The official means to unlock the impressive capabilities of GPT-4 is through OpenAI’s $20/month subscription. Nonetheless, there exist avenues to utilize ChatGPT-4 at no cost. We’ve handpicked a selection of the finest GPT-4-driven services for you to test out promptly.
Despite the surge in popularity of free and open-source generative AI models over the past year, GPT-4 remains the pinnacle of commercially available Large Language Models (LLM). Furthermore, the latest rendition of OpenAI’s model has unleashed unprecedented levels of ingenuity, courtesy of its ability to navigate the web and its multimodal functionalities such as image interpretation or generating images from prompts using the Dall•e 3 engine.
While the authorized route to unlock GPT-4’s impressive feature set involves OpenAI’s monthly subscription, there are several external services that offer access to the capabilities of OpenAI’s most advanced model for free, albeit with certain constraints.
We’ve curated a list of the top 4 GPT-4-based services that you can experiment with right away.
Perplexity.ai
Perplexity.ai harnesses the capabilities of GPT-4 to offer an enhanced and more intelligent search encounter. With its Copilot feature, powered by GPT-4, Perplexity ensures precise search results and answer generation.
In contrast to other platforms, Perplexity prioritizes refining the web search experience rather than excelling in generating lengthy texts or images.
For research endeavors and brainstorming sessions, Perplexity serves as a viable alternative to subscribing to ChatGPT. However, due to the high expenses associated with the OpenAI API, the Copilot service, which relies on GPT-4, imposes limitations, allowing only five searches every four hours.
Microsoft
Utilizing GPT-4 without subscribing becomes effortless and rapid with Microsoft Copilot. Thanks to Microsoft’s exclusive collaboration with OpenAI, their AI chatbot assistant operates on the same model as OpenAI’s most advanced offering.
Accessing the capabilities of Copilot merely requires a Microsoft account. Seamlessly integrated with Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, the chatbot can be readily accessed directly from the Bing.com homepage.
While Microsoft’s chatbot excels in web searches, it also serves as a writing aide and image generator through its Designer feature, leveraging the Dall•e 3 model, mirroring ChatGPT’s functionality precisely.
Merlin Chrome Extension
The Merlin Chrome extension offers users direct access to various Large Language Models (LLMs), including GPT-4, right from Google’s browser. Upon registration, Merlin provides users with approximately 100 free queries. Although this allocation allows for around a hundred interactions with GPT-3.5, each query with GPT-4 consumes about 30 units, thereby restricting the free tier to roughly three interactions with the model.
While not designed for prolonged utilization, Merlin serves as an excellent choice for individuals eager to experiment with GPT-4 and gauge whether a pro subscription justifies the cost.
Poe.com
Poe.com, an online platform developed by Quora, offers users access to various AI models, including GPT-4, all through a single interface. In its free tier, Poe permits interaction with GPT-4, albeit with a daily usage limit. As of the time of writing, interactions were restricted due to heightened request volumes, although the company periodically reinstates access.
Additionally, Poe.com facilitates engagement with other noteworthy models like Meta’s Llama and Anthropic’s Claude. These alternatives to ChatGPT provide valuable assistance for writing or coding tasks and are certainly worth exploring.
Merlin Chrome Extension
The Merlin Chrome extension provides users with direct access to various Large Language Models (LLMs), including GPT-4, directly from Google’s browser. Upon registration, Merlin grants users an allocation of approximately 100 free queries. Although this allocation allows for around a hundred interactions with GPT-3.5, each query with GPT-4 consumes about 30 units, thus limiting the free tier to roughly three interactions with the model.
While not tailored for extended usage, Merlin serves as an excellent option for individuals seeking to experiment with GPT-4 and assess whether a pro subscription justifies the cost.
Our Advice
Many online platforms advertise free access to ChatGPT-4, but often, they actually provide access to only a limited subset of functionalities, predominantly relying on the cheaper and less resource-intensive GPT-3.5 model for most queries.
We advise caution regarding bold marketing claims when considering signing up for such services and sharing personal data. It’s important to verify the credibility and capability of these platforms, especially if they lack a proven track record or fail to offer genuinely free access to the models. Short of subscribing to the OpenAI pro plan, the most secure option to harness the capabilities of GPT-4 is through Microsoft Copilot.
In addition, it’s wise not to overlook alternative models like Llama, Claude, or Mistral. These models typically come at a lower cost compared to ChatGPT or are entirely free if installed locally. They have demonstrated comparable capabilities to GPT-4, particularly in tasks such as text generation, writing copy, emails, or producing business-related content.