Openai’s newest plan is $500 a month, and the old ones quietly got less. pro 500 launched sept 30…
openai’s newest plan is $500 a month, and the old ones quietly got less. pro 500 launched sept 30 with astra ultrafast, while pro 200 came back for new subscribers with a lower usage allowance — and devs on the codex forums report fresh 5-hour windows burning down in minutes.
the capacity crunch is being priced into subscriptions instead of fixed.
Context
Verified source: OpenAI's help center says ChatGPT Pro now offers Pro 500, a $500 a month plan with GPT-6 Astra Ultrafast and GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast, that Pro 200 is available for new subscriptions again, and that new subscriptions not eligible for grandfathering include a lower usage allowance. TechRepublic (Oct 1) dates the Pro 500 launch to Sept. 29.
Codextime reports a Pro 200 notice saying Work and Codex usage falls from 20x to 10x the Plus allowance on Oct 30, 2026.
The $500 plan, Astra Ultrafast, Pro 200 returning for new subscribers with a lower allowance all match OpenAI's help center. TechRepublic gives Sept. 29 for the launch, a day before the post's Sept 30. Forum reports of fresh 5-hour windows burning down in minutes were not seen in the sources read, so unsupported here, not refuted. OpenAI's usage article confirms usage limits can apply over a five-hour window and a weekly window. 'The capacity crunch is being priced into subscriptions' is the author's opinion.
Related work
- ChatGPT Pro 200 vs Pro 500, Codextime ↗Sep 30, 2026.
- TechRepublic ↗Oct 1, 2026.
- OpenAI usage article ↗Oct 11, 2026.
Watch next
- Read OpenAI's usage article for how the five-hour and weekly windows apply by plan.
Sources
- About ChatGPT Pro tiers, OpenAI Help Centerhelp.openai.com
- ChatGPT Pro 500 vs. Pro 200, TechRepublictechrepublic.com
- Managing usage with GPT-6 Astra in Work and Codex, OpenAI Help Centerhelp.openai.com
Provenance
The note above is reproduced unedited from the original post, first published on Threads on 1 October 2026 at 05:25 IST. Sources are the papers and datasets the note draws on.
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