Is there a ChatGPT Plus free trial? Every AI chatbot, checked
Not one open to everyone. We read the pricing and help pages of eight AI chatbots to see what is free, what you can try before paying, and which promotions are live right now.
Checked by hand on 16 October 2026, on each company’s own pages.1 of 19 have moved since, re-checked 22h ago.
The short answer
If you read nothing else, read this.
- ChatGPT Plus has no free trial open to everyone. It costs $20 a month, billed monthly only. Free Plus comes only through targeted promotions.
- Two promotions are live on OpenAI's own pages: 4 free months of Plus for verified US college students (claim by October 31, 2026, card needed) and 1 free year for eligible US service members and veterans.
- The big paid plans you can try free today: Microsoft 365 with Copilot (1 month) and Google AI Pro (new customers, card needed, length shown at sign-up).
- Watch out: the Microsoft 365 Premium trial page says "1-month free trial, then $199.99/year". It turns into a yearly charge.
- Every chatbot here has a free plan. For most people the free tier is the real trial: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Grok, Mistral and DeepSeek.
No open ChatGPT Plus trial. But every chatbot here has a free plan.
Quick picks
Free plan, no trial needed
ChatGPT
Free plan
Plus costs $20 a month and has no trial open to everyone.
A paid plan you can try free
Microsoft 365 with Copilot
1 month free
Watch the Premium trial: it turns into $199.99 a year.
US college students
Google AI Pro
1 free year
Redeem by December 31, 2026. A card is needed.
US college students
ChatGPT Plus
4 free months
Claim by October 31, 2026. A card is needed.
Compare the chatbots
Eight chatbots, side by side. Tap a name for the sentences behind it.
The paid plans, checked on their own pages
- ChatGPT PlusYesFree trial No, promotions only · Paid plan $20 a month, monthly onlyOpen
Claude ProYesFree trial No · Paid plan $20 a month, or $17 billed yearlyOpen
Google AI Pro (Gemini)YesFree trial Yes, for new customers · Card Needed · Paid plan $19.99 a month, or $199.99 a yearOpenPerplexity ProYesFree trial No, partner promotions only · Card Needed for every promotion · Paid plan $20 a month, or $17 billed yearlyOpen
- Microsoft 365 with CopilotYes, limited CopilotFree trial 1 month · Card Varies by offer and region · Paid plan Personal $9.99 a month, Premium $19.99Open
GrokYesFree trial Not stated · Paid plan Plus $8 a month, Premium $30OpenMistral Pro (Vibe)YesFree trial Not stated · Paid plan $14.99 a month before taxOpen
- DeepSeekYesOpen
– means their own pages do not say.
Why there is no ChatGPT Plus trial
OpenAI's pricing page sells Plus at $20 a month and offers no trial. Its help center describes free Plus only as promotions: invite codes that eligible users can send, codes from partners such as phone carriers, and campaigns for groups like students. In OpenAI's words: "Not all users or regions are included in every promotion."
So if a site promises "ChatGPT Plus free trial" with a link, it is either one of those promotions or it is not real. The free plan, which OpenAI says is "available to everyone", is the honest way to try ChatGPT.
The paid plans, checked on their own pages
US prices in dollars, read on each company's pricing or help page on 2 October 2026.
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid plan
- $20 a month, monthly only
- Free trial
- No, promotions only
Go costs $8 a month and may include ads. Pro starts at $100 a month. None of them can be paid yearly.
In their own words(2, checked 2 Oct)
“Price: $20/month (billed monthly).”
“Not all users or regions are included in every promotion.”
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid plan
- $20 a month, or $17 billed yearly
- Free trial
- No
Max costs $100 or $200 a month. Eligible Claude Code users can share a free week of Claude Code with friends.
In their own words(2, checked 2 Oct)
“Per month with annual subscription discount ($200 billed up front). $20 if billed monthly.”
“We occasionally run limited-time promotions, but we don't have any standing discounts available upon request.”
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid plan
- $19.99 a month, or $199.99 a year
- Free trial
- Yes, for new customers
- Card
- Needed
The public pages do not say how long the trial is; Google shows the end date once you sign up. Google AI Plus, the old AI Premium, costs $4.99 a month.
In their own words(2, checked 2 Oct)
“$19.99 / month”
“A form of payment is required so that your membership can continue at the end of your trial. You won't be charged until your trial ends.”
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid plan
- $20 a month, or $17 billed yearly
- Free trial
- No, partner promotions only
- Card
- Needed for every promotion
The "Give a month, Get a month" referral program ended on October 6, 2025.
In their own words(1, checked 2 Oct)
“A valid credit or debit card is required for all promotional and trial redemptions.”
- Free plan
- Yes, limited Copilot
- Paid plan
- Personal $9.99 a month, Premium $19.99
- Free trial
- 1 month
- Card
- Varies by offer and region
Cancel within 30 days and you are not charged. The Premium trial converts to the yearly price.
