In short: OpenAI announced a new $100 per month Pro plan for ChatGPT on April 9, 2026. The plan creates a new tier between the existing $20 Plus and $200 Pro plans, aiming to compete with Anthropic’s Claude Max, also priced at $100. This plan offers five times more Codex usage than Plus, access to the same model suite as the $200 tier, and a limited-time launch promotion doubling that usage through May 31, 2026. This follows Codex surpassing three million weekly users on April 8, marking a 5x growth in three months.
What the $100 plan includes, and where it sits in ChatGPT’s pricing structure
The new plan is the sixth pricing tier in ChatGPT’s structure, ranging from a free account with ads to plans at $8, $20, and $25 per month, two Pro versions at $100 and $200 per month, and custom-priced Enterprise contracts. The $100 Pro plan, positioned between Plus and the existing $200 Pro, offers five times more Codex usage than Plus, targeting longer Codex sessions. In contrast, the $200 Pro plan offers 20 times the Codex usage of Plus. Both Pro tiers grant access to the same model suite, differentiating only in usage volume. The launch promotion offers ten times the Codex usage of Plus until May 31, 2026; thereafter, it reverts to the five times limit. Plus plan’s Codex allocation is being rebalanced to favor consistent daily usage over extended sessions.
Codex demand: the numbers that prompted the new tier
On April 8, 2026, Sam Altman highlighted Codex’s usage limit reset to mark three million weekly users, promising to repeat the reset for each additional million users up to ten million. Thibault Sottiaux emphasized the jump from two million users under a month ago, showcasing a 5x growth over three months. This growth underscores a shift in how developers use AI coding tools. OpenAI launched a Codex app for macOS in February 2026, focusing on agentic, multi-task coding workflows, which the $100 plan aims to accommodate. Plus subscribers with extensive Codex usage needs have an option short of the $200 tier.
The Claude Max comparison
The new plan is priced against Anthropic’s Claude Max 5x tier at $100, offering similar elevated limits for Claude Code, a major product in Anthropic’s portfolio with projected $2.5 billion annual revenue by early 2026. Anthropic launched a marketplace for Claude-powered applications in March 2026. Recently, Anthropic stopped third-party agents’ access on Pro and Max subscriptions, in contrast to OpenAI’s strategy of enhancing Codex availability at $100, doubling it during the launch. This strategic pricing move targets Anthropic’s developer base.
What OpenAI’s pricing move signals
OpenAI’s new pricing tier emerges amidst growing commercial momentum, following a $122 billion fundraising at an $852 billion valuation in March 2026, led by SoftBank, NVIDIA, and Amazon. With $2 billion in monthly revenue and over 50 million subscribers, the $100 plan fills a pricing gap between $20 and $200, targeting heavy but non-enterprise users. The Pro tiers, powered by GPT-5.4, launched in March 2026 with advanced features, indicate a shift toward autonomous agents operating software systems over extended durations. Whether the $100 plan effectively draws developers from Anthropic’s $100 Claude Max tier depends on forthcoming quarterly metrics for both firms.