S2. Ep31 - When to Upgrade from a Free AI Account (And When Not to Bother)

Katie: Welcome to the AI Automations for Business Podcasts. We're your hosts, Katie and Null, and we'll be discussing how you can use AI for your business along with the latest news, updates and automations to help you stay ahead of the curve, allowing you to grow and scale your business more efficiently. Please be sure to subscribe and I hope you enjoy this episode. Hello, welcome back to another episode. Hi, hello, I'm Katie. And as always, I am joined. by Noel. Hi, Noel. How are you doing this week?

Noel: I'm doing stupendous this week. How are you doing?

Katie: Stupendous. Yeah.

Noel: Having a great week. Oh, good.

Katie: Please hear it. What have you been up to?

Noel: Lots of app building this week. So, yeah, lots of things going on. Yeah, lots of updates.

Katie: Anything that you can tell us about?

Noel: Not at the moment, no. I know, yeah, no, it's for an app one building with some other guys, so yeah, we haven't released it yet, so.

Katie: Okay.

Noel: Yeah, soon.

Katie: Okay. So this part of the podcast, we always give you any updates for AI or automations that have been released, or it's, you know, been in the news, it's been talked about. So, Noel, anything to report this week?

Noel: It's kind of quiet, I guess, because it's August. Yeah, they've kind of slowed down a little bit. But in the last 24 hours, Anthropic did announce that their pricing for Sonnet 5 is going to stay at their introductory price. So they launched it on an introductory price for the API. And, yeah, basically now, I guess they've looked at other things. that's been going on with Open AI and Google Gemini and stuff from the last two of a week or so, as well as the Chinese models, and then gone, actually, I think we better stick.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: And not increase it, because it was due to be increased at the end of the month. So, yeah, they've scrapped that idea. So that's going to stay as it is, which is, I believe it's $2 per 1 million tokens in and then 10 per million tokens out. So, yeah, instead of 3 and 15, I think it should. should be. So yeah, not a bad saving. So yeah.

Katie: Not bad saving. Yeah.

Noel: The other, only other bit of news, really, is C-Dance 2.5, a new video model has been released. It looks very cool.

Katie: Okay.

Noel: What can we do?

Katie: What can we do on that?

Noel: So there's a lot more camera control, you know, more like a storyboard sort of flow to how you build the video so you can have far more control and you also get up to 30 seconds so you know before we can only do like five or 10 second video clips with AI and having any sort of control over the composition and where the camera goes is is pretty tight in 10 seconds so yeah with this one you get 30 seconds but it is very costly though I just I'd look at the price list on their website and I was like look at about nearly $4 per video, which is, yeah, quite a lot. But if it's something that you use or want to use in your business, then, yeah, I would definitely give it a look. It looks really good, very realistic.

Katie: I guess it's quite good if someone wants to use it as an ad, because then, like, the video is almost paying for itself if people are buying through the ad.

Noel: Yes, definitely. Yeah, that would be a very good idea.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: It was separate you out as old because mostly the AI videos finish after five or six seconds, maybe eight.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: So yeah, at least you can you can pack a bit more in.

Katie: Yeah. Yeah, I think we can pack quite a lot in in 30 seconds. People think it's such a short amount of time. But actually, if you think like sometimes you're watching, you know, a 30 second video on Facebook or TikTok or Instagram, whatever, sometimes that can feel really long in like people. have already skipped past it, so actually 30 seconds in terms of video and then being able to use it for your business. Even if, like, you want it on your website, if you're paying $4 for a video to go up on your website, actually, I don't think that's a bad price.

Noel: Yeah, yeah, it's pretty good, yeah. Yeah. I mean, you're still paying almost two for like an eight to a ten second video anyway on other models. So, yeah.

