Artificial intelligence leader OpenAI announced on Thursday the launch of a new subscription tier under its premium service called “ChatGPT Pro” costing $100 per month. This strategic move splits its premium offerings into two price tiers in a clear effort to attract a wide range of developers and professionals whose needs exceed the capabilities of the $20 Plus tier, while remaining hesitant to pay $200 for access to the top tier.
This new rollout coincides with the massive boom achieved by the company’s coding tool, known as Codex, which has surpassed the threshold of 3 million weekly active users. This figure represents a massive increase equivalent to five times what the situation was just three months ago, as usage witnesses accelerated growth estimated at about 70 percent on a monthly basis, confirming the increasing reliance on artificial intelligence tools in writing and analyzing source code.
What does the new subscription plan include?
The new $100-per-month Pro plan offers exceptional features specifically designed to meet the demands of intensive work environments. Among the most prominent of these features are usage limits up to five times what the ChatGPT Plus plan offers, in addition to access to exclusive Pro models and unlimited use of the company’s prompt model variants and reasoning models.
As a promotional incentive aimed at accelerating the adoption of this new plan, the company announced that subscribers will receive 10 times the Codex tool usage limits available at the Plus tier, instead of the standard fivefold multiplier, in an offer running through May 31.
In contrast, the current $200 Pro tier remains available for users who need heavy-duty capabilities, providing 20 times the limits of the Plus plan, along with the ability to run complex and demanding workflows across parallel projects. In this context, the company stated to clarify the differences between the two plans:
«Both Pro plans include the same core capabilities that professionals rely on, and the primary and only difference is the allowed usage volume for each tier».
Direct competitive confrontation with Anthropic
The new pricing strategy puts OpenAI in direct confrontation and competition with the “Claude Max 5X” plan offered by rival company Anthropic, which also costs $100 per month and provides five times the usage volume available in its $20 base subscription. Anthropic’s “Claude Code” tool has emerged as a strong and stubborn competitor to Codex, with recent financial reports indicating that Claude Code’s annualized run rate has crossed the $2.5 billion barrier as of February.
The arena of AI-powered coding tools is witnessing an intense and genuine arms race, as both companies prepare for the possibility of going public via initial public offerings soon. OpenAI currently generates massive monthly revenues reaching $2 billion, according to the company’s data and disclosures, and successfully raised $110 billion in funding last February at a massive valuation of $730 billion prior to investment. Meanwhile, Anthropic is experiencing a sharp surge in its revenue, which is expected to reach $14 billion in annualized revenue by February 2026.
Capitalizing on the developer boom and generating profits
This mid-tier subscription plan had been anticipated for several months, especially after code signals appeared hinting at an option under the name “Pro Light” last February. Developer communities and technical forums had clearly expressed their dissatisfaction with the large gap between the $20 plan and the $200 plan, with many developers demanding a middle option that meets their growing needs without straining their budgets.
Following this announcement, the subscription lineup of the world’s most popular AI service now comprises five graduated consumer tiers to suit all needs:
- Free tier: Meets basic user needs with restricted limits suitable for quick testing.
- Go tier: Priced at $8, providing better speed and responsiveness for beginner users.
- Plus tier: Priced at $20, considered the common and most widespread choice for advanced users.
- Middle Pro tier: Priced at $100, directed at developers and professionals who rely heavily on coding tools.
- Upper Pro tier: Priced at $200, designed for extremely complex corporate and parallel projects.
This calculated expansion reflects the company’s broader strategy of intelligently segmenting its user base to extract more revenue from large enterprises and heavy-duty developers, while remaining careful to keep regular and beginner users within lower-cost plans, thereby ensuring its continued dominance over the global AI market at all levels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the new subscription launched by OpenAI?
The company launched a new subscription plan under the name “ChatGPT Pro” costing $100 per month, targeting developers and professionals to meet their growing needs at the lowest possible cost compared to the highest tier.
What features does the $100 Pro plan provide?
The new plan provides usage limits equivalent to five times what the Plus plan offers, in addition to exclusive access to advanced Pro models and unlimited use of the company’s prompt model variants and reasoning models.
How does the new plan differ from the $200 Pro plan?
Both plans include the same core smart model capabilities, except the $200 plan provides 20 times the usage limits and allows running complex workflows across parallel projects with much higher efficiency.
What promotional incentive do subscribers to the new plan receive?
The company announced that subscribers to the $100 plan will receive 10 times the Codex tool usage limits available at the Plus tier instead of five times, in a promotional offer ongoing until May 31.
