What each ChatGPT plan includes
ChatGPT Free ($0)
Free gives unlimited text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna, subject to abuse guardrails, plus limited messages with file uploads, limited image generation, limited voice chats, and limited deep research. The 27K context window is the smallest in the lineup, so a long pasted document gets truncated sooner than on paid plans. Free is the right plan if you ask ChatGPT a few questions a day and do not need a reasoning model.
ChatGPT Go (priced by region)
Go keeps the same model as Free and raises the caps: more messages with tools, more uploads, more image creation, more voice chats, and longer memory. The context window doubles to 54K for instant answers, with 256K for reasoning. Go is priced for people who hit the Free limits every day but do not need GPT-5.6 Sol.
ChatGPT Plus ($20 per month)
Plus is the first plan with the advanced reasoning models, GPT-5.6 Sol with Medium and High thinking plus GPT-6 Astra in ChatGPT Work and Codex, and it adds Projects, expanded Codex usage, image generation with Thinking, deep research, and interactive tables and charts. Message and upload limits are expanded over Go. Plus is the default recommendation for anyone who writes, codes, or researches in ChatGPT for part of every working day.
ChatGPT Pro ($100 or $200 per month)
Pro is one plan at two usage levels. Both include Pro reasoning powered by GPT-6 Astra (GPT-6 Pro allows 50 messages a week on $100, shared with GPT-5.6 Sol Pro, and 200 a week on $200), maximum Codex tasks, unlimited and faster image creation, and maximum deep research. The $100 tier unlocks 5x the usage of Plus and the $200 tier 20x, per the OpenAI Help Center. The context window grows to 128K for instant models and 400K for reasoning models, which is the largest OpenAI offers inside the ChatGPT app. Usage limits still exist on Pro; OpenAI Support does not reset them and there is no setting to bypass them. New sign-ups for the $200 tier have been paused since September 10, 2026.
What no ChatGPT plan adds: folders, advanced search filters, or bulk export. Those are extension features, not plan features. AI Toolbox adds them to every plan from Free to Enterprise; the free tier covers two folders and basic search, and it is not an AI subscription, you keep using your own ChatGPT account.
ChatGPT Business ($20 or $25 per user per month)
Business, the plan formerly sold as ChatGPT Team, is priced per seat: $25 per user per month billed monthly, or $20 per user per month billed annually. Premium seats, which carry more usage, are $125 monthly or $100 annually. A workspace needs at least two seats in total. Business adds a shared workspace, admin controls, and the policy that workspace data is not used to train OpenAI models. The consumer plans above are individual accounts; Business is the cheapest plan with an admin.
ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu (custom pricing)
Enterprise is quoted by OpenAI sales and supports invoicing and other payment options. It layers security, compliance, and management features on top of Business. Edu is the equivalent for universities deploying ChatGPT across a campus. Neither publishes a list price.
Which ChatGPT plan should you choose?
Pick by the limit you actually hit, not by the feature list. If you never see a cap, stay on Free. If you hit message or image caps but never need GPT-5.6 Sol, Go removes the friction. If you want GPT-5.6 Sol, Projects, or expanded deep research, Plus at $20 is the answer for almost everyone. Pro only pays off when you run out of Plus usage regularly, work with documents beyond 54K tokens, or lean on Codex and deep research all day.
| If you | Choose | Because |
|---|
| Ask a few questions a day | Free | Unlimited text with GPT-5.6 Luna |
| Keep hitting Free caps on images or uploads | Go | Higher limits, same model |
| Want GPT-5.6 Sol, Projects, expanded deep research | Plus | First plan with advanced reasoning models |
| Run out of Plus usage or need 400K context | Pro $100 | 5x Plus usage and the widest window |
| Use Codex and deep research all day | Pro $200 | 20x Plus usage (new sign-ups paused since September 10, 2026) |
| Need an admin, shared workspace, no training on your data | Business | $20 per seat annually, two-seat minimum |
Where the monthly price does not tell the whole story
Three costs sit outside the headline number: usage caps, context windows, and the API. OpenAI does not publish fixed message counts for paid plans; limits are relative (Pro is 5x or 20x Plus) and reset on rolling windows. The context window is the second hidden spec: at 54K tokens, Plus holds roughly 40 pages in instant answers, so a long PDF or a very long thread starts losing early turns before Pro would. The third is the API, which is billed separately from any subscription. GPT-6 Astra costs $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens, with cached input at $1, on OpenAI's developer pricing page. A subscription does not include API usage and API credit does not unlock ChatGPT plans.
