India's Free AI Year Is Ending: What ChatGPT Go, Gemini Pro and Perplexity Pro Will Really Cost You (2026 Review)
Short answer: India's year of free AI subscriptions is ending. OpenAI's free ChatGPT Go year began for users who signed up from 4 November 2025, so the first renewals at ₹399 a month are arriving now and will continue until around January 2027. Airtel's free Perplexity Pro year began expiring in July 2026, and reports say users who did not cancel were charged. Jio's free Google AI Pro offer runs for 18 months, so the earliest of those end around April 2027.
To understand what happens next, we reviewed 20 public sources: company announcements, help-page summaries, coverage of the RBI's 2026 auto-debit rules, app-intelligence estimates and news reports published between August 2025 and November 2026. This report brings together what those sources say about each offer, what the paid plans cost, how UPI autopay renewals work, and what the data shows about Indian users once "free" ends.
Key findings
- Renewals are happening now. According to Business Today, each free ChatGPT Go year runs 12 months from the day it was claimed, and Go renews at ₹399 a month unless cancelled.
- The sign-up window is closed. Technical Adda, citing OpenAI's release notes, reports that the India promotion ended on 21 January 2026, which places the last free-year expiries around 21 January 2027.
- Perplexity shows what happens after free. App-intelligence estimates reported by Mitrade show Perplexity's India monthly active users fell about 37% from their October 2025 peak by July 2026, while its India mobile revenue rose.
- Auto-debits under ₹15,000 need no OTP. Under the RBI's e-mandate framework, as summarised by Business Today, recurring debits up to ₹15,000 run without a fresh OTP once a mandate is approved, but banks must notify you at least 24 hours before each debit.
- The paid prices differ by up to five times. At list prices, a year of ChatGPT Go costs ₹4,788, while ChatGPT Plus and Google AI Pro each cost more than ₹23,000 a year.
How we reviewed the evidence
This is a review, not an original survey. We collected sources in four groups and cross-checked each claim against at least one other source where possible:
- Company announcements from OpenAI, Google and Airtel about the offers and their terms.
- News reports from TechCrunch, Business Today, Outlook Business, Inc42, Free Press Journal and others on launches, changes and renewals.
- Regulation: coverage of the RBI's e-mandate framework for recurring payments.
- Usage data: app-intelligence estimates of downloads, active users and revenue, as reported by the press.
Where sources disagree or a figure comes from a single report, we say so. Prices are list prices quoted in the sources. Check your own billing page before acting.
The three big free AI offers, side by side
| Offer | Free period | When free years end |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Go (OpenAI) | 12 months, for sign-ups from 4 Nov 2025 to 21 Jan 2026 | 4 Nov 2026 to about 21 Jan 2027 |
| Perplexity Pro (Airtel) | 12 months, for redemptions from July 2025 to 16 Jan 2026 | July 2026 to about Jan 2027 |
| Google AI Pro (Jio) | 18 months, from 30 Oct 2025, for Jio Unlimited 5G users | From about April 2027 |
ChatGPT Go: ₹399 a month after the free year
OpenAI launched ChatGPT Go in India in August 2025 at ₹399 a month with UPI payments, according to TechCrunch. The same report says Go offers 10 times the free plan's message limits, image generations and file uploads, and twice the memory. ChatGPT Plus costs ₹1,999 a month in India.
From 4 November 2025, OpenAI made Go free for 12 months for users in India, as reported by Outlook Business. Business Today's November 2026 explainer adds three details that matter now:
- Claiming the offer required a card or UPI, so most users already have a payment method on file.
- Go is billed automatically each month after the free year, at ₹399, unless you cancel.
- If you subscribed through the Apple App Store or Google Play, you must cancel there, not on chatgpt.com.
Perplexity Pro: the first free year to end
Airtel offered a free year of Perplexity Pro, valued at about ₹17,000, to its customers from July 2025. Its timeline is the most useful preview of what ChatGPT Go users can expect:
- January 2026: Business Today reported that some users were asked to add a card to continue their free trial, even within the promised 12 months. Perplexity said the card would be charged only after the trial.
- 16 January 2026: new redemptions stopped, according to Free Press Journal, and Airtel replaced the offer with a free year of Adobe Express Premium.
- July 2026 onwards: the earliest free years expired. Mitrade reported that auto-renewal was on by default and users who did not cancel were charged.
