Openai's Gpt-5 Is Now Free For All: How To Access And Everything Else We Know

OpenAI

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• OpenAI has launched its long-awaited GPT-5 model. 
• The exemplary is claimed to beryllium OpenAI's fastest, smartest, and astir tin yet.
• GPT-5 is disposable to everyone: Free, Plus, Pro, and Team/Enterprise/Edu users. 

There are 2 kinds of OpenAI models successful this world: GPT and reasoning models. The advantages of nan former, specified arsenic GPT-4o, are that they harvester velocity and accuracy, while reasoning models specified arsenic o3 and o4 return longer to deliberation and usage much compute powerfulness to nutrient amended answers. OpenAI's latest model, GPT-5, supposedly gives each users entree to nan champion of some models. 

Also: Gen AI disillusionment looms, according to Gartner's 2025 Hype Cycle report

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's genitor company, revenge an April 2025 suit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights successful training and operating its AI systems.)

On Thursday, OpenAI finally unveiled nan long-awaited GPT-5, nan company's next-generation family of models, which it touts arsenic nan fastest, smartest, and astir tin yet. GPT-5 is simply a unified strategy that combines a smart exemplary for astir queries and a deeper reasoning exemplary (GPT-5 thinking) for harder problems. 

If you are wondering precisely what it does and if you should moreover see trying it, support reading. 

What is GPT-5?

The cardinal differentiator betwixt GPT-5 and different OpenAI models is nan existent router feature, which allows GPT-5 to automatically understand which exemplary to usage based connected nan conversation, nan complexity of nan prompt, and more. The router is continuously trained connected existent signals to understand nan champion script successful which to usage a model. Once a personification hits usage limits, a mini type of each exemplary takes over. 

Also: Can GPT-5 hole Apple Intelligence? We're astir to find out

While GPT-4o was an highly tin model, it was not a reasoning exemplary for illustration o3 and o4; those were constricted to paying subscribers. As a result, GPT-5 is an particularly large triumph for free users, who typically did not person entree to immoderate of nan reasoning models and were, by default, excluded from much precocious models. 

The GPT-5 family of models is made up of GPT-5, GPT-mini, GPT-5-nano, and GPT-5 Pro. The nuances betwixt these models will mostly beryllium topics that developers aliases enterprises are concerned pinch erstwhile choosing which models to acquisition from nan API. 

However, for astir consumers, what you request to cognize is that GPT-5 will beryllium automatically selected moreover for free users, and erstwhile limits are reached will move complete to GPT-5 mini, a still tin but much lightweight model. GPT-5 Pro is only disposable to ChatGPT Pro subscribers, which comes astatine nan hefty $200 per period cost. This is nan astir precocious type of GPT-5, meant for nan astir challenging and analyzable tasks -- tasks that nan mean personification apt won't moreover encounter. 

 How does GPT-5 perform?

As pinch each exemplary release, nan GPT-5 driblet was accompanied by benchmark evaluations, successful which it earned state-of-the-art scores crossed mathematics (AIME 2025), coding (SWE-Bench Verified), and multimodal knowing (MMMU). It moreover performed competitively connected Humanity's Last Exam, a newer benchmark pinch multi-modal questions successful complete 100 subjects, specified arsenic math, science, and nan humanities, arsenic seen below.

OpenAI

The institution claims it is nan strongest coding exemplary yet, being capable to create websites, apps, and games from elemental matter prompts. In particular, OpenAI shares that it has shown improvements successful analyzable front‑end procreation and debugging larger repositories.

Also: Google's Jules AI coding instrumentality exits beta pinch superior upgrades - and much free tasks

Before nan exemplary was released, I watched a unrecorded demo of nan feature, successful which nan personification created a afloat functional web app pinch interactive elements specified arsenic flashcards, a quiz pinch correct and incorrect answers, and a crippled from a elemental matter prompt. The last merchandise looked sleek. As personification who has caller acquisition building webpages, it would person taken maine hours to stylize utilizing JavaScript and CSS. GPT-5 appears to return vibe coding to nan adjacent level. 

Even if you are much of an mean GPT-5 personification who employs AI for writing, you will still reap these benefits. OpenAI claims GPT-5 is nan astir tin penning collaborator, being capable to amended tackle tasks that impact "structural ambiguity" specified arsenic free verse. Regardless of what you usage ChatGPT to write, you should spot improvements.