Katie: That, I think, it's costly but I think actually $4 for a 30 second video I think actually depending on how you're using it I wouldn't just use it for a piece of like content like a one and done piece of content I

Noel: would use

Katie: it a bit more strategically like I'd have it on my website or yeah I

Noel: would use it

Katie: for an ad or an explainer video that people are going to watch time and time again

Noel: yeah definitely yeah okay interesting yeah so that's really what was

Katie: the name of that one sorry

Noel: So it was Seed Dance 2.5.

Katie: Seed Dance 2.5.

Noel: Yeah, it's by a company called Byte Plus. You should be able to get it on, I guess, like other platforms. There's things like Higgsfield and they do load. They've got loads of image and video generation models. So if you've already got an account with those guys, then that should already be on there.

Katie: Okay.

Noel: Loads of other places also do it. So, yeah, you don't have to go directly to them. Okay.

Katie: great

Noel: yeah so that's pretty much all the news for the week really it's been it's been quite quite i had to use claude to go off and have a look i was like surely i've missed something but clearly not

Katie: yes because usually we're completely inundated with updates and we have to like handpick actually which ones we want to talk about all podcasts yeah as we've known previously in august it it does go a bit quiet so everyone's yeah enjoying the sunshine in the northern hemisphere

Noel: yeah exactly why not yeah okay

Katie: so this week on the podcast we are talking about free versus paid accounts when it comes to chat chippy tea and claude so we were asked this question like when do you need to stop using a free account and when do you need to stop using a free account and when do you you upgrade to a paid account. So we thought we would, one, quickly go through the different options that you get for free and paid with Claude in chat. You can see, they seem to be the most that, you know, our listeners are using. And then we're kind of talking a bit more detail, actually, why you might want a paid account and actually why you might just want to stay with a free account, depending on how you're using it for your business, what you're using it for in your business, and all good things like that. So, Noel, do you want to start with Chat Chupit and just kind of like some differences between the free and the paid version?

Noel: Yes, absolutely, yeah. So I guess with Chaptainty, there are four levels to start off with. So obviously the free one is the first level, and then there's three paid tiers thereafter. But on the free account, there are quite a few bigger missions, I think. So you're stuck with one model. So at the minute, that's GPT 5.6 lunar, which is like the lowest end for GPD 5.6. So, yeah, you're not, you're kind of stuck at that point. there is a GPT5 thinking mini that you also get access to but again that's a previous generation so it won't be as as smart you can I believe you can use custom GPTs you can use projects and things like so there are some good pluses in it like the projects are always good so you can store all of your data in a project and then have conversations with with the chat model and then, you know, it remembers all of that context. So that could be, you know, all of like your sales copy or, you know, all the different courses or whatever that you've done, you could put them all in that single project. And, yeah, they've got some other bit. So I guess, like, they don't do research on a free account. So you are a bit limited on what you can do there. And also you get very limited image generation. So with Chachapiti, this is the only one out of the two that actually does any sort of media generation.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: So, yeah, a little restricted at that point. But, yeah, most of the things are in there, you know, you've got your Google, you'll be able to do searches on the internet. You could upload files, but it lists those as limited. So I guess they're going to be limited in size and number per chat, but they don't actually got a number on that.

Katie: It must be, I think, I assume it must be a bit like the image generator. Like you are allowed such a small amount per day. It's like, I want to say like two, maybe three images.

Noel: Yes.

Katie: A day before then you've got to wait for it to reset.

Noel: Yes. Yes. Yeah, it does take a lot.

Katie: Yeah, maybe that's the same with the documents.

