# ChatGPT Pro $100, $200 and $500: how Codex usage compares

> OpenAI lists three Pro prices but no exact new $200 or $500 Codex quotas. This guide compares the dated allowance evidence and explains Pro 500's Astra Ultrafast access.

By BIG CHANGE Editorial

Published: 2026-09-29T18:05:55.935Z
Updated: 2026-09-29T18:42:54.232Z
Canonical: https://bigchange.ai/blog/openai-pro-500-astra-ultrafast-guide

![Charcoal illustration from behind of a person holding a phone with a blank orange-tinted screen; the OpenAI symbol appears alone at lower right.](https://bigchange.ai/api/media/file/pro-500-phone-hero-v3.png)
BIG CHANGE conceptual illustration, edited with the official OpenAI monoblossom symbol. BIG CHANGE is independent; OpenAI has not endorsed this article.

OpenAI now lists three monthly ChatGPT Pro tiers: $100, $200 and $500. For Codex, the $100 plan has historically been described as **5x Plus usage**. The former $200 plan was **20x Plus usage**, but OpenAI has reopened that tier with a lower allowance for new subscribers. Its [current Pro-tier guide](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers) says $500 includes the most usage and is the only Pro tier with Astra Ultrafast. It does not publish an exact new $200 or $500 Codex quota.

## The big change

- **What changed:** New Pro $200 subscriptions are available again with a lower included allowance. Pro $500 adds the highest allowance and Astra Ultrafast access.
- **How large is the difference?** OpenAI's earlier 5x and 20x labels describe the $100 tier and the former $200 tier against Plus. Thibault Sottiaux [said on September 29](https://x.com/thsottiaux/status/2104823812042940713) the revised $200 calculation yields about half the old plan's API-spend-equivalent usage. The current product pages give no exact new $200 or $500 multiplier.
- **Why it matters:** A buyer can compare price and access today, but cannot derive a dependable number of Codex tasks from a tier name. Model, context, reasoning, speed and tools affect consumption.

## How much Codex usage does each Pro tier include?

| Plan | Monthly price | What the dated evidence establishes | Astra Ultrafast |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pro 100 | $100 | OpenAI's earlier tier guidance called it 5x Plus usage. Its current guide says this is the lowest of the three Pro allowances. | No |
| Pro 200, new subscription | $200 | More included usage than Pro 100, less than Pro 500. Sottiaux says the revised method represents about half the old $200 plan's API-spend equivalent. OpenAI has not published an exact new multiplier or per-model quota. | No |
| Pro 200, eligible existing subscriber | $200 | The previous included allowance continues through October 29, 2026 while the subscription remains active; it then moves to the lower allowance. The earlier guide called the old plan 20x Plus usage. | No |
| Pro 500 | $500 | OpenAI says it has the highest included usage of the three. A numeric multiplier and per-model quota are absent from the current product pages reviewed here. | Yes |

The 5x and 20x figures belong to the **earlier version** of OpenAI's [Pro-tier article](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers), which was still indexed with those labels and the September 10 pause notice before its September 29 rewrite. The [current version](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers) instead gives the tier order and transition terms. An [OpenAI announcement introducing Pro $100](https://community.openai.com/t/introducing-new-100-month-pro-tier/1378752) also called its standard Codex allowance 5x Plus, separate from a temporary launch promotion.

There is useful arithmetic, with a firm boundary. **If** the old 20x label and Sottiaux's “half” API-dollar comparison scale proportionally on the same Plus baseline, the new $200 plan would be roughly **10x equivalent**. That is BIG CHANGE's calculation, not a multiplier OpenAI currently publishes, and it is not a prediction of half as many completed tasks. On that conditional comparison, $100 for 5x and $200 for about 10x both work out to $20 per unit of that relative allowance. OpenAI's current documentation supplies no corresponding multiplier for a $500 calculation.

OpenAI's [Codex usage guidance](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11369540-using-codex-with-your-chatgpt-plan) says consumption depends on the model, where a task runs, its complexity and context, reasoning level, speed and tools. Its [live Codex pricing page](https://chatgpt.com/codex/pricing/) currently shows example ranges for Plus and Standard Business, alongside an API-key column, but no $100, $200 or $500 Pro column. Those examples are not fixed message counts for Pro. Local messages and cloud chats share the plan's Codex allowance, and weekly limits may apply. Check **Settings → Usage** or the Codex usage dashboard for the account's remaining allowance and reset time; `/status` shows usage during an active Codex CLI session.

## What happened to Pro $200?

OpenAI's [earlier Help Center notice](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers) dated the pause of new Pro $200 sign-ups and upgrades to **September 10, 2026**; existing subscribers were unaffected. In a [September 29 post](https://x.com/thsottiaux/status/2104823812042940713), Sottiaux said reopening was planned for “tomorrow,” September 30, and described the new API-dollar comparison. Later on September 29, the rewritten [Help Center article](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers) said new subscriptions were already available. The sources do not establish the precise time access returned.

