OpenAI sharpens pricing
OpenAI has tightened its consumer model lineup — retiring several models from ChatGPT while keeping API access and preserving GPT-4o for business customers within custom GPTs — and is rolling out a $100 “Pro” plan to expand paid access to Codex-style coding tools. The moves signal clearer product segmentation between consumer chat, developer coding tools, and enterprise deployments. (help.openai.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com)
OpenAI just took several familiar model names out of ChatGPT at once, even though those same models can still be reached through the application programming interface, which is the company’s tool for developers to plug models into their own software. As of February 13, 2026, GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, OpenAI o4-mini, and GPT-5 Instant and Thinking were retired from ChatGPT itself. (help.openai.com, help.openai.com) That split matters because ChatGPT is the consumer storefront, while the application programming interface is the parts counter in the back. OpenAI’s help pages say the ChatGPT removals do not change application programming interface access, which means developers can keep building on those models even after ordinary chat users stop seeing them in the picker. (help.openai.com) OpenAI is replacing that menu of named models with a default system called GPT-5.3 Instant, which it says is rolling out to all ChatGPT users. The company describes it as a single auto-switching setup that chooses among models behind the scenes instead of asking users to pick one manually. (help.openai.com) Business customers got a short grace period that consumer users did not. OpenAI said ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, and Edu customers could keep GPT-4o inside custom GPTs until April 3, 2026, and after that date GPT-4o would be fully retired across all plans. (help.openai.com, help.openai.com) At the same time, OpenAI changed the price ladder for people who use ChatGPT to write code. On April 9, 2026, the company introduced a new $100-per-month Pro tier positioned between the $20 Plus plan and the still-existing $200 Pro option. (community.openai.com, techcrunch.com) That new $100 tier is built around Codex, which is OpenAI’s coding tool for longer software tasks. OpenAI said the plan gives 5 times more Codex usage than Plus, and TechCrunch reported the $200 tier remains available even though it is not shown on the main pricing page. (community.openai.com, techcrunch.com) Codex pricing also changed a week earlier. OpenAI’s rate card says that on April 2, 2026, Codex moved from per-message billing to token-based billing for Plus, Pro, ChatGPT Business, and new ChatGPT Enterprise plans, which means usage is now measured more like fuel burned than like tickets punched. (help.openai.com) OpenAI’s own Codex pricing page now says Codex is included across Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Edu, and Enterprise plans, but the amount of work you can do scales sharply with the plan you buy. That makes the new lineup easier to read: simple chat is pushed toward one default model, heavy coding gets its own paid rung, and enterprise customers get separate controls and timelines. (developers.openai.com, help.openai.com) The result is less like a buffet and more like an airport with separate lines. ChatGPT users get fewer model choices on the front end, developers keep the back-end application programming interface access they already had, and companies paying for Business or Enterprise still get policy carve-outs that regular users do not. (help.openai.com, help.openai.com, developers.openai.com)