Noel: Yes. Yeah, I'd have thought so, yeah. You do get access to plugins, so that is in there. So if you want to add in your applications, then yes, you can do that, which is quite generous, really, for a free plan. And you also get limited access to chatypte work, which got released last month. So that gives you a little bit more automation when it comes to using your plugins and things like that. And yeah, you can automate bits like that. And you can also even use Codex, very limited, apparently, according to their sales page. So, yeah, you'll be able to maybe code smaller apps, but you'll get through your usage, like super quick. And I wouldn't imagine be able to create like a full, you know, software platform to host online somewhere very quickly. You would have to do it over many weeks, probably, with the usage. So, yeah, really, I'd say, like, looking at it, I'd say up and now I've got a, Very generous Fritken. But yeah, there are still a few bits that are missing, I think, or quite restrictive. Yeah. Okay. And moving on to Claude. Now, Claude is actually a lot more restrictive on their freer cane. So there's a lot more emissions. So you can't use Claude code. You don't get co-work. You don't get Claude design. And I didn't even realize I had access to Claude Science, but I do. but you don't on a free account. So that's something new I learnt for myself today. I'm not a biologist, so yeah, it's not a chemist. So I'll skip over that one. But yeah, another big a mission is you don't get access to projects within the free account.

Katie: Oh.

Noel: Yeah, I thought you did, but you didn't know. There's a big X on their sales page, so you don't get access to that, which is interesting. You also don't get access to their extended research either. So when you tick the box to say, well, go off and look this up for me, but really go into detail. You won't get access to that either on the free account. You do get access to connectors. So you can connect in your apps. You can do web search. So that's all good. But there are specific plugins for Chrome, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Outlook, you won't get access to those. So I'm trying to think, there's probably a way you could work around that and get it as a connector and use it that way. But yeah, I think the other one, the ones that they list that you don't have access to, I think they're more dedicated and easier to integrate within Claude. But when it comes to models, you don't just get, you know, hand into the lower model. you also get Sonnet. So for this one, yeah, you get Haiku, which is the lowest model, and then you get Sonnet, which is the next level up. But, yeah, you don't get any access whatsoever to opus or fable, which are the top two. And also with Claude, so they have a thing called usage credits. So if you hit your limit, you can have the opportunity to pay some more. And get the, you know, so you can finish that. conversation that you were having or finish that task. But on the free account, you don't get access to that. That only comes from a paid account, which I thought is quite interesting. So you can't top up your free account, unfortunately. So yeah. So those are the main pros and cons for both platforms. Yeah.

Katie: So I think like when you're weighing up whether you're going to have a free or paid account, I think it really like comes down to a few things. So it makes sense to have a free account if you're only occasionally using your LLM. So maybe it's brainstorming here and there. It's, you know, maybe you've got a sensitive email to send and you just want some help reword in it but I would say nothing probably like daily what would you say how you

Noel: could probably do very light daily work because especially with claude they're really strict and they have really strict guidelines on your usage and they do make it very clear within there as to you know your usage limits and how close you are, but they roll over every, I think it's five or six hours. But yeah, if you hit that limit, you're locked out. Forget it. You won't get back in.

Katie: Yeah. So I think you need to be using it, like you say,

Noel: in a

Katie: very like occasional use,

Noel: unless you are

Katie: comfortable when you hit that limit and waiting for them to reset. And sometimes it's six hours, sometimes it's 12 hours, sometimes it's 24 hours, isn't it?

Noel: Yeah, yeah, you can get locked out for a day, yeah, if you're not careful.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: So I think if you're,

Katie: maybe you want to test out a, you know, a different LLM, maybe you are just using it very occasionally. It's, you know, it's not part of your everyday business or you are just comfortable waiting for those limits to reset. And I think paid becomes worth it when you're, like, using it part of your workflow, whether that is, I know, part of client work or if it's research, because the free tiers will just not give you that capability, will they?

Noel: No, no, they are slightly restricted, yeah, especially like Claude where you've got, you don't have that research option. Yeah. That's massive. You know, once you try that for the first time, if you've never done it before, like, you know, it'll take a while. It'll take about 20 minutes, 15, 20 minutes, I'd say. But, you know, it'll scour hundreds of different sources to get you the answer, which is brilliant, you know. Whereas normal like web search in AI, probably anywhere between, I'd say, 5 and 30 sources would probably be cited. So, yeah, which isn't bad, but they're always going to be. be the ones at the top of the Google search. They're not going to go into the weeds, so to say, or look at like different, like search options. So they'll run like different queries as they go through and do the extended research. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, really interesting. But I must say, I'm starting to move a little bit towards open AI when it comes to their three account because I think that's actually really generous. And I think there's a business. I think there's some bits in that you could try before you buy, which I think's pretty awesome, actually.

