I've been using ChatGPT Plus (GPT-4) for about three months and it's been great. The way it handles context and reasoning—even with vague prompts—has been impressive. But this morning, I switched to the free version (GPT-3.5) and the difference is stark. It feels like it struggles with basic logic and reasoning more than I expected. Is this a common experience for others who have downgraded? Do I need to be more descriptive with my prompts for GPT-3.5, or is it genuinely less capable than the Plus version? Any tips on how to maximize the free tier would be appreciated!
5 Answers
To be honest, none of the versions are great with reasoning and logic like a human. They generate answers based on patterns from training data, so they aren't inherently 'smart' or 'dumb.' They just predict what might come next based on what they've seen before. Once you realize this, it can help manage expectations!
It's worth noting that the free tier has a smaller context window—8k tokens compared to the 32k of Plus. This means it might lose track of what you were talking about faster in longer conversations, which can feel frustrating.
Actually, the free version uses the same GPT-4o model until you hit the limit. So it shouldn't be a huge drop in capability initially. However, some say that after reaching your message quota, it may downgrade to 4o-mini automatically. Maybe that's what you're experiencing?
Did you check if your memories were preserved when switching? Sometimes settings can get reset and it might feel like the model has to 'relearn' your preferences. Double-check to see if that might be affecting your experience.
I've also wondered if they actually use different models. I asked ChatGPT about it and it seemed uncertain. Sometimes it gives answers that don't quite align with reality, so I take its responses with a grain of salt!
True! It's all about patterns and probabilities. Just keep that in mind and adjust your prompts if needed.