OpenAI has finally filled the gap in its pricing lineup. The company announced on Thursday a new $100/month Pro plan for ChatGPT, targeting developers and power users who needed something between the affordable Plus tier and the premium $200 option.
Until now, ChatGPT's pricing structure had a glaring hole. Users could choose from a free plan (which now includes ads), an $8/month Go plan (also with ads), a $20/month Plus plan (ad-free), and then had to jump all the way to $200/month for the top-tier Pro plan. That $180 gap left many serious users without a suitable middle ground — a problem OpenAI has now addressed.
Codex Takes Center Stage
The new plan is built squarely around coding. OpenAI says both the Plus and the new $100 Pro tiers are designed to support daily usage of ChatGPT's coding tool Codex, with the $100 plan offering five times more Codex capacity than Plus.
Codex has been on a remarkable growth trajectory. According to the company, more than 3 million people globally are using Codex every week, a figure that has grown fivefold in the past three months, with usage increasing over 70% month over month. Those numbers explain why OpenAI is betting heavily on developer-focused pricing.
A Direct Shot at Anthropic
OpenAI isn't being subtle about its motivations. The company openly acknowledges that the new pricing tier is meant to challenge Anthropic, which has long offered a $100/month option for its Claude AI.
An OpenAI spokesperson told TechCrunch that the new Pro tier gives developers more practical coding capacity for the money, especially during high-intensity work sessions where limits matter most. The company claims that Codex delivers more coding capacity per dollar compared to Claude Code across paid tiers. That's a bold claim, and one Anthropic will likely contest as the competition between these two AI giants intensifies.
A Limited-Time Sweetener
There's a catch worth noting for early adopters. OpenAI is offering even higher Codex limits on the $100 plan through May 31. This means anyone signing up now will enjoy a generous introductory experience, but those elevated limits won't last. Users who get accustomed to heavy coding without hitting rate warnings should be prepared for tighter constraints come June.
Where Does the $200 Plan Stand?
Interestingly, OpenAI's pricing page no longer lists the $200/month plan, though the company confirmed to TechCrunch that it remains available. The $200 tier offers 20 times higher limits than Plus and is aimed at professionals running demanding, parallel workflows.
Both Pro plans share the same core features, with the only real difference being rate limits. And importantly, none of the plans offer unlimited usage — a reality across the AI industry as companies balance server costs against user demand.
The Bigger Picture
This move reflects a broader trend in the AI industry: the race to capture developer loyalty. Coding assistance has emerged as one of the most practical and revenue-generating applications of large language models. Both OpenAI and Anthropic recognize that developers who build their workflows around a particular AI tool are unlikely to switch easily, making this a land-grab moment.
For freelance developers and small teams — particularly in markets like Pakistan, India, and Southeast Asia where the freelancing economy is booming — the new $100 tier hits a sweet spot. The $20 Plus plan often felt limiting for professional coding work, while $200 was a steep ask. A middle option with five times the coding capacity could prove to be exactly what this growing user base needs.
The intensifying competition between OpenAI and Anthropic is ultimately good news for users. As both companies fight for market share, expect better features, more generous limits, and sharper pricing in the months ahead. The AI coding wars are just getting started.
