OpenAI is expanding its ChatGPT subscription lineup with a new $100-per-month ChatGPT Pro plan, designed mainly for people who rely on Codex for coding inside ChatGPT. It arrives as a middle option between the familiar $20 ChatGPT Plus subscription and the higher-end $200 plan, giving developers another way to scale up without immediately jumping to the most expensive tier.
Codex is OpenAI’s built-in AI coding assistant that can help write code, support pull requests, and handle multiple coding tasks in parallel. OpenAI says Codex has already reached 3 million weekly active users, a rapid rise considering it only launched a few months ago. That growth helps explain why OpenAI is introducing an additional plan: many users want more room for longer sessions and parallel workflows, but don’t necessarily need the maximum capacity of the top tier.
The new $100 plan specifically targets Codex users with moderate usage needs. Compared to ChatGPT Plus, it includes 5x the standard Codex usage. On top of that, there’s a temporary introductory boost that increases Codex usage to as much as 10x the Plus level. This promotional boost runs until May 31, 2026, after which the plan returns to the normal 5x usage relative to Plus.
For users who regularly push Codex hard—especially those running long or frequent coding sessions—the $200 plan may still be the better fit over time, since OpenAI says it provides 20x the Codex usage of Plus. But for many programmers who feel squeezed by Plus limits yet can’t justify spending $200 every month, the new $100 tier is positioned as a practical compromise.
At the same time, OpenAI has indicated that once the current Codex promotion ends, it plans to adjust what Plus is optimized for. The company says Plus will be geared more toward steady usage spread across the week, rather than intense, high-demand sessions on a single day. That planned shift is already sparking debate, because some users interpret it as a change that makes the higher-priced plans look more attractive by comparison.
Community reactions have been mixed. Some users are skeptical, arguing that the $100 option feels less like a customer-friendly upgrade and more like a pricing strategy—especially if the Plus plan becomes less appealing for heavy, all-day work. Others, particularly power users, see the new subscription as a sensible “in-between” for developers who want more Codex capacity without committing to the premium $200 tier.
For anyone evaluating ChatGPT pricing for coding, the decision now comes down to how often you use Codex, how long your sessions typically run, and whether you need sustained parallel coding workflows. The new $100 plan is clearly aimed at that large middle group: serious Codex users who have outgrown Plus, but don’t need (or don’t want to pay for) the highest level of access.
