OpenAI pauses new $200 ChatGPT Pro signups as GPT-6 Astra demand overwhelms capacity
机器之心 · wechat · 2026-09-11
OpenAI has paused new subscriptions and upgrades to the $200 ChatGPT Pro (Pro 20X) tier, confirming existing users are unaffected. Tibo (Thibault Sottiaux, OpenAI's head of core product & platform) says Astra's exceptional performance drove unprecedented demand, leaving insufficient compute — no timeline for reopening.
- Astra is priced at 2.5x Sol for usage-based billing and burns Work/Codex quotas faster; its strongest Pro model is capped (50/week on Pro 5X, 200 on Pro 20X).
- The $200 tier is effectively OpenAI's biggest discount: double the price of Pro 5X but 4x the quota. SemiAnalysis estimates that at standard API rates, OpenAI loses money once utilization exceeds 11.4% on Plus/Pro 5X — and just 5.7% on Pro 20X (Anthropic 10%).
- Heavy users running overnight Codex agent chains shattered the "most subscribers won't max out" assumption, sparking developer frustration and speculation that pricing will rise.
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