ChatGPT Pro Max is an unannounced ~$500/month ChatGPT subscription tier ($600 with VAT in some views) that surfaced September 24, 2026 in OpenAI's own front-end/checkout code, spotted by Tibor Blaho (@btibor91) and covered by TestingCatalog, Decrypt, and BleepingComputer. Its only leaked differentiator over the $200 Pro plan is the phrase 'Fastest Work and Codex' — notably, nothing in the leak promises higher usage, which would make it the first ChatGPT tier charging more per unit of usage rather than for more usage. Context: new $200 Pro signups/upgrades had been paused since around September 10 due to system load, power users have long asked for more usage, and X commentary accuses OpenAI of quietly cutting usage limits to clear room for the pricier tier. Coverage converges on DevDay September 29, 2026 as the plausible launch venue, but OpenAI has neither announced the tier nor confirmed a date; secondary claims (Cerebras hardware support, 100GB storage, a UK £445 price) are unconfirmed speculation.
| source | object | author | score | comments |
|---|
| 🟧 hn | OpenAI $500 ProMax plan listed in API | GustavHartz | 29 | 50 |
| 🟧 hn | OpenAI prepares new $500/month Pro Max plan for ChatGPTRetrieved article excerptOpen article · Retrieved 2026-09-25T08:24:33.702030+00:00 [OpenAI](https://www.testingcatalog.com/tag/openai/)
# OpenAI prepares new $500/month Pro Max plan for ChatGPT
ChatGPT Pro Max will cost $500 per month and offer “Fastest Work and Codex”, potentially powered by Cerebras infrastructure.
- [Go to the profile of Alexey Shabanov](https://www.testingcatalog.com/author/alexey/ "Go to the profile of Alexey Shabanov")
[Alexey Shabanov](https://www.testingcatalog.com/author/alexey/)
24 Sep 2026
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2 min read
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ChatGPT
OpenAI appears to be preparing a new ChatGPT Pro Max subscription priced at $500 per month. The plan has surfaced in unreleased [ChatGPT](https://www.testingcatalog.com/tag/chatgpt/) subscription references, where its description differs from the existing Pro tier mainly through access to the “Fastest Work and Codex.” Higher usage limits may also be part of the package, although that is not confirmed yet.
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\* The price on the video is $600 due to VAT
The wording suggests Pro Max could target developers, researchers, and professional users running long agentic workloads rather than regular ChatGPT users. Work is designed for longer tasks, while Codex can operate on coding jobs that continue for hours or even days, making inference speed much more valuable in these scenarios.
> OpenAI is preparing a new higher-tier ChatGPT Pro plan [pic.twitter.com/EqRpODLqVs](https://t.co/EqRpODLqVs?ref=testingcatalog.com)
>
> — Tibor Blaho (@btibor91) [September 24, 2026](https://x.com/btibor91/status/2103222629171908937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=testingcatalog.com)
Context also points to Cerebras infrastructure. OpenAI already uses Cerebras for its latency-focused inference path, including GPT-5.6 Sol Ultrafast. This makes it plausible that the “Fastest” tier could rely on additional Cerebras capacity, though OpenAI has not confirmed a direct connection between Cerebras and Pro Max.
> OpenAI ❤️ Cerebras
>
> OpenAI announced Ultrafast mode for GPT-5.6 Sol in preview, which can speed up model performance by up to 14 times!
>
> Ultrafast mode is currently available to a limited set of customers, and others can sign up to be notified when it expands.
>
> > During the… [https://t.co/rv5sdqIxML](https://t.co/rv5sdqIxML?ref=testingcatalog.com) [pic.twitter.com/y6Ls9KoLPr](https://t.co/y6Ls9KoLPr?ref=testingcatalog.com)
>
> — 🚨 AI News | TestingCatalog (@testingcatalog) [August 13, 2026](https://x.com/testingcatalog/status/2087951653374677152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=testingcatalog.com)
The timing is also notable. OpenAI DevDay takes place on September 29, and the company is expected to discuss APIs, developer tooling, [new subscription tiers for OpenAI Platform](https://www.testingcatalog.com/devday-new-plans-and-new-platform-for-building-ai-apps/) and new products. OpenAI recently paused new purchases of its $200 Pro tier because of system load, while continuing to expand access to faster inference infrastructure.