Google AI Pro on Jio: 18 months, ending from 2027
Google's announcement of 30 October 2025 describes 18 months of Google AI Pro at no extra cost for Jio Unlimited 5G users, worth about ₹35,100. It includes higher access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, higher limits for Nano Banana and Veo 3.1, expanded NotebookLM access and 2 TB of cloud storage. The rollout started with users aged 18 to 25, and Analytics India Magazine later reported it was expanded to users of all ages. Because the offer lasts 18 months, the earliest free periods end around April 2027.
₹35,100 over 18 months works out to about ₹1,950 a month, which is the monthly value the offer implies for Google AI Pro.
What the paid plans cost per year
| Plan | Monthly price | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Go | ₹399 | ₹4,788 |
| Perplexity Pro | About $200 a year | About ₹17,000 |
| Google AI Pro | About ₹1,950 (implied by Jio's offer value) | About ₹23,400 |
| ChatGPT Plus | ₹1,999 | ₹23,988 |
Yearly figures are the monthly list price multiplied by 12, or the yearly price quoted by the sources. Check your billing page for the final amount, including any taxes shown at checkout.
The spread is large. A year of ChatGPT Plus costs about five times a year of ChatGPT Go. For many students and casual users, the realistic choice is between Go and the free plan, not between Go and Plus. Developers who only need occasional access to strong models can also pay per use through an API instead of a subscription. We compared both approaches in Are You Overpaying for AI?
How UPI autopay renewals work
Most Indian users pay for subscriptions through UPI AutoPay or a card e-mandate. The RBI's e-mandate framework, as summarised by Business Today in May 2026, sets the rules every renewal must follow:
- One approval, then automatic debits. You approve the mandate once with your UPI PIN or an OTP. After that, recurring debits up to ₹15,000 run without a fresh OTP. A ₹399 ChatGPT Go renewal is well under that limit.
- At least 24 hours' notice. Banks and payment providers must send a pre-debit notification at least 24 hours before each debit, with the amount, date and merchant name.
- Cancel at any time. You can pause or cancel a mandate through your bank or UPI app at any time, and no charges can be levied for setting one up.
- Protection for unauthorised debits. Post-debit alerts are mandatory, and zero-liability protection applies if you report an unauthorised debit promptly.
Two practical points follow. First, deleting the ChatGPT app does not cancel anything: the subscription and the UPI mandate both stay active. Second, the pre-debit SMS or email is your last warning, so treat it like an OTP. If a renewal fails instead, our guide ChatGPT UPI payment not working? lists every known fix.
What happens when "free" ends: the evidence so far
Perplexity's free year ended first, so it is the only real data on how Indian users behave afterwards. App-intelligence estimates reported by Mitrade in August 2026 show:
| Measure (India) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Downloads in July 2025, the launch month | About 5.9 million |
| Peak monthly active users, October 2025 | About 22 million |
| Monthly active users, July 2026 | About 14 million, down 37% |
| Installs, February to July 2026 | 3.3 million, down more than 90% |
| Mobile revenue, July 2026 | About $156,000, up from $34,000 in January 2025 |
The pattern is clear even with estimates: usage fell sharply after the giveaway peak, but a minority converted to paying users, and revenue grew. The free year worked as a distribution strategy, which is how Best Media Info described the wave of free AI offers in India: a distribution war, not generosity.
ChatGPT starts from a much larger base. Sam Altman said in February 2026 that India had 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, according to TechCrunch. In November 2026, Inc42 reported that OpenAI India's managing director said India had become ChatGPT's largest market by weekly users, with the local user base doubling since January. Even a small conversion rate on that base would be a large number of paying users.
Should you keep paying? A simple framework
- Check how you actually used it. If you rarely hit the free plan's limits, the free plan is enough.
- Price your heaviest use. If you use AI daily for study or work, ₹399 a month for Go is the cheapest paid option among the four plans in this report.
- Do not pay twice. If you have Google AI Pro free through Jio until 2027, you may not need a second paid assistant for general use.
- For coding and apps, consider pay-per-use. Developers can call GPT, Claude, Gemini and DeepSeek models through an API and pay only for what they use.
- Decide before the pre-debit notice. Put your renewal date in your calendar and cancel at least a day before if you do not want to pay.
