ChatGPT 5 has not been released by OpenAI, so you cannot access it because it is not available to the public

As of early 2025, OpenAI's most recent publicly available version is ChatGPT-4o (the "o" stands for "omni"). There is no ChatGPT 5. If you have seen claims online that ChatGPT 5 exists or that you can access it somewhere, those claims are false — either someone is selling fake access, or they are describing a different product with a misleading name.

OpenAI has not announced when or whether ChatGPT 5 will arrive. The company released ChatGPT-4 in March 2023 and ChatGPT-4o in May 2024. The gap between versions has grown longer, not shorter, because training these models takes months and costs millions of dollars. Waiting for a new version is normal; it does not mean your current access is broken.

Key Takeaways

  • ChatGPT-4o is the current public version from OpenAI, and it is what you are using if you have a ChatGPT account.
  • OpenAI has not announced ChatGPT 5, so any website claiming to offer it is either scamming you or mislabeling a different product.
  • Version numbers jump because training a new model from scratch takes six months to over a year, not because OpenAI is hiding a finished product.
  • If you want to know what is actually new in your current version, check OpenAI's official blog or the release notes in your account settings.

How to tell what version you are actually using

Open ChatGPT and look at the bottom left of the screen on desktop, or at the top of the conversation on mobile. You will see a label like "GPT-4o" or "GPT-4 Turbo" next to a small icon. That is your current model. If you have a free account, you are on GPT-3.5. If you pay for ChatGPT Plus ($20 per month), you can switch between GPT-4o and GPT-3.5 using a dropdown menu at the top of the chat window.

The version you see depends on your subscription level and which model you selected. OpenAI does not automatically upgrade you to a newer model when one arrives — you choose which one to use for each conversation. This means you might be using an older version on purpose, because it is faster or because you prefer how it answers certain types of questions.

Why new versions take so long to arrive

Training a large language model like ChatGPT requires enormous amounts of computing power, data, and time. OpenAI feeds the model billions of words from books, websites, and other text, then runs it through millions of calculations to teach it patterns in language. This process takes months. Then the company has to test the model for safety, accuracy, and bias — which takes more months. Only after all that testing does it release the model to the public.

The jump from ChatGPT-4 to ChatGPT-4o took over a year. That is not because OpenAI was lazy or hiding the new version. It is because the company was retraining the model to handle text, images, and audio in a single system, which is much harder than training it for text alone. Bigger jumps in capability take longer.

Scams claiming to offer ChatGPT 5

If you see a website, app, or email offering you access to "ChatGPT 5" for a fee, it is a scam. OpenAI does not sell ChatGPT 5 anywhere because it does not exist. Scammers use the promise of a newer, more powerful version to trick people into paying for fake access or downloading malware.

Real ChatGPT access comes only through chat.openai.com (the official website) or the official ChatGPT app on iOS and Android. If you are paying for ChatGPT Plus, you pay OpenAI directly through the website or app — not through a third party. If someone is asking you to pay for ChatGPT 5 anywhere else, close the tab and do not enter your payment information.

What "GPT-5" means in other contexts

You may see the term "GPT-5" used loosely online to mean "the next version of ChatGPT, whenever it comes out." This is informal shorthand, not an official product name. OpenAI has not confirmed that the next version will be called GPT-5 at all — it might be GPT-4.5, or something else entirely. Do not assume that because someone wrote "GPT-5" they are talking about a real product you can use today.

Some third-party apps and websites also use "GPT" in their names even though they are not made by OpenAI. For example, there are apps called "ChatGPT Pro" or "GPT Chat" that are built by other companies and use OpenAI's API (a tool that lets developers build on top of ChatGPT). These are not the same as ChatGPT itself, and they are not newer versions of it.

How to stay informed about real updates

If you want to know when OpenAI actually releases a new version, follow the official sources: the OpenAI blog (openai.com/blog), the ChatGPT Twitter account (@ChatGPTapp), or the announcements section in your ChatGPT account. These are the only places OpenAI announces new features and models.

You can also check your account settings in ChatGPT to see what models are available to you right now. If a new version has been released and you have access to it, it will appear in the model dropdown menu. You do not have to do anything to get it — it is automatically added to your account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ChatGPT 5 coming out soon?

OpenAI has not announced a release date for any version after GPT-4o. The company does not usually announce new models in advance, so you will not know when it is coming until it arrives. Based on the time between past releases, it could be months or over a year away.

Can I pay more to get early access to ChatGPT 5?

No. OpenAI does not offer early access to unreleased models, even for paying customers. ChatGPT Plus gives you access to the newest available model, but you cannot pay extra to skip ahead to a version that does not exist yet.

What if I see an app claiming to be ChatGPT 5?

It is not real. Delete it or do not read it. Real ChatGPT comes only from OpenAI's official website and apps. Any other source claiming to offer ChatGPT 5 is either a scam, a third-party app using a misleading name, or someone's guess about what the next version might be called.

Does using ChatGPT-4o mean I am missing out?

No. ChatGPT-4o is the current best version available to the public. It is more capable than ChatGPT-4 and handles text, images, and audio. Unless OpenAI releases a new version, ChatGPT-4o is what you should be using if you want the newest features.