As I type these lines, we’re halfway through OpenAI’s big “12 Days” of ChatGPT event, which brought us several exciting features. ChatGPT o1 is out of beta, as is the Canvas mode, with the latter delivering a big UI change for the ChatGPT experience. OpenAI also released the text-to-video Sora service to the public and brought live video streaming and screen sharing to GPT-4o’s Advanced Voice Mode.
As a ChatGPT Plus user, I’d have early access to all of them, but since I’m in the European Union, OpenAI is more cautious with its releases here. As such, Sora and the live video streaming support for Advanced Voice Mode are not available in the region. The latter is especially exciting, as the AI will get eyes in specific conversations.
These developments made me realize, again, that the Plus subscription isn’t as good in Europe as elsewhere. Still, I’m not going to cancel it, as I find that ChatGPT has become too valuable to me, both for work and personal computing. I also thought that, if I were to choose, I’d rather cancel Netflix than ChatGPT Plus at this particular point in my life.
It’s an apples-to-oranges comparison, sure. The two products aren’t actual competitors. If anything, I found that ChatGPT can be a great companion for streaming certain Netflix shows.
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It just happens that I’m not binging Netflix like I would have done years ago. I skip some of the shows completely.
Meanwhile, Netflix has tightened its password-sharing crackdown to the point where circumventing it is almost impossible.
Separately, YouTube got a massive price hike this week, which, combined with OpenAI’s ongoing event, made me compare streaming subscriptions like Netflix to ChatGPT Plus. It’s not just Google that’s periodically increasing prices; Netflix is doing it, too, as I just got one such price hike notification for my region.
I often argued that the password-sharing ban and price hikes are worth dealing with, considering what you’re getting in return. I said that I’ll keep my Netflix subscription as long as I spend more money on coffee when going out. The latter consideration also applies to ChatGPT Plus.
What I’m getting at is that I’m not in a position where I have to choose between the various software and service subscriptions I might pay each month and cut some of the costs.
But if I were to start cutting something, streaming services would go well before ChatGPT Plus. Netflix could be on the chopping block too.
At $20/month, ChatGPT Plus is actually more expensive than what I pay for Netflix. But combine all the streaming subscriptions I’m subscribed to, and ChatGPT Plus is the cheaper option. Also, those costs add up over a year, according to an Excel doc where I keep track of everything.
Ted Danson as Charles in “A Man on the Inside.” Image source: Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix
I reduced my streaming time so I could focus on exercising more. I run marathons now, which means I’m spending hours running and walking outside. Watching Netflix isn’t what it used to be, and it has nothing to do with the time I spend on ChatGPT.
As for the AI chatbot, I’ve been using it increasingly more in the past year, especially since I jumped on the Plus subscription. It’s not just for work, though; as you can imagine, keeping tabs on all things AI is a good reason to have an active premium AI subscription. I use ChatGPT for more complex research, which would take a lot longer to use traditional search engines.
I’m still questioning what the AI is telling me, but with the addition of ChatGPT Search, OpenAI has made a big move towards showing the sources of ChatGPT’s claims. By the way, ChatGPT Search continues to be exclusive to premium tiers like ChatGPT Plus.
I use ChatGPT to plan workouts and travel, and I use it to ask any question I can think of, including the sillier kind. That latter part actually comes in handy while traveling to all sorts of places and visiting museums and other landmarks. ChatGPT can be an invaluable source of information, and it’ll be an even better tool once video streaming support rolls out to Advanced Voice Mode.
I wouldn’t have necessarily expected it earlier this year, but a premium AI subscription is a top priority for me. Even if I cancel ChatGPT Plus, I’d consider a premium replacement from the competition. The Netflix subscription, meanwhile, is much lower on that priorities list, and I’m sure I’d cancel it long before I ditch ChatGPT Plus.