In their own words(2, checked 2 Oct)
“Microsoft offers a one-month trial of Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Premium subscriptions. Trial availability, duration, eligibility requirements, and whether payment information is required vary by offer and region.”
“1-month free trial, then $199.99/year”
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid plan
- Plus $8 a month, Premium $30
- Free trial
- Not stated
SuperGrok is no longer on xAI's pricing page.
In their own words(3, checked 16 Oct)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid plan
- $14.99 a month before tax
- Students
- $5.99 a month
- Free trial
- Not stated
Le Chat is now called Mistral Vibe.
In their own words(1, checked 2 Oct)
“Verified students can get Mistral Pro for $5.99 / month (normally $14.99).”
DeepSeek
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid chat plan
- None
DeepSeek sells its models to developers through an API, but the chat app has no paid plan. It has retired the download page that used to say the chat was free, and its site now puts a price on the API only.
In their own words(1, checked 7 Oct)
“The prices listed below are in units of per 1M tokens.”
Free months that are live today
Targeted promotions on the companies' own pages. Each one has a deadline or a group it is for.
ChatGPT Plus for US college students
Some countries- You get
- 4 free months of Plus
- Claim by
- October 31, 2026
- Card
- Needed
- Then
- $20 a month
In their own words(2, checked 2 Oct)
“The 2026 Back to School offer provides eligible students with four free monthly billing periods of ChatGPT Plus, including access to ChatGPT Work and other Plus features.”
“A valid payment method is required to activate the offer.”
ChatGPT Plus for US service members and veterans
Some countries- You get
- 1 free year of Plus
- Who
- Within 12 months of leaving active duty
In their own words(1, checked 2 Oct)
“After eligibility is confirmed, select Claim offer to apply one free year of ChatGPT Plus.”
Google AI Pro for US college students
Some countries- You get
- 1 free year of AI Pro
- Redeem by
- December 31, 2026
- Card
- Needed
- Then
- $19.99 a month
In their own words(1, checked 2 Oct)
“Redeem until December 31, 2026. Valid form of payment required at sign-up. Unless cancelled earlier, Google AI Pro will automatically charge $19.99/month after the trial ends. Cancel anytime.”
Google AI Pro with a Pixel 11 Pro
Active today- You get
- 6 months of AI Pro
- Offer ends
- October 31, 2027
- Card
- Needed
In their own words(1, checked 2 Oct)
“Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold Google AI Pro 6 months Includes expanded usage limits for Gemini, 5 TB of cloud storage, and Google Health Premium.”
Read off each company's own page and refreshed by our reader. Open a row for every fact and the sentence behind it.
The same chatbots in our catalogue 7
AI chat and research
30 days freeNo card
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Free trialCard neededFree planthen $19.99/mo
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Free planthen $20/mo
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Free planthen €18/mo
AI chat and research
Free planthen $30/mo
AI chat and research
Free planthen $14.99/mo
AI chat and research
Free planthen $20/mo
Their own words, tool by tool (7)
- Microsoft Copilot: “Starting July 2026, Microsoft is rolling out a free 30-day trial of Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) for small and medium-sized organisations (up to 300 users).”
- Gemini: “Trials memberships are available for new customers only, unless otherwise specified.”
- ChatGPT: “The free version of ChatGPT is available to everyone.”
- Claude: “Free for everyone”
- Grok: “Get to know Grok and its capabilities for free within generous limits.”
- Mistral: “Yes, Mistral’s Free plan provides limited access to Vibe , including our latest models, chat, search, creation, and Vibe for code for agentic coding in your terminal.”
- Perplexity: “$0 /month”
Questions
Is there a free trial for ChatGPT Plus?
Not one open to everyone. OpenAI sells Plus at $20 a month and gives free Plus only through promotions: invite codes, partner codes, 4 free months for verified US college students (claim by October 31, 2026) and a free year for eligible US service members and veterans.
Can I get ChatGPT Plus for free as a student?
Yes, if you are a current college or graduate student at an eligible US school: OpenAI's 2026 Back to School offer gives four free months of Plus. You must claim it by October 31, 2026, and a payment method is required. After that it renews at $20 a month.
Does Claude Pro have a free trial?
No. Claude has a free plan, and Pro costs $20 a month or $17 a month billed yearly. Anthropic says it occasionally runs limited-time promotions but has no standing discounts.
Does Gemini have a free trial?
Google offers new customers a free trial of Google AI Pro. Its length is shown when you sign up, and a payment method is required. After the trial, AI Pro costs $19.99 a month.
Which AI chatbot is free?
All eight we checked have a free plan: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, Mistral and DeepSeek. DeepSeek has no paid chat plan at all.
How we checked
Every fact here comes from the company’s own page, with the sentence it is in. The facts checked for this guide show the day we read them. The tables come from our catalogue, which re-reads each price page on its own. When a page does not say something, we write that, and we never guess. How we check