OpenAI launches $500 ChatGPT Ultra plan for power users
Five hundred dollars a month. That's the new price tag for OpenAI's top ChatGPT plan. The company is aiming straight at professionals and teams who keep hitting old usage caps and need more speed.
OpenAI's Pro 500 plan offers a 25-fold higher usage allowance compared to ChatGPT Plus, making it the highest usage tier ever introduced by the company.
At $500 a month, the yearly cost hits $6,000. That's just for OpenAI. Many heavy users also pay for Anthropic or Cursor on top. For anyone who keeps running into usage walls or needs AI that never slows down, Ultra is now the only real choice in OpenAI's lineup.
OpenAI has also brought back its $200 Pro plan. But there's a catch. Usage limits have been cut. The plan now gives ten times the Plus allowance, down from twenty. Weekly chat limits for GPT-6 Pro dropped from 200 to 100. Many power users will have to rethink their plan or deal with new limits. That's a big shift.
At DevDay 2026 in San Francisco, OpenAI also introduced a new agent product and a more affordable GPT-6.1 Sol model, expanding its AI ecosystem alongside the Pro 500 launch.
These changes land right before OpenAI's DevDay 2026 in San Francisco on September 29. The company plans to show off more AI upgrades. The timing is clear. OpenAI is sending a message: unlimited, cheap AI is over for those who want the fastest and most advanced models.
This new pricing marks a sharp turn in how large-scale AI is sold. OpenAI is drawing a line. Casual users get one set of rules. Businesses that need nonstop AI get another. For professionals who can't afford slowdowns, $500 is now the entry fee. The Ultra plan isn't just another tier. It's a signal. The best AI will cost more, and the days of generous usage for a small fee are ending.
The OpenAI DevDay 2026 recap confirms it: GPT-6 Astra Ultrafast is only for Pro 500 and Enterprise. Codex users can see up to eight times faster speeds compared to the standard plan. That's a big leap.
