Is ChatGPT’s $200 Pro Plan Worth It For Freelancers In 2025?

ChatGPT’s new Pro Plan announced Thursday by parent company OpenAI came as a surprise…well, more of a shock to some on the internet, mostly because this is this perhaps the heftiest price tag we’ve seen for an AI chatbot application commonly used by the mainstream. The cost has many professionals wondering: is this really worth the investment?

Freelancers in particular tend to be the among the groups of workers most heavily reliant on artificial intelligence and particularly ChatGPT, with 65% of freelancers stating that they used AI tools in 2024 as part of their workflow, to help them make more money and make their processes more efficient, according to MBO Partners’ State of Independence report.

So this new ChatGPT feature would certainly be of interest to you as a freelance professional, as you’re likely wondering if this upgrade will give you a return on investment and justify the significant cost.

Should Freelancers Use ChatGPT Pro In 2025?

Per OpenAI’s website, the new ChatGPT Pro subscription at $200 monthly includes everything that is in the free and ChatGPT Plus plans (ChatGPT Plus users pay $20 a month), as well as advanced features such as:

• Higher-level computing and analytical power with o1 and o1 Pro mode that take longer to “think” and provide you with comprehensive answers (particularly for challenging fields such as law, coding and programming, and math)
• Advanced voice mode

Based on the website’s description and existing reviews that have trickled in within the past few days since ChatGPT Pro was released, it appears that the Pro plan is most suited for you as a freelancer if you fall into the following categories:

• You have a steady demand for your freelance services that justifies the cost
• Your monthly income and budget allows for it
• Your work is highly complex and you operate within an industry such as data analytics, programming and software/web development, or another mathematically intense role

If you’re still evaluating whether forking out a $200 monthly expense on a single AI tool is truly worth it, here are some other considerations to bear in mind:

1. Ask yourself, do you use ChatGPT daily Or is it only used on an irregular basis?
2. Do you plan to scale your output within the next month requiring higher quality while working under pressure?
3. Have you observed that your clients are asking for deliverables That require you to use tools with the most optimised ai capabilities?
4. Are you mentally ready for the learning curve?

Let’s explore some potential pros and cons of ChatGPT Pro, to help you make a more informed decision as a freelance professional:

Pros:

• Higher computing power enables you to solve complex and intricate queries in greater detail, and you’ll have the advantage of getting a front-row seat to updates with advanced AI technology that OpenAI is currently developing.
• More accurate and sophisticated results can help you if you work within law, finance, tech, and even medicine and research.
• Subscribing to the highest-tier ChatGPT subscription could help you gain a competitive edge over other agencies or freelancers within your field.

Cons:

• $200 a month is a significant investment, as you are already aware, and this could be a waste of financial resources if you’re still in the early stages of your freelance business and haven’t yet gained sufficient client traffic or demand.
• If your work does not require advanced computational capabilities, you risk going into a tech overkill, simply following the hype because it’s the latest thing buzzing on the internet, but it actually doesn’t provide much benefit to you and goes to waste.

Overall, your decision on whether or not to upgrade to ChatGPT Pro should hinge on taking all of the above into consideration, and carefully evaluating your business goals, current demand, and client needs at this time. If you discover that the benefits outweigh the price, then go ahead and upgrade. Otherwise, you won’t lose if you decide to stick with the free or Plus plan, at least for now.