How to Create a ChatGPT Account: Guide + Troubleshooting

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A step-by-step guide to creating a ChatGPT account

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Tyrone Showers

Last Updated: September 26, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Creating a Free Account
|
• Upgrading to ChatGPT Plus or ChatGPT Pro
|
• Fixing Sign-up Problems
|
• Video
|
• Q&A
|
• Tips
|
• Warnings

|Show more |Show less

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot created by OpenAI. ChatGPT's capabilities range from answering simple questions to writing entire essays and programs. To use ChatGPT, you will need to create an account. This article will teach you how to create a free ChatGPT account on any device, upgrade to ChatGPT Plus or Pro for premium features, and fix sign-up problems relating to phone and email verification. We'll also provide helpful ChatGPT usage tips from technologist Tyrone Showers.

Quick Steps

1. Open ChatGPT in your web browser.
2. Click Sign up for free.
3. Enter your email address, or choose an external account to sign in with.
4. Choose a password.
5. Verify your email.
6. Enter your full name and date of birth to complete the sign-up process.
7. Sign up for ChatGPT Plus or Pro, if desired.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Creating a Free Account

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1. 
   1
   Navigate to ChatGPT's login page in a web browser. You can access this page at chatgpt.com/auth/login. You can use a desktop or mobile browser. If you aren't logged into an existing account, you'll see Log in or Sign up for free.

   • You must have an email address to sign up for an account.
   • If you prefer, you can test out ChatGPT by clicking Try it first.
2. 2
   Click Sign up for free. This is the right button.
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3. 3
   Enter your email address and click Continue. You can also sign up using your Google, Microsoft, or Apple account, as well as your phone number. To do so, click the corresponding button.

   • If you register with a Google, Microsoft, or Apple account, skip to Step 6 once you're signed in.
4. 4
   Create a password and click Continue. Your password must be at least 12 characters long. Be sure to create a secure password.
5. 
   5
   Verify your email. OpenAI will send an email to your inbox that contains a verification number. Open the message from OpenAI, then copy the number into the field to verify your email address. If you don't see it, check your spam or junk folder.

   • If you didn't receive the email, click Resend email.
6. 
   6
   Enter your full name and date of birth, and click Continue. You can use a nickname if desired.
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Section 2 of 3:

Upgrading to ChatGPT Plus or ChatGPT Pro

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1. 
   1
   Log in to your ChatGPT account. You can sign in to ChatGPT by pointing your web browser to chatgpt.com/auth/login. If you don't have a ChatGPT account, you can create a free one using the method above.

   • ChatGPT Plus is a paid subscription that gives you higher GPT-5 limits, access to GPT-4o, faster response speeds, voice conversations, image generation, file uploads, file analysis, deep research tools, and custom GPT creation and use. It costs $20 per month.
   • ChatGPT Pro is a higher-end paid subscription that gives you unlimited access to everything in ChatGPT Pro, as well as unlimited access to GPT-5, unlimited access to certain legacy models, unlimited access to advanced voice, prioritized traffic, no peak hour limits, early access to new features, extended access to deep research, extended access to Sora video generation, and more. It costs $200 per month.
   EXPERT TIP

   

   Tyrone Showers

   Technologist

   Tyrone Showers is a Technologist and the Co-owner of Taliferro Group, an IT consulting company based in Seattle, Washington. With over 35 years of professional experience, he specializes in API Design, e-Commerce, Operational Efficiency, and website development. He has a B.S. in Computer Science from DeVry Institute of Technology.

