ーHow I Finally Found the Best Way to Use Both
Reading time: about 8 minutes
Who This Article Is For
- People who are curious about AI tools but hesitate to pay a monthly fee
- Those who want to actually feel the difference between ChatGPT and Gemini
- Anyone in their 50s thinking, “Is it too late to start something new?”
- People who don’t like increasing fixed expenses—but can’t ignore convenience
- Those who want to choose tools based on real-life experience, not specs alone
Conclusion
If you’re stuck deciding—try both, just a little.
That’s how you discover what actually works for you.
Honestly, I struggled a lot with this decision.
No, really. A lot.
ChatGPT or Gemini?
I felt like a guy in his 50s wandering around an electronics store,
circling the TV section three times, muttering,
“Hmmm…”
Checking specs.
Checking prices.
Walking back to the first display.
Making eye contact with a sales clerk,
then pretending to check my phone because… awkward.
Deep down I was probably thinking,
“I’m not even sure I’m buying anything—why am I here?”
Why did I hesitate so much?
Because both looked good.
Both cost money.
And more than anything—I didn’t want to fail.
That, I think, is a very 50s kind of problem.
A Quick Look at the Specs
Let’s start with the basics.
Gemini Advanced costs about ¥2,900 per month
and includes 2TB of Google Drive storage.
For someone like me—
living inside Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Keep, and Google Tasks—
this felt less like a tool and more like life infrastructure.
And honestly, this part matters.
If you need 2TB of storage anyway,
you’re going to pay for it somewhere regardless.
(I was already close to hitting 200GB.
Once you pass that, the next step is basically 2TB.)
When you think of Gemini as
AI + 2TB storage,
the value suddenly looks very different.
ChatGPT Plus, on the other hand,
costs $20 a month (around ¥3,500 with tax).
No storage included.
But as a standalone AI,
it feels very focused on
conversation, consultation, and thinking together.
Just looking at numbers,
Gemini seems like the better deal.
…but still, I kept thinking:
“Yeah, but ChatGPT…”
ChatGPT Felt Easy to Talk To
After actually using it, I noticed something.
ChatGPT doesn’t feel cold.
Even when I ask something like,
“I don’t know why, but this text doesn’t feel right,”
it doesn’t just throw an answer at me.
Instead, it says things like:
“Which part feels off?”
“Were you trying to express something like this?”
It listens first.
It doesn’t push.
It meets you halfway.
That surprised me more than I expected.
There were moments when I genuinely thought,
“Huh… it’s really listening.”
So What Do I Actually Use AI For?
At one point, I stopped and asked myself:
“What do I even want AI for?”
Lately, I’ve been studying using digital textbooks—
things like bookkeeping that actually make your brain work.
Starting something new in your 50s means
your memory isn’t what it used to be.
So I want methods that are efficient
and don’t wear me down.
Here’s what I’ve been doing:
- Taking screenshots of textbook pages
- Feeding them to AI for explanations
And that’s when I realized something important:
AI tools have strengths and weaknesses too.
Gemini Is a Stamina Monster
Let’s talk about Gemini first.
This thing has insane stamina.
Ten screenshots.
Twenty screenshots.
Even more.
It just keeps going like,
“Yep, no problem.”
With ChatGPT, once the number of images increases,
it sometimes feels like,
“Wait… I forgot what was in the earlier ones.”
Gemini doesn’t do that.
Its Japanese text recognition is strong,
it handles tables, small text,
even slightly messy handwritten notes pretty well.
If I had to describe it:
An office worker with endless stamina.
“Don’t worry, I’ll process everything.”
ChatGPT Is a Great Teacher
ChatGPT is different.
It’s not great with massive image dumps,
but once you give it text,
its explanations are excellent.
If you say,
“I don’t get this part,”
or
“Can you explain this again in simpler terms?”
It really thinks before answering.
It reads between the lines and says things like,
“Maybe this part means something like this?”
It’s not a powerhouse—but it’s insightful.
More than once, I thought,
“Yeah… this one gets me.”
Naruto and Sasuke Made It Click (Bear With Me)
Quick anime analogy—
yes, I’m in my 50s, forgive me.
- Gemini = Naruto
Massive chakra. Endless clones. Pure stamina. - ChatGPT = Sasuke
Sharp analysis. Precision. Strategic thinking.
Each is strong alone,
but together? Much stronger.
(For those who don’t know Naruto:
think a tireless office worker + a brilliant private tutor.)
My Winning Pattern — This Is How I Actually Use Them
1️⃣ Dump all screenshots into Gemini
→ “No explanations needed. Just convert everything to text.”2️⃣ Take that text to ChatGPT
→ “Teach me this. Especially this part—I don’t get it.”
Heavy lifting goes to Gemini.
Thinking and learning go to ChatGPT.
Just like real life:
documents to the clerk,
teaching to the teacher.
Once I divided roles like this,
everything got much easier.
So… Which One Should You Pay For?
After all this, my answer is simple:
It depends on how you use it.
- Gemini → infrastructure + heavy processing
- ChatGPT → consultation, writing, thinking
For me, I stopped denying the part of me
that wanted to use both.
In terms of monthly cost, it’s about:
one night out,
two books,
a few café visits.
When I thought of it that way,
it felt reasonable.
At first I worried,
“Am I just wasting money?”
But in reality,
I saved time, reduced effort,
and studying became easier to continue.
Even the Time Spent Hesitating Isn’t Wasted
In your 50s,
you really don’t want to fail.
Time feels limited.
Starting new things or spending money
isn’t as easy as it was when you were younger.
But some things—you only understand by trying.
Instead of searching for the perfect answer,
it’s okay to try a little
and quit if it doesn’t fit.
That’s how I feel now.
Final Thoughts
If this article helps someone think,
“Maybe I’ll try it—just a bit,”
then I’m happy.
You don’t have to decide right away.
You can try both.
You can stop anytime.
Find tools that fit your pace,
your life.
That’s more than enough.
See you next time.
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