OpenAI · Beginner · 8 lessons · about 81 minutes · updated 2026-09-04
ChatGPT 101: The Complete Beginner's Course (Pricing-First)
Learn ChatGPT from zero, and learn exactly what each plan and model costs before you pay for one.
People who have used ChatGPT a few times (or never) and want to get real work out of it without paying for a plan or model they do not need. No coding required until lesson 7, and that lesson is optional.
Course outline
- 1What is ChatGPT?ChatGPT is OpenAI's chat product built on the GPT model family. Here is what it actually does, what it is good at, and the limits you should know before you trust it.8 min · 3 objectives
- 2OpenAI's models explained: which GPT do you actually need?GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4, mini, nano, Pro and gpt-oss all exist for a reason. Learn what each tier is for, how much it costs per million tokens, and when a cheaper model is the smarter choice.10 min · 3 objectives
- 3ChatGPT pricing and plans: Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business and the APIEvery ChatGPT plan, what it costs, what it is worth, and the usage threshold where the API becomes cheaper than a subscription.11 min · 3 objectives
- 4Getting started: your first 15 minutes in ChatGPTCreate an account, learn the interface, change the three settings that matter, and finish a real task. All on the free plan.9 min · 3 objectives
- 5Prompting basics: how to get a useful answer the first timeThe anatomy of a prompt that works in ChatGPT, three before-and-after examples, and why better prompts are also cheaper prompts.10 min · 3 objectives
- 6Everyday workflows: writing, research, coding, data and planningFive workflows you can run today, what each looks like step by step, and what it costs on Free, on a paid plan and on the API.12 min · 3 objectives
- 7OpenAI API quickstart: when per-token beats the subscriptionHow tokens are billed, a minimal working call to the OpenAI Responses API in curl and Python, and the two features (prompt caching and Batch) that cut the bill.11 min · 3 objectives
- 8Cost control: the cheapest way to get the result you needRouting, caching, batch, downgrade timing and the red flags of overpaying, with a worked comparison of what one job costs on each OpenAI model.10 min · 3 objectives
Frequently asked
Is this ChatGPT course free?
Yes. All eight lessons are free and every exercise works on ChatGPT Free. The only lesson that involves spending money is the optional API quickstart, which needs a small prepaid balance.
Do I need a paid ChatGPT plan to follow along?
No. Lessons 1 to 6 are designed for the free plan. Lesson 3 helps you decide whether any paid plan is worth it for your usage.
How is this different from OpenAI's own help pages?
OpenAI documents features. This course is organised around cost: which plan, which model and which workflow gets you the result for the least money, using live prices from our catalogue.
Which OpenAI model should a beginner use?
Whatever the free plan gives you, then a mini-tier model on the API if you build anything. Move up a tier only when the output is not good enough. Lesson 2 explains the ladder.
Are the prices in this course up to date?
Figures marked as live are rendered from models.json, which is refreshed by our pricing pipeline. Prices written in prose are marked at the time of writing (2026-09-04). The pricing page and calculator always show the current values.
Where do I go after ChatGPT 101?
Compare against alternatives on /compare/chatgpt-vs-claude and /compare/chatgpt-vs-gemini, or take the sibling courses: /tutorials/claude-101, /tutorials/gemini-101 and /tutorials/deepseek-101.