Katie: I can remember when I was using just the free Chachypte version, you know, had a free account. And I actually find it very generous and what they were giving

Noel: you.

Katie: The only thing is, of course, is free tiers often get deprioritized, don't they, during high traffic periods. So it means that maybe. your responses aren't consistent, you're waiting more time because, obviously, the paid tiers are having their, you know, chats reply to a lot faster and...

Noel: Yeah.

Katie: Yeah, I'm just trying to look at that now.

Noel: Yeah, I'm just trying to just triple check that now, because Chagibitia actually better than Claude when it comes to those high, high time. But yeah, they do list actually response signs could be limited on bandwidth and availability. But that also is for the next paid plan as well. So the Go plan, which is, what is it currently, seven pounds per month or I guess that's $8. That also has that limited bandwidth. Okay. Whereas, yeah, Claude's limited bandwidth. God, bludely, that is terrible. Yeah. Yeah, though. If the chats were just failed, they won't just sit in a queue and wait. or just flat fail, don't they're just like, no.

Katie: No, they will. I remember when I was first trying out Claude because Chachipit was annoying me so much and

Noel: I went into

Katie: with Claude for a free account and like, say, mid-afternoon UK time, I was not able to do anything because the whole world was basically online.

Noel: And it was just going, no,

Katie: no. And I was like, oh, my goodness. It's so frustrating if that happens to you.

Noel: So, yeah,

Katie: I think actually if you are leaning towards a free account, then actually ChachyPT is a much better free account than God.

Noel: There's actually no usage limit when it comes to chats either on Chachapit on the free account or any account. So like with Claude, you'll get, you know, hampered and, you know, told that's it. You can't touch it for a couple of hours. You don't get that problem with Chachypt. which is quite interesting.

Katie: Oh, you used to?

Noel: You used to? No, not anymore, no. No, it's listed at the very top of their pricing page, Unlimited. There is an asterisk.

Katie: Oh, because that was one of the reasons why I actually moved over to Claude because I was obviously being too much of a chatty-patty. And it was going, nah, maybe it just needed a rest and a break from me. I don't know.

Noel: Yeah. Although it says Unlimited with an asterisk, I've just crawled down. It says, usage must be. reasonable and comply with our policies. I don't know what they class as reasonable. No.

Katie: That would be interesting to know what is reasonable.

Noel: Yeah, unlimited with a caveat.

Katie: Okay, so not unlimited.

Noel: Semi unlimited.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: You know, very interested. Yeah.

Katie: So paid obviously also becomes worth it if you want to use like Claude Projects.

Noel: Yes. And, well, I guess if you're looking to automate anything within your business, so you like upgrade into the pro plan on Claude, which is, what's that, 15 pounds, or I believe that's about $18 maybe, that you do then get access to co-work. So co-work is where you can connect all your apps and, you know, you can set up schedules for it to go off and do stuff, you know, whenever you need it to do it. So, you know, you could have it going off and have and look in your inbox and let you know, you know, giving you a summary of what you need to do today before you've sat down, which is kind of handy. So, yeah, yeah, having that pro account does give you a lot of access to those sort of things. You will also get Claude Science if you're interested in that as well.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: Not me personally, but. Okay. Yeah, and code as well. So, yeah, if you can code little apps, like within artifacts within Claude on a free account. so you do get access to artefacts. But, yeah, if you need anything a little bit more, then, yeah, you would need that pro account to get clotted code, which would do a far better job. Yeah.

