Check status.openai.com right now. That's the official status page, and it'll tell you if there's a known problem. If everything shows green there but ChatGPT still isn't working for you, the issue might be on your end.
You can also check Downdetector to see if other users are reporting problems. When the spike is big, you know it's not just you.
What "At Capacity" Means
If you see a message saying ChatGPT is "at capacity," that's not a full outage. It means too many people are using it at the same time and the servers are overloaded. This usually clears up in a few minutes.
ChatGPT Plus subscribers typically get priority access during these high-traffic moments. If you hit capacity errors often, that might be worth considering.
How Long Do Outages Last?
Most ChatGPT outages last somewhere between 30 minutes and a few hours. Occasionally there's a bigger incident, but OpenAI has gotten better at resolving things quickly.
You can follow @openai on X/Twitter for real-time updates during outages. They usually acknowledge problems pretty fast.
I've noticed outages tend to happen more during US business hours when traffic peaks. Late night and early morning are usually the smoothest times, if you're flexible.
Is It Down for Everyone or Just You?
Before blaming OpenAI's servers, run through this quick checklist:
- Check your internet connection - can you load other websites?
- Try a different browser or incognito/private window
- Clear your cookies for chatgpt.com
- Disconnect your VPN - some VPNs cause issues with ChatGPT
- Check status.openai.com
Free Alternatives While ChatGPT Is Down
You don't have to just sit and wait. These AI chatbots all have free tiers:
Google Gemini - gemini.google.com. Google's AI assistant. Strong for research and general questions. Honestly, it's gotten quite good lately.
Claude - claude.ai. Made by Anthropic. Great for longer conversations and detailed writing tasks.
Microsoft Copilot - copilot.microsoft.com. Built on top of OpenAI's technology but runs on Microsoft's infrastructure, so it often works even when ChatGPT is down.
Perplexity - perplexity.ai. Focused on search and research. Gives you sources for its answers.
Each one handles things a little differently, so you might want to bookmark a couple of these for the next time ChatGPT goes offline.
Common ChatGPT Errors
Not every problem means ChatGPT is down. Sometimes you'll run into specific error messages that have their own fixes. Check our error guide if you're seeing something like "Something went wrong" or network errors.
Wondering how ChatGPT compares to the alternatives? Our ChatGPT vs Gemini comparison breaks it all down.