   

   Tyrone Showers
   Technologist

   OpenAI offers a premium subscription called ChatGPT Plus. This subscription provides access to all the latest features of the OpenAI chatbot, priority access at peak times, and potentially faster response times. Consider subscribing if these benefits align with your demands.
2. 
   2
   Click Upgrade plan on the menu. When logged in to ChatGPT, you'll see this option at the bottom-left corner of the window.
3. 
   3
   Click Get Plus or Get Pro on the pop-up menu. Note that you will be billed monthly for whichever package you choose.
4. 
   4
   Fill in all payment information and click Subscribe. Once you're signed up, you can start using the premium features of ChatGPT.
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Section 3 of 3:

Fixing Sign-up Problems

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1. 
   1
   If your email is unsupported, it might be network or browser-related. If you see "The email you provided is not supported," there might be an easy fix. Many people have seen this error when trying to sign up with a Google or Microsoft account, though it may also affect other email addresses.

   • Disconnect from your VPN when creating your ChatGPT account.
   • If you're using a phone or tablet on Wi-Fi, switch to your mobile data. If you are using mobile data, switch to Wi-Fi.
   • Clear your cache and cookies.
   • Try signing up again in a new Incognito or Private window.
   • Use a different web browser or device.
   • If none of these tricks work, create a new email address specifically to sign up for ChatGPT.
2. 2
   If you get a phone number error, you may need to contact OpenAI for help. Before you do so, however, you can try these workarounds:

   • Refresh the page. Some users have found that refreshing fixed their phone number issue.
   • Try a different browser. If you normally use Google Chrome, for example, try Microsoft Edge.
   • Use a different phone number. If you have access to another phone number, try it and see if it works for ChatGPT phone verification.
   • Disable your VPN. If you use a VPN, it might be the cause of your phone number error.
   • Disable adblock plugins. Some users have found that adblock plugins like uBlock Origin were the cause of the phone number error.
3. 
   3
   If ChatGPT thinks you already have an account, try logging in. Sometimes you'll see "There is already a user with email" or "Wrong authentication method" when signing up. This can happen if you've already tried to create an account but didn't finish the sign-up process, or you signed up using a different authentication method (e.g., your Google account instead of entering your Gmail address).

   • In a new incognito window, try signing in using Continue with Google (gmail.com addresses), Continue with Microsoft (outlook.com, hotmail.com, or live.com addresses), or Continue with Apple (icloud.com, me.com, or mac.com addresses).
   • If that doesn't work, try signing in using your email address. On the "Enter your password" screen, click Forgot password? and follow the on-screen instructions to reset your password.
   EXPERT TIP

   

   Tyrone Showers

   Technologist

   Tyrone Showers is a Technologist and the Co-owner of Taliferro Group, an IT consulting company based in Seattle, Washington. With over 35 years of professional experience, he specializes in API Design, e-Commerce, Operational Efficiency, and website development. He has a B.S. in Computer Science from DeVry Institute of Technology.

   

   Tyrone Showers
   Technologist

   Use ChatGPT to enhance your creative workflow. ChatGPT is a valuable tool for writers and content creators to generate creative texts and many types of content. You can unlock its full potential by mastering how to refine prompts, provide clear instructions, and understand ChatGPT's recurring patterns.
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  I get the message: "We've detected suspicious behavior from phone numbers similar to yours". What do I do?

  

  WikiBoat

  Community Answer

  This message means that your phone number cannot be used for creating an account. Try a different phone number, or contact try to contact the OpenAI team for help.

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Tips

• Showers recommends being very specific when issuing prompts to ChatGPT. For example, "If I'm asking ChatGPT to write SEO-specific title tags," he says, "I'll tell it to write ones that elicit some kind of emotion using no more than 60 characters, accompanied by an SEO-friendly description that complements the article I just wrote. In addition to that, I give context on how to write it. Be specific, no hyperbole."
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• If ChatGPT writes things that don't feel like your writing style, Showers suggests uploading some of your words to the chatbot as an example of your writing style and asking it to rewrite the passage in that style.
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• ChatGPT can make mistakes, so it's always good to ask it what sources it got its information from.
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Warnings

• Claiming text generated from ChatGPT as your own work is considered plagiarism. Use ChatGPT with integrity.
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