ChatGPT and OpenAI Pricing: Which Plans Have API Access?
OpenAI has a brand confusion problem at the moment.
“OpenAI” is the name of the company. However, they have a product called “ChatGPT”, which is perhaps even more famous than the company itself.
ChatGPT is a separate product with separate pricing from the main OpenAI service. When you log in to the OpenAI website, you’ll see two choices:
- ChatGPT: Interact with our flagship language models in a conversational interface.
- API: Integrate OpenAI models into your application or business.
These two products also have different “Pricing” choices. You can see this if you go to the “Products” menu on their website. Under this menu you’ll see a “ChatGPT” option with pricing, and also a an “API” option with pricing.
If you want to use a service such as TaxoPress, you will need to choose the “API” option.
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What’s the Difference Between ChatGPT and API Pricing?
I asked ChatGPT to describe the difference, and this was the reply:
- ChatGPT is for end-users interacting directly with the model through a chat interface, with fixed subscription-based pricing.
- API pricing is usage-based and depends on the number of tokens processed, offering more flexibility for developers who need to integrate the model into applications.
This means that ChatGPT has fixed prices such as “$20 per month”. API prices are not fixed and will look like this: “$0.0015 per 1,000 tokens”.
ChatGPT Pricing Options
If you visit the “ChatGPT” pricing area on the OpenAI website, you’ll see plans with names such as “Plus”, “Team”, and “Enterprise”. These plans will allow you to interact with ChatGPT via the app or website. The cost is between $20 and $30 per user per month.
Here’s where the confusion really kicks in. These plans may give you an API key. You may be able to visit the OpenAI website and get an API Key. However, this plan will not allow you to connect with external services such as TaxoPress. If you try to use one of these keys, you’ll see a message like this: “Error: OpenAI says there is an issue with this API key. Please check your plan or billing details.” Speaking technically, this is the 429 error from OpenAI.
API Pricing Options
If you visit the “API” pricing area on the OpenAI website, you’ll see a wide variety of plans. These depend on multiple factors including the model you choose to use. These plans do allow you to connect with services such as TaxoPress. You will be able to get an API key to add to the TaxoPress dashboard.
To start using the AI option, follow these steps:
- Log in to https://platform.openai.com. If you already have a ChatGPT account, you can use the same login.
- Go to the “Billing” area.
- Click the “Add payment details” button and add a payment method.
You will not be charged at this point. This is a pay-as-you-go service and you’ll only be charged when you’re using TaxoPress.
Which Plan Do I Need for TaxoPress?
To use OpenAI together with TaxoPress, please choose the “API” pricing option from this URL: https://openai.com/api/pricing/. ChatGPT is a wonderful product, and my children use it regularly to help with their homework. They even talk to ChatGPT via the app. However, ChatGPT is not designed for interacting with services such as TaxoPress.