Two Years, No More ChatGPT! My Freedom Story

Why I Unsubscribed from ChatGPT Plus in the GPT‑5 Era

Background – A Long‑Running Subscription

I have been paying for ChatGPT Plus since April 2023, a period marked by frequent feature releases, subscription upgrades, and occasional policy changes.

Months of Unsatisfactory Performance

• Limited Real‑World Utility – The models no longer produced the detailed, context‑aware responses I needed for daily projects.
• Feature Stagnation – Custom prompt options, priority access, and the once‑promised “ChatGPT‑Pro” features arrived decades later than announced.
• Cost‑Benefit Imbalance – After paying monthly, the value short‑fall outweighed the premium price.

Decision to Unsubscribe – A Rational Choice

I chose to cancel my Plus subscription not abruptly, but after months of careful assessment.

The Key Factors Influencing My Choice

• Unfulfilled Promises – The platform still failed to deliver promised “pro” capabilities.
• Performance Deterioration – The latest GPT‑5 release offered no significant improvement over GPT‑4 for my use cases.
• Cost‑Efficiency – The benefits of the subscription did not justify the monthly expense.

What I’m Using Instead

• Free GPT‑4 Models – I am now relying on the open‑access version, which still delivers competent responses without any subscription fee.
• Alternative AI Platforms – I have explored other providers that offer customizable, paid AI services with a clearer feature roadmap.
• Community‑Driven Resources – Open‑source AI projects provide niche capabilities that resonate with my practical needs.

Final Takeaway

After careful reflection, I decided that the free GPT‑4 model, a few alternative AI options, and community resources offer a more balanced cost‑benefit ratio than the paid ChatGPT Plus subscription, especially in the age of GPT‑5.

I jumped right in, but I was never fully happy

Switching Off ChatGPT Plus: A Personal Chronicle

Why I Joined Early

When ChatGPT Plus rolled out in my region, I subscribed almost immediately and stayed for more than two years.

First Impressions: Feels Like Talking to a Human

• Conversations flow naturally without hunting for exact keywords.
• It can research, compose songs, and plan itineraries.
• Access to premium features boosts productivity.

What Changed Over Time

At the height of AI hype, many users encountered a flood of inaccuracies that sounded so confident. Initially, I attributed errors to my prompting or the model’s outdated training data.

Current Reality

1. Those old excuses no longer work.
2. ChatGPT still struggles with factual consistency.

Decision to Cancel

I recently cancelled my subscription and feel no regrets. The pay‑per‑month fee is no longer worth the incomplete reliability.

Takeaway

While ChatGPT Plus can simulate a rich conversational experience, its factual gaps and persistent confidence errors make continued paid use questionable.

It’s not me, it’s you

Reflections on AI Writing Over Two Years

My Initial Encounter

I started out with curiosity. The first time I opened ChatGPT, I felt as though the chatbot was a friendly collaborator—except that the outputs felt flat and uninspired. The content was overly surface‑level and almost sleepy, lacking any real flair that a human writer brings.

Progress and Persistent Glitches

• Surface‑level text persisted for months, making it easy for readers to unsee the source.
• Even after updates, the tool continues to create “tells”—unnatural sentence structures, overused colons, and forced metaphors that feel implausible.
• The early sign of AI, the infamous em dash, is no longer the main red flag; sentence patterns have become the new way to spot generative text.

My Decision as a Journalist

In my role, the written word holds immense value. The temptation to outsource writing to an AI is strong, but I have consistently avoided using it for production. My experiments show that the transition from casual prompts to professional writing remains fragile.

Outcome: Still Impressive Yet Flawed

While ChatGPT has become more capable, its outputs are still riddled with synthetic “tells”. The tool remains useful for quick drafts but fails to capture the depth and texture that profession demands. The experience throughout these two years has opened a clear path: I have learned that AI is a helper, not a replacement.

Digital Trends Review

When I first explored ChatGPT, I wasn’t aiming to draft emails or articles. I expected it to be a solid partner for research, fact‑checking, and outlining—three pillars that any AI assistant should handle.

Early Lessons

• It quickly turned out that the tool struggled with writing tasks.
• For research, I realized I could still use it, but I’d need to verify everything.

Two Key Realities

When I asked questions, I kept in mind two points:

1. It might fabricate facts, presenting them with unshakeable confidence.
2. Most often, the fastest route to the correct answer was to search independently.

Encountering Errors

I’ve frequently asked the model for confirmation when I already knew the answer. The responses were often completely wrong. Even today, when I asked it to analyze and summarize a text, some data remained inaccurate. If I had not stayed alert, I would have wasted my time relying on those figures.

Shifting to Alternatives

Recognizing that prompting and cross‑checking ChatGPT became more trouble than reward, I experimented with other AI assistants. This experience taught me that no single tool is sufficient. The best results come from learning how to use all of them effectively.

What do I use instead of ChatGPT?

A Friend’s Whisper: My Journey from ChatGPT to Kagi Assistant

My frustration with ChatGPT led me to explore Gemini. The new model excels at locating source links, a feature I frequently rely on for my projects. While you must still verify each link, Gemini outweighs ChatGPT in this regard.

Accuracy vs. Inspiration

Gemini’s prose remains as uninspired as early GPT iterations, yet it demonstrates superior precision when dissecting technical jargon. I compared both chatbots on GPU architecture questions; Gemini scored higher accuracy, though a single test could be an anomaly.

From Hard Facts to Research

• Gemini handles fact‑checking with less hassle.
• It covers research topics more efficiently than GPT.
• Cross‑checking responses with other chatbots is still a time drain.

Hallucination Loop

When both chatbots hallucinate, you enter a frustrating feedback loop that offers little real value.

Shifting Tides: Kagi Assistant

A friend introduced me to Kagi Assistant, redirecting my ChatGPT budget toward this new tool. Kagi aggregates all search models in a single interface, effectively replacing Google Search with remarkable efficiency.

In short, the conversation shifted from early frustrations with ChatGPT to a streamlined research workflow powered by Gemini and Kagi Assistant, each step offering clearer information and a more reliable search experience.

GPT-5 might tempt me to go back

Reassessing the Role of ChatGPT in Daily Research

Many users find ChatGPT’s most significant drawback accuracy. While each prompt may end well, a consistent pattern of hallucination—around thirty percent of interactions—drives many to rely on personal research instead of AI-generated data. In an era dominated by automation, sharpening one’s research skills has never been more crucial.

Current Utility Versus the Risk of Misinformation

• Translation and Email Drafting – Families and friends use ChatGPT for quick conversions and email composition, enjoying its speed.
• Gardening Advice – Users even turn to the chatbot for planting recommendations, leveraging its general knowledge.
• Hallucination Concerns – The chatbot’s tendency to fabricate facts, standing firm until corrected, undermines trust and reduces overall usefulness.

OpenAI’s Promise with GPT‑5

OpenAI claims GPT‑5 addresses lingering issues:

• Reduced Hallucination – Improved factual consistency.
• Dependability – Stronger adherence to real-world information.
• Transparent Limitation Disclosure – GPT‑5 will admit when it cannot answer, avoiding confident misinformation.

Testing the Forecasted Improvements

As with previous iterations, I plan to evaluate GPT‑5 thoroughly. Should it deliver a marked improvement, I may reconsider my stance on the paid version. For now, I remain fully committed to the free framework, holding no regrets.