People person been progressively reliant connected ChatGPT for health-related queries because of its expertise to conversationally break down aesculapian jargon, which tin often beryllium scary and intimidating. Now nan acquisition is optimized pinch GPT-5, flagging concerns, asking questions, knowing results, prepping you to inquire providers questions, and weighing options. 

Also: ChatGPT tin now talk nerdy to you - positive much personalities and different upgrades beyond GPT-5

Remember that GPT-5 does not switch a aesculapian professional. OpenAI noted that nan exemplary performed nan highest connected HealthBench, a benchmark information nan institution published earlier this year. External benchmarks for really AI performs successful aesculapian scenarios are not yet standardized. 

How does GPT-5 grip safety? 

One of nan biggest improvements disposable successful GPT-5 is that nan exemplary is much meticulous than immoderate erstwhile reasoning exemplary and has less hallucinations, according to OpenAI. The institution said GPT-5's responses are 45% little apt to incorporate a actual correction than GPT-4o pinch web hunt enabled connected anonymized prompts, and 80% little apt to incorporate a actual correction than OpenAI o3. 

This is simply a large win, arsenic reasoning models spell beyond accepted shape prediction and are invited to "think," which leaves room for error.

OpenAI besides added caller publically disposable benchmarks to trial factuality, including LongFact and FActScore, successful which GPT-5 pinch reasoning showed a important driblet successful hallucinations. GPT-5 (with thinking) besides communicates much honestly pinch nan user, sharing erstwhile a task is intolerable aliases can't beryllium done. This is important because AI models often connection a plausible-sounding reply alternatively of admitting they don't know, which tin summation nan circulation of misinformation. For much connected nan information results, return a look astatine nan system card.

OpenAI

Another brand-new information characteristic is called "safe completions," which enables ChatGPT to still reply prompts it would typically refuse. Instead, it will answer, but wrong nan information boundaries defined by OpenAI, and springiness a clear mentation of erstwhile it can't. 

Lastly, while not wholly a information issue, nan exemplary is less sycophantic, aliases effusively agreeable, and uses less unnecessary emojis.

How tin you entree GPT-5?

All users 

GPT-5 and GPT-5 mini are disposable coming for each Plus, Pro, Team, and Free users, while Enterprise and Edu users will get entree adjacent week, OpenAI said. However, subscribers still person gradual perks. For example, included successful nan $20 per period subscription, ChatGPT Plus subscribers person "significantly higher usage" limits than free users. Meanwhile, ChatGPT Pro users person unlimited GPT-5 and entree to GPT-5 Pro, an moreover much precocious type of nan exemplary included successful their $200 per period subscription. OpenAI said Enterprise and Edu users will beryllium fixed "generous limits." 

Also: Microsoft rolls retired GPT-5 crossed its Copilot suite - here's wherever you'll find it

GPT-5 will beryllium group arsenic nan default exemplary for mundane work, replacing each different models for authenticated users. However, paid users will still person nan action to prime it nether nan exemplary picker. OpenAI said free users whitethorn not beryllium capable to entree afloat reasoning until a fewer days from now, noting that erstwhile free users scope usage limits, they'll beryllium moved to GPT-5 mini. 

Developers

The merchandise of nan exemplary is besides adjuvant for developers, arsenic they tin use from nan accrued reliability and accuracy. To accommodate this, OpenAI is making GPT-5, GPT-mini, and GPT-5-nano disposable successful nan API. Two caller parameters, reasoning and verbosity, are besides meant to thief developers get precisely what they request from their exemplary without overspending. Pro, Plus, and Team users tin motion successful to ChatGPT to codification pinch GPT-5 successful nan Codex CLI.

The reasoning parameter makes GPT-5 cheaper for tasks that don't require in-depth thinking, and past nan verbosity parameter allows developers to fine-tune conscionable really verbose they want GPT-5 to be. The pricing is cheaper than GPT-4o. For much information, you tin check nan blog post. 

What if I americium not seeing GPT-5 yet?

GPT-5 began rolling retired to each Plus, Pro, Team, and Free users upon motorboat connected Thursday. However, nan rollouts are gradual, truthful if you checked instantly and didn't spot it, it is worthy checking again to spot if you now person it. It had not shown up for maine connected my free, Plus, aliases Pro relationship until past night. 

Do make judge you are signed in. Even though GPT-5 is disposable to free users, if you don't motion in, you won't person entree to nan latest features, including GPT-5. 

You tin support up pinch my latest stories and tech adventures connected societal media. Follow maine connected Twitter/X at @sabrinaa_ortiz and connected Instagram at @sabrinaa.ortiz.