ChatGPT review: the most complete free plan, with a privacy catch
Official site: chatgpt.com
ChatGPT is OpenAI's general-purpose assistant for writing, research, coding, images and voice chat. It took first place in our tests on answer quality and on how much the free plan gives you. It also carries the heaviest privacy history of any assistant in Canada, so read the privacy section before you sign up.
What we liked
- Free plan with unlimited everyday chats on GPT-6, subject to abuse limits
- Deep research, image creation, voice and file uploads all work on Free, with limits
- Apps for web, iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, plus a Chrome extension
- French interface, and terms published in français (Canada)
- OpenAI's billing help lists Canada as billed in CAD
What could be better
- Chats on personal plans train OpenAI's models unless you opt out
- Canadian privacy regulators found in May 2026 that its initial training broke their laws
- Web and App Store prices differ, so the real monthly cost takes some digging
- Cancelling doesn't automatically refund earlier charges
Key facts
| Maker | OpenAI, San Francisco, California |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 8, 2015, as the nonprofit OpenAI, Inc. |
| Free plan | Yes, $0/month |
| Cheapest paid plan | Go: $7/month on the web pricing page; $12.99 in the Canadian App Store |
| Top plan | Pro from $120/month on the web; Pro 500 at $759.99 in the Canadian App Store |
| Free trial | Not published |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, macOS app, ChatGPT Classic for Mac and Windows, Chrome extension |
| Minimum age | 13; under 18 needs a parent's or guardian's permission |
Pricing in Canada
OpenAI's web pricing page lists Free at $0/month, Go at $7/month, Plus at $20/month and Pro from $120/month with three usage levels. We could only load that page from outside Canada, where it showed amounts in "$" with no currency code, so treat those figures as a guide. OpenAI's multi-currency billing article does list Canada as billed in CAD.
In the Canadian App Store, the in-app prices are Go $12.99, Plus $24.99, Pro 100 $152.99, Pro 200 $249.00 and Pro 500 $759.99. The pricing page notes that Go may include ads. Business and Enterprise are for teams of two or more.
On refunds, cancelling stops future renewals but "does not automatically refund previous charges." Purchases on the web go through OpenAI Support, and App Store purchases go to Apple. Cancel at least 24 hours before your billing date.
What it does well
For most of our tasks, ChatGPT gave the most usable first draft. The free plan runs GPT-6 for everyday chat, and Pro adds Pro-level reasoning on GPT-6 Astra. Deep research produced the longest reports with sources, and voice mode works with video as well as audio.
Plus and higher add projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs, which help when you repeat the same kind of job each week. Codex, the coding agent, is included, with limits on Free and Go. Memory carries your preferences from one chat to the next, with tighter limits on Free.
Privacy and your data
On personal Free, Plus and Pro accounts, OpenAI uses conversations for training by default. To stop it, open Settings, then Data controls, and turn off "Improve the model for everyone". Temporary chats are never used for training. One trap: giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down can let that whole conversation be used even after you opt out.
Deleted chats and accounts leave OpenAI's systems within 30 days, with exceptions for safety and legal reasons. On May 6, 2026, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta regulators reported that ChatGPT's initial training did not comply with their privacy laws.
Who should choose ChatGPT
Pick it if you want one assistant that does a bit of everything, and if you want to start free. It is the easiest of the six for beginners and French speakers. If privacy outranks convenience for you, change the training setting first, or look at the alternatives below.
How ChatGPT scored
Its lowest marks went to pricing clarity and privacy controls.
| Criterion | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|
| Answer quality | 10 |
| Writing help | 10 |
| Research and web search | 10 |
| Voice mode | 10 |
| Memory | 10 |
| Files and images | 10 |
| Free plan | 10 |
| Pricing clarity | 8 |
| Privacy controls | 8 |
| Apps and platforms | 10 |
| Ease of use | 10 |
| Help and support | 9 |
| Average | 9.6, shown as 4.8/5 |
