OpenAI is making strikes to try to courtroom extra builders and vibe coders (those that construct software program utilizing AI fashions and pure language) away from rivals like Anthropic.
At present, the agency arguably most synonymous with the generative AI growth announced it should start providing a brand new, extra mid-range subscription tier — a $100 ChatGPT Professional plan — which joins its free, Go ($8 month-to-month), Plus ($20 month-to-month) and present Professional ($200 month-to-month) plans for people utilizing ChatGPT and associated OpenAI merchandise.
OpenAI additionally presently affords Edu, Enterprise ($25 per consumer month-to-month, previously often known as Staff) and Enterprise (variably priced) plans for organizations in mentioned sectors.
Why supply a $100 month-to-month ChatGPT Professional plan?
So why introduce a brand new $100 ChatGPT Professional plan, then?
The large promoting level from OpenAI is that the new plan affords 5 instances higher utilization limits on Codex, the firm’s agentic vibe coding software/harness (the title is shared by each, in addition to a lineup of coding-specific language fashions), than the present, $20 month-to-month Plus plan, which appears honest given the math ($20×5=$100).
As OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman wrote in a post on X: “It is very good to see Codex getting a lot love. We are launching a $100 ChatGPT Professional tier by very fashionable demand.”
Nevertheless, alongside this, OpenAI’s official company account on X famous that “we’re rebalancing Codex utilization in [ChatGPT] Plus to assist extra classes all through the week, relatively than longer classes in a single day.”
That sounds quite a bit like OpenAI is additionally concurrently lowering how a lot ChatGPT Plus customers can use its Codex harness and software per day.
What are the new utilization limits for the new $100 ChatGPT Professional plan vs. the $20 Plus?
So, what are the present limits on the $20 Plus plan? The brand new Professional plan offers you 5X higher than…what?
Seems, this is trickier than you’d assume to calculate, as a result of it really varies relying on which underlying AI mannequin you are utilizing to energy the Codex software or harness, and whether or not you are working on code saved in the cloud or domestically on your machine or servers.
OpenAI’s Developer website underwent a number of updates right now, so we have solely mirrored the newest pricing construction and choices beneath as of Thursday, April at 10:45 pm ET. It notes that for particular person customers, Codex utilization is categorized by “Native Messages” (duties run on the consumer’s machine) and “Cloud Duties” (duties run on OpenAI’s infrastructure), and people limits share a five-hour rolling window.
It additionally says further weekly limits might apply. The present Codex pricing web page now exhibits decrease displayed utilization ranges than the older model, and it measures Code Critiques in a five-hour window relatively than per week. For Professional 5x particularly, OpenAI says the presently proven limits embody a short lived 2x utilization increase that ends Could 31, 2026.
ChatGPT Plus ($20/month)
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GPT-5.4: 20–100 native messages each 5 hours.
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GPT-5.4-mini: 60–350 native messages each 5 hours.
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GPT-5.3-Codex: 30–150 native messages and 10–60 cloud duties each 5 hours.
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Code Critiques: 20–50 each 5 hours.
ChatGPT Professional 5x ($100/month)
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GPT-5.4: 200–1,000 native messages each 5 hours.
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GPT-5.4-mini: 600–3,500 native messages each 5 hours.
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GPT-5.3-Codex: 300–1,500 native messages and 100–600 cloud duties each 5 hours.
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Code Critiques: 200–500 each 5 hours.
Word: The bounds proven for Professional 5x embody a short lived 2x utilization increase that ends Could 31, 2026.
ChatGPT Professional 20x ($200/month)
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GPT-5.4: 400–2,000 native messages each 5 hours.
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GPT-5.4-mini: 1,200–7,000 native messages each 5 hours.
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GPT-5.3-Codex: 600–3,000 native messages and 200–1,200 cloud duties each 5 hours.
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Code Critiques: 400–1,000 each 5 hours.
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Unique entry: Contains GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark in analysis preview for ChatGPT Professional customers solely. OpenAI says it has its personal separate utilization restrict, which can regulate primarily based on demand.
And as OpenAI’s Help documentation states:
“The variety of Codex messages you’ll be able to ship inside these limits varies primarily based on the measurement and complexity of your coding duties, and the place you execute duties. Small scripts or easy features might solely eat a fraction of your allowance, whereas bigger codebases, lengthy working duties, or prolonged classes that require Codex to maintain extra context will use considerably extra per message.”
The bigger strategic implications and context
OpenAI’s sudden transfer towards the $100 value level and expanded agentic capability comes amid the unprecedented monetary ascent of its chief rival, Anthropic.
Simply days in the past, Anthropic revealed its annualized run-rate revenue (ARR) has topped $30 billion, surpassing OpenAI’s last reported ARR of approximately $24–$25 billion.
This development has been fueled by the huge adoption of Claude Code and Claude Cowork, merchandise which have set the benchmark for enterprise-grade autonomous coding.
The aggressive friction intensified on April 4, 2026, when Anthropic officially blocked Claude subscriptions from getting used to present the intelligence for third-party agentic AI harnesses like OpenClaw.
To be clear, Anthropic Claude fashions themselves can nonetheless be used with OpenClaw, customers simply should now pay for entry to Claude fashions by Anthropic’s software programming interface (API) or further utilization credit, relatively than as a part of the month-to-month Claude subscription tiers (which some have likened to an “all-you-can eat” buffet, making the economics difficult for Anthropic when energy customers and third-party harnesses like OpenClaw eat greater than the $20 or $200 month-to-month consumer spend on the plans in tokens).
OpenClaw’s creator, Peter Steinberger, was notably hired by OpenAI in February 2026 to lead their private agent technique, and has, since becoming a member of, actively spoken out against Anthropic’s limitations — advising that OpenAI’s Codex and fashions typically do not have the similar restrictions as Anthropic is now imposing.
By hiring Steinberger and subsequently launching a Professional tier that gives the high-volume capability Anthropic just lately restricted, OpenAI is successfully courting the displaced OpenClaw group to reclaim the skilled developer market.
Disclaimer: This article is sourced from external platforms. OverBeta has not independently verified the information. Readers are advised to verify details before relying on them.