If released in its current form, Pro Max would sit far above most individual AI subscriptions, including $200 plans from Anthropic and Cursor and Google’s roughly $250 AI Ultra tier. The main question is whether [OpenAI](https://www.testingcatalog.com/tag/openai/) plans to justify the $500 price primarily through speed, larger usage allowances, longer-running Work sessions, or a combination of all three. | yzydserd | 5 | 0 |
| 🟧 echo.x ⭐ | "OpenAI is preparing a new higher-tier ChatGPT Pro plan", posted with a screenshot of the unreleased $500/month Pro Max listing. | Tibor Blaho (@btibor91) | — | — |
| 🟠 reddit | Can't imagine getting rate limited on a $600 plan OpenAI | khanp4397 | 124 | 99 |
| 🟠 reddit | The new agent, O, releasing on DevDay is rumored to not be included in Plus plans. OpenAI | FamilyNP | 192 | 108 |
| 🟠 reddit | ChatGPT Pro 5x is now Standard? OpenAI | itsxzy | 94 | 47 |
| 🟠 reddit | OpenAI DevDay Leaks | Ultrafast around 750 tokens/s, GPT-6 Sol on chat singularity | 141_1337 | 220 | 116 |
| 🟠 reddit | Pro $200 returning with "half the dollar in API spend" OpenAI | femtocell | 183 | 100 |
| 🟠 reddit | WTF: OpenAI’s $200 Pro Plan Is Getting a 50% Usage Cut singularity | ResultBackground2450 | 431 | 201 |
| 🟠 reddit | Looks like the era of subsidised compute is coming to an end. The old ChatGPT Pro $200 20x plan will be halved. The new $500 plan will have similar limits as the (old) $200 plan. LocalLLaMA | Norwood_Reaper_ | 1214 | 586 |
| 🟠 reddit | Going into Dev Day 2026: The Cheap AI Era Is Not Ending. It Is Becoming Metered. OpenAI | Cyb3rdude | 0 | 17 |
| 🟠 reddit | Pro plan now shows "Standard" vs "More features" and the "5x" wording is gone. Is 5x getting the same cut as 20x? OpenAI | Rich_Business4637 | 7 | 8 |
| 🟠 reddit | OpenAI is cutting our quota by 50% and throwing us alms like we should be grateful OpenAI | Gullible-Ad3912 | 17 | 17 |
| 🟠 reddit | OpenAI justification response for $200 USD plan changes ahead of Dev Day singularity | that_90s_guy | 28 | 31 |
| 🟧 hn | DevDay 2026 Recap | polygot | 86 | 41 |
| 🟧 hn | OpenAI DevDay Keynote | postalcoder | 5 | 0 |
| 🟠 reddit | After OpenAI cut the $200 plan in half, do you think Anthropic will follow? OpenAI | danielezra | 1 | 9 |
| 🟠 reddit | pro rated subscription math is extremely off. you pay more then you should. OpenAI | Deadlywolf_EWHF | 1 | 0 |
| 🟠 reddit | openai devday summary (fun version) OpenAI | notifyShivam | 1 | 1 |
| 🟠 reddit | Ultrafast Usage OpenAI | KlemiX | 153 | 38 |
| 🟠 reddit | New tiers in EU-UK-CH OpenAI | Wooden_Plant7504 | 3 | 5 |
| 🟠 reddit | Pro 200 usage halved, with existing subs grandfathered. New Pro 500 plan includes "ultrafast" OpenAI | BrainOfMush | 37 | 20 |
| 🟠 reddit | Worst Dev Day. OpenAI | Miyamoto_-_Musashi | 466 | 108 |
| 🟠 reddit | $500 plan CONFIRMED (25x usage of plus...) OpenAI | ethotopia | 56 | 49 |
| 🟠 reddit | ChatGPT pro 500 is out singularity | Even-Definition | 55 | 82 |
| 🟧 hn | ChatGPT Pro 500 | prodigycorp | 145 | 150 |
| 🟠 reddit | New Pro500 plan OpenAI | Worth_Fan3903 | 36 | 26 |
2026-09-29T22:57:57Z
DevDay proved the hypothesis out: OpenAI launched the $500 tier live as 'ChatGPT Pro 500' — 25x usage plus bundled Ultrafast — while halving the $200 Pro to ~10x with only ~30-day grandfathering, so the nerf-to-upsell reading is now shipped pricing rather than a single-source value hypothesis; the leaked 'Pro Max' codename did not survive to launch. Heat is the closing temperature: cooling from its 713-pt/h peak but still top-decile across three platforms — enough to deliver the resolution, not to schedule re-alerts of a closed case.
