Get the paid version and manually switch on the strongest mode
33 episodes in 12 months · 50 total · first in December 2024
The free and paid versions are different systems, not the same one with limits. The minimum is a regular paid subscription. For serious work I have been on Pro for a long time, and I talk my family, partners and the directors of my companies into it.
The main thing to figure out is how to switch the mode. By default it is set to the fast answer, and that one is weaker. For any serious question, switch on Thinking or Pro manually, and on the free plan the strongest version available.
Happening now. The gap is only growing: in No. 150 (August 2026) the difference between Plus and Pro is already “colossal”, and in No. 159 (September 2026) the newest models are only available in the top subscriptions.
Where to start
Get at least a regular paid subscription, and on every serious question switch on Thinking or Pro manually.
Buy your managers the top plans and ask them to run real work tasks through AI themselves.
Not everyone needs the $200 plan: for most people a regular paid subscription is enough. But you cannot do without a paid one.
“I want to say right away that there's a big difference: are you using the free DeepSeek, or are you using the ChatGPT Pro subscription. That's very important for you to understand. For a large number of people even the regular paid subscription will be enough, but a paid subscription is needed.”
When I said it
Quotes
“Plus is definitely needed. Plus for twenty dollars, if you're, like, a person who actually lives, well, like, you have a life, then Plus, of course, is definitely needed, yeah.”
“When I see my wife's got 4o, I say: “I don't trust this chat, don't show it to me.””
“And once again, everyone who's watching us, viewers, I strongly recommend paying attention to this. In general I think this is number one, the thing you need to sort out. You need to sort out how to switch the version you've got inside.”
“I don't recommend you use the fast-answers mode.”