragon. And OpenAI might see many people using one account and go "Hey, no!" and lock the account. Then everyone loses their four dollars. It is better to just use Bing for free.
Learning to Prompt - The Real Power
You know what I realized? The "Plus" version is not the only thing that makes writing good. It is how you talk to the robot. Even the free version can be very smart if you are a good teacher.
Instead of saying "Write a story," I say "You are a world-famous writer for children. Use simple words and make it funny. Write about a dragon." When I give the robot a "job," it works much better. It is like telling a helper exactly what to do. If you learn how to talk to the AI, the free version feels like the Plus version.
Other Free AI Friends
While I was looking for ways to get the Plus version, I found other robots that are also free and very smart. One is called Claude. It is made by people who used to work at OpenAI. Claude is very "human." It talks very nicely and doesn't sound like a machine as much.
Another one is Google Gemini. If you have a Gmail, you already have Gemini. It is very fast. I like to use Gemini when I need to find facts because it is connected to Google Search. It's like having a library inside your chat. Using these different tools is a great way to get "Plus" power without paying money. You use one for stories, one for facts, and one for pictures.
My Daily Routine for Free AI
I have a system now. I don't pay the twenty dollars because I am a beginner and I want to save my money for a new keyboard (and better coffee).
- Morning: I use Google Gemini to check the news and find facts for my writing.
- Afternoon: I use Microsoft Copilot (Bing) to use the GPT-4 brain for free. This is when I do the hard thinking.
- Evening: I use the ChatGPT free app on my phone to do quick edits while I am sitting on the sofa.
This way, I get all the features of Plus but my wallet stays happy. It takes a little more clicking, but it is worth it.
Why you might want to pay later
Maybe one day I will be a famous writer. If I am writing ten stories a day, then maybe I will pay. The Plus version is good because it saves time. You don't have to jump between five websites. You have everything in one room. It is like paying for a gym membership instead of running in the park. The park is free and good, but the gym has the fancy machines and a shower.
But if you are just starting, please don't feel bad for being "free." You can do amazing things with the free tools. The robot doesn't care if you are rich or poor, it just wants to help you write.
Conclusion for my Friends
Writing is hard. Being a human is hard! We all want the best tools to help us. If you were looking for how to use chatgpt plus for free, I hope my mistakes and my long night of searching helps you. Use Bing, use the app samples, and use the "Arena" website.
Don't let the price tag stop your creativity. My nephew loved the dragon story. He didn't know a free robot helped me. He just saw the funny picture and laughed. That is what matters.
Go try it now! Open Bing and ask it something silly. You will see the magic. And remember, keep your coffee warm and don't click on those "cracked version" buttons! We are all learning together in this weird world of robots. If you have a question, ask me. I am not an expert, but I am a very good searcher now!