2026-09-29T22:03:08Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtgga2 — A user post titled 'New Pro500 plan' documents the $500 tier being live and priced at DevDay, consumer-side confirmation for the Pro Max launch the case awaits.
2026-09-29T20:53:13Z
evidence attached: hn.story.49896975 — First-party help-page documentation plus strong HN spread (145/150) reads as the launch confirmation the Pro Max case was waiting for.
2026-09-29T20:53:12Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wthquh — Launch confirmation of the $500/mo tier with 25x limits and ultrafast access — the resolving event the case explicitly awaits.
2026-09-29T20:53:11Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtgcii — Screenshot confirms the $500 tier at 25x Plus usage — direct launch evidence the Pro Max case needs.
2026-09-29T20:53:11Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtgzp7 — Highest-engagement DevDay reaction whose concrete fact — $500 for 25x usage — is launch confirmation for the Pro Max case.
2026-09-29T20:53:11Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wthcoo — First-party help.openai.com article confirming the $500 Pro tier with bundled Ultrafast plus halved Pro 200 usage — the launch confirmation the case is waiting on, from DevDay.
2026-09-29T20:53:11Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtipzm — EU/UK/CH tier screenshots confirm the speed-differentiated plan structure (and 'no ads') rolling out internationally, extending the launch episode.
2026-09-29T20:53:11Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtiryp — High-engagement screenshot confirms the $500 plan in the wild and quantifies its Ultrafast quota burn (2% per 2 minutes), material to judging the tier.
2026-09-29T20:53:11Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtk3jj — Independent DevDay recap listing the $500 plan among announced items is corroboration of the launch the case explicitly anticipated.
2026-09-29T20:53:11Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtkcdc — User successfully purchasing into a 'pro 500' plan (~$450 prorated) confirms the $500 tier is live, corroborating the launch the case awaits.
2026-09-29T20:53:11Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtktjb — User reports the $500 plan launched at 25x with the $200 Pro plan halved to 10x — direct launch confirmation for the exposed Pro Max tier plus the usage cut.
2026-09-29T19:12:58Z
Catalyst fired: DevDay happened and the first DevDay artifacts are now in-case; recap commentary ('the ultrafast stuff available only to Pro 500 users', a 'Super Fast' addition) gives consistent secondhand launch indication for the speed-gated $500 tier — matching the leak and the speed-as-differentiator value hypothesis. Confirmation is still comment-class with ~42h echo lag and no first-party announcement text, so the case holds at high heat for a resolution-grade look once first-party/echo confirmation or contradiction lands.
2026-09-29T17:42:00Z
evidence attached: hn.story.49896390 — First-party DevDay keynote is the primary launch evidence for the Pro Max-tier and related DevDay-watching cases; same episode, distinct first-party artifact.
