OpenAI added a $500 a month ChatGPT Pro 500 plan on September 29, 2026, and it is the only tier that gets Ultrafast, a faster service level for GPT-6 Astra. The company also brought back Pro 200 at the same $200 price, but with usage allowances that are changing.
If you pay for ChatGPT today, the practical question is not whether you need a $500 plan. It is what happens to your allowance if you are already on the $200 one.
TL;DR: ChatGPT Pro 500 costs $500 a month, offers 25 times the Plus allowance, and is the only plan with Ultrafast. Pro 200 stays at $200 but its included usage is being reduced, with existing subscribers grandfathered through October 29, 2026. At launch, buying credits on a lower Pro plan does not unlock Ultrafast.
What ChatGPT Pro 500 actually adds
According to OpenAI’s ChatGPT release notes, Pro 500 carries the highest included usage of any plan and adds an Ultrafast option to the model picker. Ultrafast is a faster service tier for GPT-6 Astra, and it draws down your included allowance first, then your credit balance.
OpenAI’s DevDay 2026 recap puts numbers on it. Pro 500 offers 25 times the ChatGPT Plus allowance, and Ultrafast delivers up to 8x faster token generation, about 300 tokens per second, in Codex. In the API the gain is up to 6x.
Imagine a long coding session where you are waiting on the model between every step. Speed is the product here, not just volume, and that is a different pitch from earlier Pro tiers.
| Plan | Price | Ultrafast | Usage note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro 100 | $100 a month | No | Included Pro features, lower allowance than Pro 200 |
| Pro 200 | $200 a month | No | Allowance decreasing after October 29, 2026 for existing subscribers |
| Pro 500 | $500 a month | Yes | 25 times the Plus allowance |
Prices and plan differences come from OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro tiers help page. That page is also where the fine print about existing subscribers lives.
What changes for current Pro 200 subscribers
Pro 200 is available again at $200 a month, and OpenAI says its included usage allowances are changing. Affected subscribers get an email with details, and the monthly price stays the same.
The help center says existing Pro 200 subscribers are grandfathered through October 29, 2026, if their subscription was active at the eligibility cutoff or during the seven days before it. After that date, the allowance goes down.
The price did not move, but what you get for it will. That is the kind of change that is easy to miss until a limit shows up in the middle of a task, so it is worth reading the email before the deadline.
Who ChatGPT Pro 500 is really for
Ultrafast is limited to Pro 500 for now. OpenAI’s help center states that at launch, buying credits on Pro 100 or Pro 200 does not unlock it, so there is no way to pay per use for speed on a cheaper plan.
GPT-6 Astra Ultrafast is available in the API and in ChatGPT Work and Codex on Pro 500 and Enterprise, according to the recap. GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast is listed as coming soon.
Pro 500 subscriptions are available through ChatGPT on the web at launch, and OpenAI’s pages do not say when the phone apps will follow. If you mostly use ChatGPT on your phone, nothing here changes your day yet, and the ChatGPT Health tab we covered earlier is still the more relevant mobile story.
For most people the $500 plan will stay a spec sheet curiosity, because a tier at this price is not aimed at the average subscriber.
What to check before you upgrade or stay put
Start with what you actually hit limits on. If it is Codex or long agent runs, speed and allowance are the reasons to look at Pro 500. If it is everyday chat, Plus or a lower Pro tier is likely enough.
Competing assistants are reshuffling their own offers too, and Google is retiring Gems in favor of Skills, as our piece on Gemini Gems retiring explains. Plans in this category are moving quickly, so a monthly subscription beats a long commitment for now.
Open the pricing page after signing in to ChatGPT, compare the allowance notes against your own usage, and decide before October 29 if you are on Pro 200.
