ChatGPT Pro Gets a New $100/Month Tier Built for Heavy Codex Users

The Pricing Gap OpenAI Just Filled

For months, developers who built with Codex faced a stark choice: the $20/month Plus plan with limited Codex usage, or the $200/month Pro plan with unlimited access. Nothing in between. On April 9, 2026, OpenAI closed that gap by launching a new $100/month ChatGPT Pro tier — sitting squarely between Plus and the flagship Pro plan — designed specifically for heavy Codex users.

The move is significant not just as a product addition, but as a pricing signal. OpenAI explicitly acknowledged the gap and responded with a tier calibrated for the developer audience Codex has been rapidly winning over.

What the $100/Month Plan Includes

The new mid-tier Pro plan delivers 5x more Codex usage than ChatGPT Plus — a meaningful multiplier for developers running frequent agentic coding tasks. Beyond raw Codex capacity, subscribers also unlock access to all Pro features, including unlimited usage of Instant and Thinking models, making it a comprehensive upgrade over Plus for power users.

OpenAI sweetened the launch with a limited-time promotion: subscribers who join before May 31, 2026 will receive 10x the Codex usage of Plus — double the standard 5x multiplier. This effectively offers early adopters the most generous Codex access available outside of the $200 flagship plan.

Where This Fits in the Pricing Ladder

With the new tier, OpenAI's subscription lineup now spans five tiers:

• Free — Basic access, no Codex
• Go — Entry-level paid tier
• Plus ($20/month) — Standard Codex access baseline
• Pro ($100/month) — 5x Codex usage (10x through May 31, 2026), all Pro features, unlimited Instant and Thinking models
• Pro ($200/month) — Unlimited Codex usage, full suite

The $100 price point is not accidental. It mirrors Anthropic's Claude subscription pricing exactly, making the competitive positioning unmistakable.

The Competitive Dimension

Anthropic's Claude has long offered its premium plan at $100/month, which includes access to Claude Code — its own AI-powered coding assistant. With Codex surging in adoption, OpenAI needed an offering that could compete dollar-for-dollar at that price point rather than forcing developers to choose between an underpowered $20 plan or a $200 commitment.

The timing is deliberate. Codex has emerged as one of OpenAI's fastest-growing products, with the company reporting more than 3 million weekly active users, growth of 5x in three months, and month-over-month user growth of 70%. A $100 plan that maximizes Codex value is a natural way to convert high-intent Codex users who are evaluating alternatives.

Codex's Rapid Ascent

The new pricing tier arrives at a moment when Codex's momentum is hard to ignore. The product's growth trajectory — tripling its user base multiple times over in less than a year — reflects a developer appetite for AI-powered coding tools that go beyond autocomplete and into true agentic workflows. The $100 plan is as much a retention and acquisition play as it is a revenue optimization move, anchoring developers in the OpenAI ecosystem at a price they're already comfortable paying elsewhere.