2026-09-29T17:42:00Z
evidence attached: hn.story.49896600 — First-party DevDay recap is the durable record that would confirm or refute the anticipated $500 Pro Max launch (and likely the ChatGPT ads case) awaited from DevDay.
2026-09-29T17:42:00Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtdb9q — An OpenAI exec's DevDay-eve response on $200 plan/usage-tier changes directly contextualizes the anticipated Pro Max pricing and tier overhaul.
2026-09-29T17:42:00Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtfm8l — Subscriber report that the $200 plan's usage is being halved is direct context for the same DevDay subscription restructuring this accelerating case tracks.
2026-09-29T15:04:30Z
Marginal look inside a live catalyst window: the deltas are comment churn on the 50%-usage-cut thread plus two small derivative posts (billing-page relabel, metering essay) already folded in — no new facts. The meaning sharpens rather than shifts: OpenAI's own multiplier-wording removal, the Pro usage halving, and the community's old-$200-limits claim now converge on 'Pro Max = 2.5× price for roughly old-$200 usage, speed as the differentiator.' Heat stays high on the imminent DevDay keynote and the re-accelerating 3-platform spread (97th percentile, magnitude valve) — attention priced on the catalyst, not on new evidence; the next look should be resolution-grade once launch coverage lands (echo lag ~42h).
2026-09-29T14:26:57Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtag45 — Billing-page tier relabel (5x/20x wording gone, Standard vs More features) is concrete launch-prep evidence for the tier and references the 20x usage cut.
2026-09-29T14:26:57Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wtbcng — Contextualises the DevDay subscription restructuring: OpenAI changing usage-limit calculation is the metering shift motivating the $500 tier.
2026-09-29T11:00:54Z
New community spread adds an unconfirmed claim that the $500 tier will carry roughly the OLD $200 limits — if it holds, Pro Max is a price hike (2.5× for the same usage, speed as the differentiator) rather than a bigger bucket, converging with OpenAI's own removal of multiplier wording; it stays rumor-class, so no material flag until DevDay confirms or contradicts. Heat stays high on the live catalyst window (keynote hours away) plus top-decile 3-platform spread (95.8th percentile, magnitude valve) even though the raw rate has cooled from its ~408 pts/h peak.
2026-09-29T10:24:30Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wt5f4e — Independent community spread corroborating the $500 Pro Max tier and adding the claim that old $200 limits will be halved.
2026-09-29T07:47:41Z
grounded: converges/high — OpenAI's confirmed move — $200 Pro back on sale at roughly half its usage allowance hours before a possible $500 speed-priced tier — is a dated instance of the
2026-09-29T07:39:36Z
The case's meaning shifted from passive launch prep to active pre-launch repricing: OpenAI resumed $200 Pro sales at roughly half the prior usage ('half the dollar in API spend', first-party screenshots), a nerf-to-upsell move that makes a same-window $500 Pro Max introduction more plausible and resets the $500 tier's value baseline against a degraded Pro tier. DevDay is today, hours out — the next meaningful repricing should be launch confirmation or contradiction from event coverage, so heat is priced on the imminent catalyst, not on the cooling engagement line (7.5 pts/h vs 232 peak).
2026-09-29T07:26:16Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wt30ff — The 41-point, 28-comment spread of the $200 Pro 50% usage cut is the same pricing episode the Pro Max case tracks and materially sharpens its launch context.
2026-09-29T07:26:16Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wt38j9 — First-party pricing screenshot of the halved $200 plan is central context for the Pro Max tier economics — re-judging that case must weigh the nerf-to-upsell pattern.
