You can access GPT-4’s great features through Open AI’s subscription for $20 a month. However, there are ways to use Chat GPT-4 for free. We’ve picked the top GPT-4-based services for you to try.
Many free and open-source AI models have gained popularity recently, but GPT-4 remains the top choice among large commercial models. Its latest version from OpenAI stands out because it can browse the web and handle images. It can even create pictures from a prompt using the Dall•e 3 engine.
You can officially access GPT-4 by subscribing monthly to Open AI, but some third-party services offer limited free use of OpenAI’s latest model.
We’ve chosen four of the best GPT-4-based services available now.
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is the quickest, subscription-free method to use GPT-4, thanks to Microsoft’s exclusive deal with OpenAI. This AI chatbot assistant runs on the same technology as OpenAI’s most sophisticated tool.
All you need is a Microsoft account to use Copilot. This chatbot is linked to Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, and is directly accessible from the Bing.com homepage.
Microsoft’s chatbot is excellent for web searches. It also works as a writing helper and can create images using the Designer tool, which relies on the Dall•e 3 model.
Perplexity.ai
Perplexity is a GPT-4-powered search engine designed for smarter and more thorough searches. It also has a feature called Copilot that enhances searching and answer precision.
This tool isn’t ideal for writing long texts or making images, but it excels at improving web search experiences.
If you’re into researching or brainstorming with chatGPT, Perplexity is an excellent free alternative to the ChatGPT subscription. Due to the OpenAi API’s high costs, you can only use its Copilot feature for five searches every four hours.
Poe.com
Poe. Com is a service by Quora that lets users use multiple AI models from one platform, including GPT-4. Poe’s free version enables you to interact with GPT-4, but there’s a daily limit. This limit changes as the service adjusts to the demand, but it’s regularly reopened.
Poe also lets you work with notable models like Meta’s Llama and Anthropic’s Claude. These are good alternatives to ChatGPT for writing support or coding.
Merlin Chrome Extension
The Merlin Chrome Extension lets you access various large language models via Google’s browser. After you sign up, Merlin gives you about 100 free queries. This number can support roughly a hundred GPT-3.5 interactions, but with GPT-4, you get about three uses because it requires more resources per query.
Merlin is not perfect for long-term use, but it is an excellent choice for those curious about GPT-4 and considering a professional subscription.
Our Advice
Many services claim to offer free chatGPT-4 access, but often, they only provide a limited set of features and use the cheaper GPT-3.5 model for most queries.
We advise you to watch out for exaggerated claims before you register and share personal information with services that may not have a solid reputation or the means to provide free model access. The best way to fully experience GPT-4’s capabilities is through Microsoft Copilot.
As a tip, don’t overlook other models like Llama, Claude, or Mistral. They are cheaper than ChatGPT, or even free if installed locally, and they have shown to be quite effective in text generation and writing tasks.