Quick answer: If you claimed OpenAI’s free 12-month ChatGPT Go offer in India, your free year ends 12 months after the date you claimed it, not on one common date for everyone. The promotion opened on 4 November 2025, so the earliest users reach the end of their free year in early November 2026. After that, the plan renews as a paid subscription (₹399 per month at launch) on the card, UPI mandate or app-store account you used, unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date.

This guide explains how to find your exact end date, what changes if you stop paying, how to cancel on web, Android, iPhone and in your UPI app, and how to decide whether ChatGPT Go is worth ₹399 a month for a student, freelancer or small business.

A Quick Recap of the ChatGPT Go Free Offer

August 2025: OpenAI launched ChatGPT Go in India as its cheapest paid plan, priced at ₹399 per month with UPI payments supported. Plus was priced at ₹1,999 per month at the time.
28 October 2025: OpenAI announced that ChatGPT Go would be free for 12 months for users in India who signed up during a limited promotional period starting 4 November 2025, the day of its DevDay Exchange event in Bengaluru.
Existing Go subscribers in India were also eligible for the free 12 months.
Claim window: OpenAI did not announce an end date at launch. Later reports cite OpenAI release notes giving 21 January 2026 as the last day to claim, but we could not open the official page to confirm it, so treat that date as reported.

Nick Turley, OpenAI’s vice-president and head of ChatGPT, said at the announcement: “We’re making ChatGPT Go freely available for a year to help more people across India.”
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Because people claimed the offer on different days between November 2025 and early 2026, renewals will fall anywhere from November 2026 into early 2027. Viral posts quoting one fixed end date for everyone are not reliable.

How to Check When Your Free ChatGPT Go Year Ends

Open chatgpt.com in a browser and sign in.
Click your profile or account menu, then Settings.
Open the billing or subscription section. It shows your current plan and the next billing (renewal) date.
If you claimed through the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, also check the subscriptions page in that store. The store controls the billing in that case.

Add the renewal date to your phone calendar with a reminder two or three days earlier. That gives you time to decide calmly instead of discovering a ₹399 debit later.

What Happens When the Free Year Ends

There are only two outcomes:

If you do nothing	If you cancel before renewal
Go renews as a paid monthly plan and the saved payment method is charged.	No charge. You keep Go features until the end of the current period.
You keep higher limits and longer memory.	Your account moves back to the free ChatGPT plan.
You can still cancel later; it stops future renewals.	Your chats remain in your account; only paid limits are lost.

OpenAI’s help page on cancelling also notes that past charges are not refunded automatically (refund requests are a separate process) and that uninstalling the app does not cancel a subscription.

ChatGPT Go vs Free: What You Actually Lose

OpenAI describes Go as offering about 10 times more messages, file uploads and image generations than the free tier, plus a longer memory and context window. At the India launch, OpenAI’s Nick Turley listed “10x higher message limits, 10x more image generations, 10x more file uploads, and 2x longer memory”.

OpenAI does not publish exact numeric limits for each plan, and limits change over time. In practice, free users notice the difference when they:

upload several PDFs, spreadsheets or images in one day;
generate many images for social media or thumbnails;
have long working sessions, such as drafting a project report or debugging code;
rely on ChatGPT remembering their business details, writing style or ongoing projects.

If you use ChatGPT a few times a week for quick questions, the free plan will likely feel almost the same.

How to Cancel ChatGPT Go Before You Are Charged

Cancel on the same platform where you subscribed, and do it at least 24 hours before your next billing date. OpenAI warns that a charge may already be processed if you cancel later than that.

On the web (chatgpt.com)

Sign in at chatgpt.com.
Open the account menu, then Settings, then Billing.
Under “Cancel plan”, select Cancel and confirm.

On Android (Google Play)

Open the Play Store, tap your profile icon, then Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions.
Select ChatGPT and tap Cancel subscription.

On iPhone (App Store)

Open Settings and tap your name.
Tap Subscriptions, select ChatGPT, then Cancel Subscription.

Check your UPI autopay mandate

If you signed up with UPI, open your UPI app (for example the app you used to approve the payment) and look for Autopay or Mandates. After cancelling in ChatGPT, confirm the OpenAI or ChatGPT mandate is no longer active, or revoke it. Under RBI’s e-mandate framework, banks must notify you before a recurring debit, so watch for that pre-debit SMS or alert as a final warning.