2026-09-27T12:42:49Z
magnitude valve eligible (multi-platform, top-decile engagement) and never alerted; deterministic escalation to deliver
2026-09-27T05:35:03Z
Nothing new in kind since the last look: comment churn on the existing HN/Reddit threads and a second velocity spike that is 11.8x off a floor baseline of 1.0 pts/h on the two-day-old rate-limit-anxiety thread — no new artifacts, facts, outlets, or communities. The case's meaning is unchanged: a dated wait for DevDay Sept 29, now ~40h out; measured_heat's 'accelerating'/95th-percentile read is a low-baseline artifact against an aggregate rate (39 pts/h) running a third of its peak (142).
2026-09-27T00:56:14Z
The DevDay leak cycle has opened: leaked ~750 tok/s 'ultrafast' Sol serving and GPT-6-on-chat are direct pre-launch context for a speed-focused agentic tier, strengthening the mechanism behind Pro Max's 'Fastest Work and Codex' positioning — but it is still rumor-class with no confirmation of the $500 tier itself. The velocity-spike trigger is a 6x multiple off a 0.5 pts/h baseline on a two-day-old rate-limit-anxiety thread, i.e. noise; the case's meaning is unchanged: a dated wait for DevDay Sept 29, heat priced on the scheduled catalyst.
2026-09-27T00:25:45Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wr52pw — DevDay leak of ~750 tok/s 'ultrafast' Sol serving is direct pre-launch context for the speed-focused agentic tier the case is watching for.
2026-09-26T22:43:30Z
The case gains a second artifact class: OpenAI's live pricing page itself now shows restructuring ('Pro 5x' renamed 'Standard', usage benefits reworded vaguely), so launch prep no longer rests on the single checkout config, and a rumor that the DevDay agent excludes Plus rounds out a broader lineup reshuffle. The meaning is unchanged in kind — still a dated wait for DevDay Sept 29 — so state and heat hold; the rename is the case's first non-derivative new fact since the leak and keeps it alive through the catalyst window.
2026-09-26T22:24:09Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wr2fn2 — Pricing-page tier renaming ('Pro 5x is now Standard', vaguer usage wording) corroborates the lineup restructuring ahead of the planned Pro Max launch.
2026-09-26T22:24:09Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wr31wa — Rumor that the DevDay agent will be excluded from Plus, plus reaction to the leaked $500 tier, contextualizes the subscription-restructuring episode.
2026-09-26T06:47:40Z
The Reddit Codex-community thread is now the case's active mover (89th-percentile peer velocity, 96pts/86 comments of rate-limit anxiety at $600-with-VAT), but its content is entirely derivative of the already-known config artifact — no new facts, no new outlets, implementations, or communities beyond the existing HN/X/Reddit triangle, and momentum is cooling (4.5 pts/h vs 44 peak). The case's meaning is unchanged: a dated wait for DevDay Sept 29, so heat holds at medium on the scheduled catalyst and the velocity spikes are priced as the leak's cooling tail, not new signal.
2026-09-25T19:55:16Z
The leak's existence is now corroborated: besides Blaho's screenshot, an HN poster independently pointed at OpenAI's own live public checkout endpoint and TestingCatalog describes the config's 'Fastest Work and Codex' delta from Pro — while Reddit Codex-community chatter (rate-limit anxiety at a $600-with-VAT price) shows derivative spread, not new facts. The case is now a dated wait for DevDay Sept 29; engagement is cooling (1.8 pts/h vs 29 peak) but heat holds at medium on the scheduled catalyst.
2026-09-25T19:24:46Z
evidence attached: reddit.post.1wq4es0 — Community chatter of an imminent top-tier Codex Pro Max plan (quoted at $600) with rate-limit expectations, materially contextualising the Pro Max tier pricing and launch case.
2026-09-25T08:33:48Z
grounded: converges/medium — OpenAI pricing a $500/month, speed-focused tier explicitly for long agentic workloads independently arrives where Scott's canon already argued — the scout–senio
2026-09-25T08:26:29Z
case created — The scout's create and orphan attach are one episode — OpenAI's live pricing-config leak plus same-day TestingCatalog coverage quoting the original X post — merged into a single case with a DevDay resolution point.