OpenAI is gearing up to roll out new AI-powered tools, but they won’t come cheap. CEO Sam Altman has warned that access to the upcoming features could significantly raise costs for users.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman revealed that the company will launch new, compute-intensive offerings in the coming weeks, but they’ll only be available to subscribers of OpenAI’s Pro plan — the company’s most expensive tier, priced at $200 per month.
He also noted that certain products will carry “additional fees”, though he did not specify whether these charges would apply individually or extend to developers using the ChatGPT API. As a result, access to OpenAI’s full suite of tools is expected to become more costly, even without official price hikes in the existing Pro and plans.
Altman stressed that the company’s long-term goal is to lower operational costs, but acknowledged the challenge of delivering high-performance AI at today’s computing prices.
Cheaper Plan Expands to New Markets
While OpenAI prepares premium offerings, it is also broadening access to its budget option. The ChatGPT Go plan, first introduced in India in August, has now launched in Indonesia at 75,000 rupiah (around $25) per month.
Indonesia has recently become a hot market for AI services. Google launched a low-cost Gemini plan in the country earlier this year, and OpenAI’s move mirrors that pricing strategy.
Why Are AI Plans So Expensive?
Beyond market positioning, the high subscription prices are largely driven by the enormous computational costs of running advanced AI models. Cutting-edge tools demand substantial infrastructure and energy, making them more expensive to sustain.
As a result, enterprise-focused plans priced at over $1,000 a month are emerging as a way for companies like OpenAI to both limit access to premium features and offset infrastructure costs.