OpenAI says subscribers whose Pro $200 plan was active at its eligibility cutoff or during the preceding seven days can keep the previous included allowance through **October 29, 2026**, while the Pro $200 subscription is active. A qualifying subscriber whose plan lapsed during that seven-day period can resubscribe and retain it through the same date. The company has not given a calendar date for the cutoff in the current article. After October 29, the allowance drops while the monthly price remains $200. Retaining the old allowance does not add Pro $500 features.

## Choose or change to Pro 500

For a new subscription, OpenAI directs users to sign in to ChatGPT and select a Pro plan on the [pricing page](https://chatgpt.com/pricing). Existing subscribers can view plan changes under **Settings → My Plan**. Check the price and available option shown for the account before confirming a change. BIG CHANGE did not open checkout or verify account-specific availability.

On Pro 500, OpenAI says **Ultrafast** can be selected in the model picker. Its included allowance is used first, then eligible usage draws from credits. Buying credits on Pro 100 or Pro 200 does not unlock Ultrafast at launch. Allowances vary by tier, and a model can become temporarily unavailable until its displayed reset time. BIG CHANGE has not tested an account, the model picker or usage metering.

## Subscription usage, credits and API billing

Signing in to Codex with a ChatGPT account applies that account's subscription allowance. OpenAI says eligible users can purchase credits for supported usage after the included allowance runs out; credits do not cover every model or feature. Using Codex with **your own API key** follows [API usage-based pricing](https://platform.openai.com/docs/pricing) instead. The API-key column on the Codex pricing page is a separate billing route, not an included dollar balance attached to a Pro subscription.

OpenAI has separately [announced a limited API preview of GPT-5.6 Sol in Ultrafast mode](https://openai.com/index/previewing-ultrafast/). That announcement concerns a different model and access route; it does not establish Astra Ultrafast API access from a Pro subscription.

## Sources & further reading

- [OpenAI, About ChatGPT Pro tiers](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers) — live September 29 plan prices, tier order, Pro $200 transition, Ultrafast eligibility, credits and subscription steps. The current page does not publish exact new Codex quotas.
- [OpenAI, Codex pricing](https://chatgpt.com/codex/pricing/) and [Using Codex with your ChatGPT plan](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11369540-using-codex-with-your-chatgpt-plan) — current usage mechanics, dashboard route and the limits of the public estimate table.
- [OpenAI's earlier Pro $100 announcement](https://community.openai.com/t/introducing-new-100-month-pro-tier/1378752) — the standard 5x Plus Codex label and a separate temporary launch promotion. An indexed pre-September 29 version of the Pro-tier Help Center also labeled the old $200 tier 20x.
- [Thibault Sottiaux's September 29 post](https://x.com/thsottiaux/status/2104823812042940713) — planned $200 reopening date and his half-of-old API-spend comparison. The direct X page was not retrievable in this audit; the text was cross-checked against contemporaneous reproductions, while the current OpenAI Help Center independently confirms only a lower allowance.
- [OpenAI, Previewing Ultrafast mode](https://openai.com/index/previewing-ultrafast/) — an August 13 limited API preview for GPT-5.6 Sol, distinct from the Pro 500 Astra entitlement.

## Sources

- [OpenAI: About ChatGPT Pro tiers](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers) — Current Sep. 29, 2026 plan pricing, qualitative usage order, Pro 200 transition terms, Pro 500 Ultrafast eligibility and credit rules. Current page gives no exact Pro tier Codex quotas; historical labels discussed in the article are explicitly dated.
- [OpenAI: Codex pricing](https://chatgpt.com/codex/pricing/) — Current Codex estimate table and billing distinctions; the page does not show Pro 100, Pro 200 or Pro 500 columns.
- [OpenAI: Using Codex with your ChatGPT plan](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11369540-using-codex-with-your-chatgpt-plan) — Explains variable task consumption, shared allowances and where to check plan usage.
- [OpenAI community announcement: Introducing New $100/month Pro Tier](https://community.openai.com/t/introducing-new-100-month-pro-tier/1378752) — Historical standard 5x Plus Codex label for Pro 100 and separate temporary launch promotion.
- [Thibault Sottiaux on Pro $200 reopening](https://x.com/thsottiaux/status/2104823812042940713) — Attributed Sep. 29 statement that revised $200 usage calculation is about half the former plan's API-spend equivalent; not an exact Codex quota or task count.
- [OpenAI: Previewing Ultrafast mode](https://openai.com/index/previewing-ultrafast/) — Aug. 13 limited API preview for GPT-5.6 Sol, separate from Pro 500 Astra Ultrafast subscription access.