The 30 second story
You know how mobile phone contracts come in different sizes depending on whether you check email occasionally or stream video all day? OpenAI has done the same thing with ChatGPT, launching a $100 per month subscription between its existing $20 Plus plan and $200 Pro plan. The new tier gives businesses five times more access to Codex, ChatGPT’s coding tool, and targets companies running longer, intensive sessions that hit Plus limits without needing the full two hundred. OpenAI is directly competing with Anthropic’s Claude Max tier, which costs exactly the same amount and is available in the UK.
Why it matters
This pricing split matters because it shows AI companies are learning that businesses use these tools differently than individual users. A marketing manager writing the odd email needs far less processing power than a development team building software all day. The $100 tier acknowledges that some businesses depend on AI tools enough to justify serious monthly spend. For companies already hitting usage limits on cheaper plans, this removes a major bottleneck. Worth noting: businesses that have set up AI tools correctly can often handle coding tasks in-house without specialized subscriptions, though the barrier remains in proper configuration rather than access to the technology.
What this means for your business
- Heavy AI users can now buy their way out of usage restrictions instead of rationing access across the team
- Subscription costs for AI-dependent businesses will rise, but so will productivity for teams that constantly hit limits
- Competition between ChatGPT and Claude keeps pricing predictable while features improve
- Businesses can choose tools based on actual usage patterns rather than accepting one-size-fits-all pricing