OpenAI shifts pricing

OpenAI just changed how it charges for Codex, its coding tool inside ChatGPT: on April 2, 2026, it switched many customers from rough per-message estimates to token-based pricing, the same basic meter used in application programming interfaces, where every chunk of text in and out gets counted. (help.openai.com) That means a company can now see whether a coding session got expensive because the prompt was huge, because cached context was reused, or because the model wrote a lot of code back. OpenAI’s new rate card lists separate credit charges per 1 million input tokens, cached input tokens, and output tokens. (help.openai.com) The new system already applies to new and existing ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Business customers, plus new ChatGPT Enterprise customers. OpenAI says existing Enterprise customers and several other plans stay on the legacy card for now and will be migrated in the coming weeks. (help.openai.com) The rate card also makes the pricing ladder look more like a cloud bill than a chat subscription. For GPT-5.4 in Codex, OpenAI lists 62.50 credits per 1 million input tokens, 6.250 for cached input, and 375 for output, with Fast mode costing 2 times as many credits. (help.openai.com) OpenAI is pairing that meter with a new middle-tier subscription for individuals. Its Help Center now shows two ChatGPT Pro options: $100 a month for 5 times higher usage than Plus, and $200 a month for 20 times higher usage than Plus. (help.openai.com) The $100 plan is not a stripped-down feature bundle. OpenAI says both Pro plans include the same core capabilities, and the main difference is usage allowance, with the $100 tier adding a cheaper step between the $20 Plus plan and the older $200 Pro plan. (help.openai.com) On OpenAI’s Codex pricing page, that new Pro tier is aimed squarely at people who code a lot but not nonstop. The company describes Plus as “a few focused coding sessions each week,” while Pro is for 5 times or 20 times higher rate limits than Plus. (developers.openai.com) Business buyers got a separate packaging change. OpenAI’s developer site says ChatGPT Business teams can start using Codex with no fixed monthly costs, can assign standard or usage-based Codex seats, and in some cases can earn up to $500 in credits when team members start using it. (developers.openai.com) This lines OpenAI up more directly against Anthropic, which already sells Claude Code-heavy plans at $100 and $200 a month. CNBC reported that OpenAI’s new tier was introduced as Codex usage surged and as Anthropic’s coding product gained traction with developers. (cnbc.com) OpenAI is basically trying to solve two different complaints with one pricing reset. Procurement teams get a cleaner usage meter tied to tokens and credits, while individual developers get a $100 option that is easier to justify than jumping straight from $20 to $200. (help.openai.com 1) (help.openai.com 2)