How to check and cancel each renewal
| Service | Where to check and cancel |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT Go (web) | chatgpt.com, Settings, then Account or Billing |
| ChatGPT Go (app store) | Google Play or Apple subscriptions on your phone |
| Any UPI AutoPay | Your UPI app's AutoPay or Mandates section, or your bank app |
| Perplexity Pro | Perplexity account settings, and any card or UPI mandate on file |
| Google AI Pro via Jio | Google One subscriptions and the MyJio app |
Frequently asked questions
When does the free ChatGPT Go year end in India?
Each free year lasts 12 months from the day you claimed it. The offer opened on 4 November 2025 and, according to reports citing OpenAI's release notes, closed to new sign-ups on 21 January 2026, so free years end between 4 November 2026 and about 21 January 2027.
Will I be charged ₹399 automatically after the ChatGPT Go free year?
Yes, unless you cancel. Business Today reports that Go renews at ₹399 a month on the payment method on file. Under RBI rules, you should receive a pre-debit notification at least 24 hours before the debit.
How do I cancel ChatGPT Go UPI autopay?
Cancel the subscription in ChatGPT's settings, or in the Apple or Google Play store if you subscribed there, and then check your UPI app's AutoPay or Mandates section to confirm the mandate is cancelled. Deleting the app does not cancel the subscription.
Did Airtel users get charged for Perplexity Pro?
Reports say yes for some users. Mitrade reported that auto-renewal was on by default when free years began expiring in July 2026, and users who did not cancel were charged. Perplexity Pro costs about $200, or ₹17,000, a year.
When does Jio's free Google AI Pro end?
The offer gives 18 months of Google AI Pro from activation. It launched on 30 October 2025, so the earliest free periods end around April 2027.
Is ChatGPT Go worth ₹399 a month?
It depends on use. Go offers 10 times the free plan's message, image and upload limits, according to TechCrunch. It is the cheapest paid plan among those reviewed here, at ₹4,788 a year, against ₹23,988 for ChatGPT Plus.
Do UPI auto-debits need an OTP?
Not for recurring debits up to ₹15,000 once the mandate is approved, under the RBI's e-mandate framework. Debits above ₹15,000 still require authentication, and you can cancel a mandate at any time.
Limits of this review
- We did not run a survey. All figures come from the sources listed below.
- Usage figures are estimates. Perplexity's user and revenue numbers are third-party app-intelligence estimates reported by Mitrade, not company disclosures.
- Some dates come from a single source. The 21 January 2026 end of the ChatGPT Go promotion is reported by Technical Adda citing OpenAI's release notes. We could not open OpenAI's help page directly.
- Prices can change. All prices are list prices quoted by the sources. Your billing page is the final word.
References
- OpenAI launches a sub-$5 ChatGPT plan in India, TechCrunch, 18 August 2025
- OpenAI offers free one-year ChatGPT Go access in India starting November 4, Outlook Business
- Your free ChatGPT Go year may end soon: check your date before ₹399 is charged, Business Today, 3 November 2026
- ChatGPT Go free in India ended on 21 January 2026: what happens now, Technical Adda
- India has 100M weekly active ChatGPT users, Sam Altman says, TechCrunch, 15 February 2026
- India becomes ChatGPT's largest market globally, Inc42, 3 November 2026
- Partnering with Reliance to bring the best of Google AI to more people across India, Google, 30 October 2025
- Reliance Jio expands free Google AI Pro access to users of all ages, Analytics India Magazine
- Airtel offers free ₹17,000 Perplexity Pro subscription to 360 million users, Angel One
- From free for a year to card on file, Business Today, 12 January 2026
- Airtel discontinues free Perplexity Pro offer, Free Press Journal, February 2026
- Airtel's free year of Perplexity Pro ends, and the auto-renewal charges begin, Mitrade, August 2026
- Free AI tools in India: are they really free in 2026?, DQ India, 2 January 2026
- Why Perplexity, Gemini and ChatGPT are free in India: a distribution war, Best Media Info
- RBI auto-debit rules explained, Business Today, 2 May 2026
- RBI caps recurring payments at ₹15,000 without OTP, Business Today, 21 April 2026
- Perplexity updates Airtel Perplexity Pro support page: offer ended on 16 January, The Tech Outlook
- Reliance Jio users to get 18-month free access to Google AI Pro, YourStory
- OpenAI launches ChatGPT Go low-cost plan for India, Business Standard, August 2025
- OpenAI to give Indian users free ChatGPT Go for a year, YourStory