If you regularly paste long material, the practical fix is cheaper than upgrading: keep a running conversation per topic and export or archive the old ones so each thread stays under the window. Our token counter shows how many tokens a document uses before you paste it.
What changed in 2026
The model lineup moved more than the prices did. OpenAI announced GPT-6 Astra on September 3, 2026, calling it its most intelligent and most aligned model; in chat it appears as GPT-6 Pro on Pro, Business, and Enterprise, Plus gets it in ChatGPT Work and Codex, and Free and Go stay on GPT-5.6 Luna. Pro is sold at two levels, $100 and $200, rather than a single $200 tier. Business seats are $20 per user per month on annual billing, with Premium seats at $100 per user for teams that need more usage. Prices are list prices in US dollars; Go is priced by region.
Limitations of this guide
OpenAI changes plans without notice, and some limits are not published as numbers. This page reflects the pricing page and Help Center on September 8, 2026. It does not cover regional pricing, education discounts, or tax. Usage caps for images, deep research, and Codex are described by OpenAI in relative terms, so a plan that is "5x Plus" cannot be converted into a fixed message count here. Verify at openai.com/chatgpt/pricing before you buy, and read what each ChatGPT model does if model access is what you are paying for.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does ChatGPT cost?
ChatGPT is free on the Free plan, $20 per month on Plus, $100 or $200 per month on Pro, and $20 per user per month on Business with annual billing ($25 monthly). Go is priced by region, and Enterprise and Edu are priced on request. Prices are US list prices and exclude tax.
Is ChatGPT free to use?
Yes. The Free plan includes unlimited text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna, plus limited uploads, image generation, voice, and deep research, inside a 27K token context window. GPT-5.6 Sol and GPT-6 Astra require Plus or above.
What is the difference between ChatGPT Plus and Pro?
Plus at $20 unlocks GPT-5.6 Sol with Medium and High thinking, GPT-6 Astra in ChatGPT Work and Codex, and a 54K instant or 256K reasoning context window. Pro at $100 or $200 gives 5x or 20x the usage of Plus, GPT-6 Pro, unlimited image creation, maximum Codex and deep research, and a 128K to 400K context window. Pro is for people who exhaust Plus every day.
Does ChatGPT Plus include GPT-6 Astra?
Partly. Plus gets GPT-6 Astra in ChatGPT Work and Codex, while standard Plus chats run GPT-5.6 Sol. In chat, Astra appears as GPT-6 Pro on Pro, Business, and Enterprise. OpenAI announced it on September 3, 2026, and Free and Go users stay on GPT-5.6 Luna.
How much is ChatGPT Business, the plan formerly called Team?
$25 per user per month billed monthly or $20 per user per month billed annually, with a two-seat minimum. Premium seats with more usage are $125 monthly or $100 annually.
What are the ChatGPT tiers?
Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise, plus Edu for universities. The tiers differ in model access, context window, and usage limits; text chat itself is unlimited on every one of them.
Key Terms
- Context window
- The amount of text, measured in tokens, that ChatGPT can hold in one conversation. 27K on Free, 54K on Go and Plus (256K for reasoning), 128K to 400K on Pro.
- GPT-6 Astra
- OpenAI's flagship model from September 2026, shown as GPT-6 Pro in chat on Pro, Business, and Enterprise, available on Plus in ChatGPT Work and Codex, and on the API at $10 input and $50 output per million tokens.
- AI Toolbox
- Chrome extension with 40,000+ users that adds folders, full-text search, bulk export, and a prompt library to ChatGPT on any plan. Free tier available; Premium at $9.99/month or $99 lifetime. It is not an AI subscription; you keep your own ChatGPT account.
Bottom Line
ChatGPT in September 2026: Free ($0, GPT-5.6 Luna, 27K context), Go (priced by region, higher limits, 54K), Plus ($20, GPT-5.6 Sol and GPT-6 Astra in Work and Codex, 54K instant and 256K reasoning), Pro ($100 for 5x or $200 for 20x Plus usage, up to 400K context), Business ($20 per seat annually or $25 monthly, two-seat minimum), and Enterprise on quote. Plus is the right plan for most people; Pro only when you run out of Plus. No plan adds folders, advanced search filters, or bulk export, which is what AI Toolbox covers on every tier.
References
Last updated: September 15, 2026. Prices checked on the same day.
Adi Leviim