OpenAI Launches Paid Plan "ChatGPT Plus" at $20 a Month
On February 1, 2023, OpenAI launched “ChatGPT Plus,” ChatGPT’s first paid subscription plan, priced at $20 a month. Since the free version was often subject to capacity limits due to surging demand, the paid plan gave users seeking a more stable experience a new option. It initially rolled out to waitlisted users in the US.
Details
- Price: $20/month. Initially offered only in the US, expanding beyond the country on February 10, 2023
- What’s included: Guaranteed general access even during peak usage times, faster response speeds, and priority access to new features
- Continuation of the free tier: OpenAI stated that subscription revenue would help sustain free access, saying it wanted to “continue to offer free access to as many people as possible”
- Future plans teased: At the time of the announcement, OpenAI also mentioned plans for a ChatGPT API and was exploring lower-cost and enterprise plans
What happened next
ChatGPT Plus went on to serve as the priority access channel for later flagship models like GPT-4, becoming a pillar of OpenAI’s revenue. This monthly subscription model was later expanded into multiple pricing tiers — Pro, Team, and Enterprise — forming the prototype of ChatGPT’s current revenue structure.