GPT-5 vs ChatGPT
GPT-5 and ChatGPT side by side: what each one is, verified plan pricing and install commands where we have them, and the full review of each.
GPT-5
OpenAI's GPT-5 model, released August 2025. Unified fast and reasoning modes in one model. Superseded by the GPT-6 family in September 2026 and now marked deprecated in the API.
ChatGPT
OpenAI's chat app. As of October 2026 Free and Go run GPT-6 Luna; Plus ($20/mo) adds GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra. Agent mode, Codex, image generation, code interpreter.
At a glance
| Field | | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI Models | AI Models |
| Website | openai.com | chat.openai.com |
| Pricing | API - $1.25/1M input tokens, $0.125/1M cached input, $10/1M output tokens; Deprecated - removed from the API on December 11, 2026 | Free - $0: unlimited text chats with GPT-6 Luna, limited uploads, image creation, deep research and Codex; Go - $8/mo: more messages, uploads, image creation and memory; may include ads; Plus - $20/mo: GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra, expanded Codex, ChatGPT Work on desktop, web and mobile; Pro - $100, $200 or $500/mo (Pro 100, 200 and 500): GPT-6 Astra Pro reasoning, dots; Ultrafast only on Pro 500; Business - 2+ users, Standard or Premium seats; Premium adds 5x usage, no five-hour limit and dots; Enterprise and Edu - contact sales |
| Install | npm install openai or pip install openai | Not verified yet |
| Models | A single snapshot, gpt-5-2025-08-07, with a 400K context window, 128K max output, text and image input, and reasoning effort settings of minimal, low, medium or high. OpenAI's model page recommends GPT-6 Astra instead, and the deprecation notice names gpt-5.6-sol as the replacement. | In the Chat tab, Free and Go run GPT-6 Luna, while Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise run GPT-6 Sol from Instant through Extra High reasoning, with the Pro reasoning option on GPT-6 Astra. Plus and above also get GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 models in the model picker. |
| Last verified | October 29, 2026 | October 27, 2026 |
In Depth
GPT-5
GPT-5 is the OpenAI model released in August 2025 that marked a significant jump in reasoning, coding, math, and long-context performance over GPT-4o. It unified the capabilities that were previously split across separate models (GPT-4o for speed, o3 for reasoning) into a single model that adaptively allocates compute based on task difficulty. OpenAI's API docs now list it as a deprecated previous model with a 400K context window at $1.25 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, and point developers to the GPT-6 family: GPT-6 Astra (September 2026) for the most demanding work, GPT-6.1 Sol (September 29, 2026) for near-Astra performance at lower cost, and GPT-6 Luna for high-volume tasks. Keep GPT-5 only for existing integrations you have not migrated yet.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is OpenAI's consumer AI app and one of the most widely used AI products. As of October 2026 the Free and Go ($8/mo) plans run GPT-6 Luna, while Plus ($20/mo) and Pro (from $100/mo) unlock GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra, and agent mode can execute multi-step tasks autonomously. I've made 7+ videos covering ChatGPT features - Tasks (149K views), Agent mode (112K views), Desktop integration with VS Code (63K views), Canvas (51K views). My ChatGPT content consistently performs well because it has the broadest audience. I use it alongside Claude - ChatGPT for image generation and quick questions. Claude for coding and deep analysis.
FAQ
Answers taken from each tool's verified fact sheet, with the date it was last checked.
How much does GPT-5 cost?
As of October 29, 2026: API - $1.25/1M input tokens, $0.125/1M cached input, $10/1M output tokens; Deprecated - removed from the API on December 11, 2026. Source: GPT-5 model page, OpenAI API deprecations, OpenAI API changelog, OpenAI developer quickstart.
How do I install GPT-5?
Official install commands as of October 29, 2026: npm install openai or pip install openai.
Which models does GPT-5 use?
As of October 29, 2026: A single snapshot, gpt-5-2025-08-07, with a 400K context window, 128K max output, text and image input, and reasoning effort settings of minimal, low, medium or high. OpenAI's model page recommends GPT-6 Astra instead, and the deprecation notice names gpt-5.6-sol as the replacement.
How much does ChatGPT cost?
As of October 27, 2026: Free - $0: unlimited text chats with GPT-6 Luna, limited uploads, image creation, deep research and Codex; Go - $8/mo: more messages, uploads, image creation and memory; may include ads; Plus - $20/mo: GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra, expanded Codex, ChatGPT Work on desktop, web and mobile; Pro - $100, $200 or $500/mo (Pro 100, 200 and 500): GPT-6 Astra Pro reasoning, dots; Ultrafast only on Pro 500; Business - 2+ users, Standard or Premium seats; Premium adds 5x usage, no five-hour limit and dots; Enterprise and Edu - contact sales. Source: ChatGPT pricing, ChatGPT Business, About ChatGPT Pro tiers, ChatGPT release notes.
Which models does ChatGPT use?
As of October 27, 2026: In the Chat tab, Free and Go run GPT-6 Luna, while Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise run GPT-6 Sol from Instant through Extra High reasoning, with the Pro reasoning option on GPT-6 Astra. Plus and above also get GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 models in the model picker.
