OpenAI reopens $200 ChatGPT Pro subscriptions Sept. 30 with reduced usage allowance

OpenAI is reopening new subscriptions to its $200 ChatGPT Pro plan on September 30 after pausing sign-ups earlier this month, but the plan is returning with different usage terms. Android Authority reports that OpenAI had halted new subscriptions to the tier on September 10 after heavy demand for GPT-6 Astra, leaving the $100 Pro option as the highest plan new customers could buy.

What changes with the returning $200 plan

According to Android Authority, OpenAI’s Thibault "Tibo" Sottiaux said the $200 plan will reopen at the same price, but with a new usage calculation. The report says the revised allowance works out to roughly half the previous level of API-dollar spend.

Android Authority also reports that OpenAI will not restore the five-hour usage window on the $200 tier. That earlier setup had allowed subscribers to use a larger share of their weekly allowance when they needed it.

OpenAI’s argument, as described by Android Authority, is that the change is not a simple one-for-one downgrade because the company has also lowered API pricing for GPT-6 Sol and Luna, potentially letting subscribers get more use out of each dollar.

A pricier tier has reportedly surfaced

Separate from the returning $200 plan, Android Authority says TestingCatalog spotted an unannounced ChatGPT Pro Max tier in the subscription interface at $500 per month before taxes. The report says one version of the interface showed $600 including VAT.

Android Authority says the surfaced plan references perks including "Fastest Work and Codex," maximum memory, 100GB of file storage, access to OpenAI’s most capable models, and early access to new features. But the tier remains unconfirmed, with no announced launch date or published usage limits.

That leaves the immediate news centered on the return of the $200 plan itself: it is coming back at the end of September, but not on the same terms it had before the pause.