OpenAI made ChatGPT Go free for 12 months for people in India who signed up from 4 November 2025. The promotion closed to new users on 21 January 2026, according to OpenAI's ChatGPT release notes. Everyone who claimed it had to add a card or UPI, and that payment method is charged automatically when the free year ends.
That means the first renewals happen this month. If you claimed in the first week of November 2025, your free year ends in the first week of November 2026. If you claimed later, your date falls somewhere between now and late January 2027. Each person's renewal is 12 months after their own sign-up, not a single date for everyone.
How to find your renewal date
In ChatGPT on the web, open Settings, then Account, and look at your plan; the renewal date is shown next to it. In the mobile app, it's under Settings, then Subscription. If you can't find it there, search your email for the receipt OpenAI sent when you activated Go, and add 12 months.
Set a reminder for a few days before that date. Cancelling at the last minute risks the charge going through first.
What you'll be charged
OpenAI's pricing for India listed ChatGPT Go at ₹399 a month when we last checked, and ChatGPT Plus at ₹1,999. The renewal charges whatever the Go price is on your renewal date. It isn't locked to the price when you signed up, so check the current price in your account before the date.
If you subscribed through the Apple App Store or Google Play rather than on chatgpt.com, the charge comes through Apple or Google, and you manage it there.
How to cancel before you're charged
If you signed up on the web: go to Settings, then Account, then Manage plan, and choose Cancel plan. You keep Go until the end of your free year, then drop to the free plan.
If you signed up on iPhone: open the Settings app, tap your name, then Subscriptions, choose ChatGPT and cancel. On Android: open Google Play, tap your profile, then Payments and subscriptions, then Subscriptions, choose ChatGPT and cancel.
Cancelling doesn't delete your account or your chats. You keep your conversation history and simply go back to the free plan's limits.
Is ChatGPT Go worth ₹399 a month?
Think back over the last year. If you regularly hit the limits on messages, image generation or file uploads, Go is a fair price for what it adds. If you mainly asked a few questions a day, the free plan will feel almost the same, and there's no reason to pay.
Compare it with Google AI Plus too, which launched in India at ₹199 a month for six months and ₹399 after that, and adds 200 GB of Google storage. If you already pay for Google storage, that can be the better deal. If you need ChatGPT for work and want a GST invoice, look at OpenAI's business plans instead; a personal Go subscription won't give you one in your business's name.
Watch out for renewal scams
With millions of free years ending, expect fake emails and messages saying your ChatGPT payment failed or your account will be closed. OpenAI won't ask for your card number, UPI PIN or OTP over email or WhatsApp. Check your plan only by signing in at chatgpt.com or in the official app.