Katie: I think as well, a paid account becomes worth it as well. Like if you've actually got other people that you want to use your account with, so if it's a shared workspace, yeah, anything that's centralized and people are basically working for you. You've got employees and you want them to be used in the same account. You want them to have access to projects or, you know, things like that. I think that is like a no-brainer for a paid account.

Noel: Definitely, yeah, because both of these also have business plans.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: Or teams. Chachaputea, they're called business. Claude, they're called teams. But, again, I think, I think Chatt GPD have got Claude B on that one as well, I think. I'm just reading through it now. So it's like $15, $15 per user per month on ChattipT. And I believe you've got to have a minimum of two users. Fair enough. Of course you do. But actually, that's pretty good because obviously most CRMs, you know, or other platforms that have team accounts, you know, they'd be like, I need you to have five. And it's like, I don't have five people. So that's kind of handy. And obviously, yeah, you can then share all of your stuff and things like within that team account, you're centralised billing, so you're not having to pay, you know, different times each month for each of your users' accounts.

Katie: That's great, isn't it?

Noel: Yeah, exactly, yeah, it's really awesome. But, yeah, there's lots of things in it. So you do get access to, like, GPD work, Codex, chat, GPT, obviously. You can connect all of, like, the big. enterprise platforms so yeah I'd say the business plan is pretty good just as a comparison for the team plan on Claude so they have again two but you're limited at the top end to 150 team members per team plan which I thought's quite interesting but within this one there's also standard and premium seats so so like a standard seat would be like having access to Claude Pro And then a premium seat is equivalent to accessing max, but at the lower end of the max, because there's two levels. So, yeah, they're 18 pounds and 90 pounds per month per seat. So, yeah, but again, you're getting all the good stuff. You're getting your co-work, you design, you're getting all the enterprise apps and organizational control.

Katie: Yeah. Yeah,

Noel: you'll be able to share things within your teams as well. So, yeah, pretty awesome. I mean, they both also offer Enterprise, but God knows how much that would be.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: It's a contact sales.

Katie: Yeah, I was going to say, that's quite an application, isn't it?

Noel: It very much is, yeah. But one thing I always find about these platforms, or I don't know if they've changed it recently, but I always used to find that the Enterprise, they always kind of got left behind a bit. So they'd always be like, oh, we've released this new model, and it's only going to be available to, like, pro, were max users and it will come to enterprise in like a month.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: These guys are paying a lot of money. Yeah,

Katie: that always surprises me when they do that.

Noel: Yeah, yeah. They seem to be left behind, bless them.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: Well, price you pay.

Katie: Okay, so I think then if you're using an LLM to save you like meaningful hours a week, I think the subscription pays for itself. But I think if you're using it in a very light way, I think free is a great option, especially for Chatchibouti.

Noel: Yes, yes. Yeah, if you're like just getting started in this and you're maybe, you know, you're a bit skeptical, maybe you want to try things out, then yeah, do the Chachabit Free account.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: You will get access to like Chachabit. work. So you could have a go with that, see what it's like, and then maybe go, actually, yeah, this is actually worth painful. I'm going to, I'm going to use this on a daily basis. So, yeah, I think that's pretty awesome. Yeah, with, yeah, with Claude, it's kind of like, you might like the idea of co-work, but you've got no way of trying before you buy. Yeah. Yeah, it's a bit of a risk.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: I can attest it is pretty good. So, yeah, if that holds any weight.

Katie: Okay. Well, if anyone's got any questions after listening to this podcast episode, still about free versus paid, then of course, do get in touch. Hello at makeautomations.com. A.I will come and join our free LinkedIn group, AI, AI Automations to business. You don't have to be a client. You don't have to buy anything. They are completely free to join. join. Come and tell us what you're using AI for, maybe what automations you've built out. We always love hearing from you guys. If you've got a question that you would like us to answer on the podcast, again, just either leave it in the LinkedIn group or you can email us. But thank you so much for listening to this week's episode. We hope you've really enjoyed it. And we will catch you next time on another episode very soon.