ChatGPT
The default AI assistant for everything.
The Spinoza Journal verdict
Reviewed by Kamran Arshad. See how we evaluate · Updated 2026-06-05.
- Type
- AI Model
- Category
- writing
- Starts at
- Free
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android, Desktop
- Launched
- Nov 2022
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06-05
The category-defining product. Still essential.
ChatGPT is the broadest AI assistant in the market. GPT-5 is competitive on most tasks; the multimodal integration (voice, image, video, agent) is genuinely best-in-class. Still the default for most people, even if specialists have moved to Claude for writing or Cursor for code.
What ChatGPT actually looks like
Scroll inside the panel to see the full homepage. Live screenshot — updates as the product evolves.
Best for
- General-purpose AI assistant work
- Multimodal workflows
Not for
- Long-form writing (Claude is better)
- Coding-only work (Cursor/Claude Code)
What it actually does
GPT-5 model
OpenAI's latest flagship. Strong general reasoning, good at code, decent at writing. Multimodal across text, image, audio.
DALL-E 4 integration
Image generation through conversation. Refine images via dialogue rather than re-prompting.
Sora 2 access
Video generation included on Plus (limited) and Pro tiers. Easier access than direct Sora API.
Operator agent
Browse the web autonomously — fill forms, make purchases, book travel. Pro-tier only. Beta but real.
Custom GPTs
Create personalized assistants with instructions, knowledge files, and actions. Shareable with team.
Advanced voice
Realtime conversational voice mode. Most natural voice interaction in the category.
What's new from ChatGPT
- Apr 2026
GPT-5
Major model upgrade. Significant gains on reasoning and code.
- Jan 2026
Operator agent
Autonomous web browsing for premium tier.
- Sep 2025
Advanced voice GA
Realtime voice conversations across all paid tiers.
Composite of editorial review, hands-on testing, and reader-reported value. Each sub-score is rated 0–5 against The Spinoza Journal's published criteria.
- Overall
- 4.5/5
- Output quality
- 4.5/5
- Utility & features
- 4.5/5
- Usability & UX
- 4.5/5
- Performance & reliability
- 4.5/5
- Cost vs. value
- 4.5/5
What it costs, by tier
- GPT-4o mini
- Limited usage of latest model
- Web + mobile
Most users.
- GPT-5 access
- DALL-E 4
- Sora 2 (limited)
- Custom GPTs
Heavy users.
- Unlimited GPT-5
- Sora 2 Pro
- o1 / o3 Pro models
- Operator agent
Per seat.
- Plus features for everyone
- Centralized billing
- Higher rate limits
Ready to try ChatGPT?
There's a real free tier — you can test the verdict yourself in five minutes.
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