✳ the wire · analysis
ChatGPT Pro 200's old usage allowance ends October 29; the price stays $200
An email the minute a new frontier model answers on a public API · free, no card
OpenAI's help center says Pro 200 subscribers who qualify for grandfathering keep their previous included usage allowance through October 29, 2026. After that date their subscription moves to the lower allowance that new Pro 200 subscriptions already get. The price stays $200 a month.
WHO IS AFFECTED
Grandfathering covers anyone who had an active Pro 200 subscription at any point from September 22, 2026 through 10 a.m. Pacific on September 29, 2026. Per OpenAI, only affected users get an email with details, and keeping the old allowance does not upgrade the plan or add Ultrafast.
THE PLANS NOW
OpenAI lists three Pro plans: Pro 100 at $100, Pro 200 at $200 and Pro 500 at $500 a month. Only Pro 500 includes the Ultrafast versions of GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol. OpenAI says the lower Pro 200 allowance reflects its 'increasingly efficient models'.
WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW
How much lower the new allowance is. OpenAI's help article only calls it lower; the figures going around on X come from subscriber emails we have not seen.
Source: OpenAI Help Center, 'About ChatGPT Pro tiers' (read directly) ↗ · the bench index
