OpenAI’s new $100 ChatGPT Pro plan targets Claude Max with five times the Codex access
April 12, 2026 – 6:11 pm
In short:
OpenAI launched a new $100 per month Pro plan for ChatGPT on April 9, 2026. This new tier sits between the existing $20 Plus plan and the $200 Pro plan, directly competing with Anthropic’s Claude Max, also priced at $100 per month.
The $100 Pro plan offers:
- Five times more Codex usage than the Plus plan.
- Access to the same model suite as the $200 tier (GPT-5.4 Pro, GPT-5.4 Instant, GPT-5.4 Thinking).
- A launch promotion providing ten times the Codex usage of Plus through May 31, 2026.
This move follows Codex reaching three million weekly users on April 8, with a growth rate described as a 5x increase in three months.
Pricing Structure:
The new plan is the sixth tier in ChatGPT’s pricing structure, which includes:
- Free plan with advertising.
- $8 Go plan.
- $20 Plus plan (with limited Codex usage).
- Two Pro plans at $100 and $200 per month.
- $25 per user per month Business plan.
- Custom Enterprise contracts.
The $100 Pro plan focuses on "longer, high-effort Codex sessions" that the Plus plan limits. The $200 Pro plan offers 20 times the Codex usage of Plus.
Key Takeaways:
- Despite similar capabilities, the two Pro plans differ in usage volume, not model performance.
- OpenAI is promoting a "reset" in Codex usage limits for all plans to celebrate reaching ten million weekly users (every additional million will trigger another reset).
- The move reflects a growing demand for advanced AI coding tools among developers.