Timing tip: cancelling early does not extend anything, and you keep features until the period ends, but some users report that cancelling ends the promotional status of the account. To be safe, cancel a few days before the renewal date rather than months in advance.

Should You Pay ₹399 a Month? A Simple Decision Guide

Think of it as ₹13 a day. Ask yourself whether ChatGPT saves you more than that in time or earns you more than that in work.

Probably worth paying if you are:

a freelancer who drafts proposals, client emails, blog outlines or code every day;
a small business owner using it for product descriptions, customer replies, GST-invoice explanations or social posts;
a student doing heavy research, coding projects or exam preparation with many file uploads.

Probably fine on Free if you:

ask a handful of questions per day;
rarely upload files or create images;
already have another AI assistant through a work, college or telecom plan.

Before paying, check whether you already have AI access elsewhere. Telecom and tech companies in India have run their own AI promotions, such as Airtel’s partnership with Perplexity for free Perplexity Pro and Google’s free AI Pro plan for students, so compare what you already get. Offers change often; confirm current terms on the provider’s official page.

Get More From ChatGPT Go If You Keep It

Turn on and manage memory. Tell ChatGPT your business type, audience and tone once, then review stored memories in Settings.
Use projects or saved chats for each client so context stays separate.
Build repeatable prompts for daily tasks such as social captions or invoice reminders. Our guide to AI skills Indian employers are hiring for shows which skills turn these habits into income.
Review data controls. In Settings, you can choose whether your conversations are used to improve OpenAI’s models.

If you want ChatGPT to take actions for you rather than just chat, read our plain-English explainer on what an AI agent is.

Watch Out for Scams Around the Free Offer

Expiring offers attract fraudsters. Be careful with:

SMS, WhatsApp or email messages offering to “extend your free ChatGPT Go year” for a small fee;
links asking you to re-enter card or UPI PIN details to “avoid suspension”;
unofficial apps with ChatGPT branding.

Manage your plan only inside chatgpt.com, the official ChatGPT app, or your Play Store/App Store account. Never share a UPI PIN or OTP. Our guide on stopping AI voice scams covers more fraud patterns to share with family.

FAQ

When does the ChatGPT Go free offer end in India?

Each user’s free year ends 12 months after the date they claimed it. The offer started on 4 November 2025, so the first renewals arrive in early November 2026. Check your exact renewal date in ChatGPT’s settings.

Will I be charged automatically after the free year?

Yes, if a payment method or app-store subscription is linked and you do not cancel. ChatGPT subscriptions renew automatically. Cancel at least 24 hours before the billing date to avoid the next charge.

Will I lose my chats if I cancel ChatGPT Go?

No. Cancelling moves you back to the free plan with lower limits. Your account and chat history stay unless you delete them yourself.

Can I claim the free ChatGPT Go offer now?

The promotion was for a limited period that is reported to have closed in January 2026. Check the official ChatGPT pricing page for current plans and any new offers.

For more practical AI news explained for Indian users, visit our AI section.

Disclaimer: Prices and offer terms are set by OpenAI and can change. This article is general information, not financial advice; always confirm current terms on OpenAI’s official pages before paying or cancelling.

Sources

TechCrunch – OpenAI offers free ChatGPT Go for one year to all users in India: limited promotional period from 4 November, eligibility of existing Go subscribers, Airtel–Perplexity and Google student AI Pro offers.
Outlook Business – OpenAI offers free one-year ChatGPT Go access in India starting November 4: announcement date, DevDay Exchange Bengaluru link, and Nick Turley’s quote.
TechCrunch – OpenAI launches a sub-$5 ChatGPT plan in India: ₹399 launch price, ₹1,999 Plus price, UPI support and Turley’s list of Go features.
OpenAI – Introducing ChatGPT Go, now available worldwide: official description of Go’s higher message, upload and image limits and longer memory.
OpenAI Help Center – Canceling your ChatGPT subscription: cancellation steps for web, iOS and Android, the 24-hour rule, and refund/uninstall notes.
Whizi – What happens when your free ChatGPT Go year in India ends: reported 21 January 2026 claim deadline (citing OpenAI release notes; not independently confirmed) and per-user end dates.

ChatGPT Go Free Offer Ending in India: What to Do Now