ChatGPT Pro 500: OpenAI Adds $500 Tier With Ultrafast Models

OpenAI has added a new top tier to its consumer subscription lineup. ChatGPT Pro 500 costs $500 per month and bundles access to faster versions of the company's newest models. The launch also reshuffles the existing Pro offering, and the details suggest OpenAI is segmenting its heaviest users more aggressively than before.

What OpenAI announced

According to OpenAI's help documentation, Pro 500 includes GPT-6 Astra Ultrafast and GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast. 1 The same page says Pro 200 is open to new subscribers again. 1 It also says new subscriptions that don't qualify for grandfathering come with a lower usage allowance. 1 In plain terms, people who already hold a Pro plan appear to keep their current limits, while newcomers to the $200 tier get less.

Coverage of OpenAI's 2026 Dev Day places the new plan within a larger set of announcements. Geeky Gadgets counts more than 20 major updates from the event. 2 By that account, Pro 500 offers a 25x usage allowance, and a new Ultra-Fast Mode runs tasks up to eight times faster. 2 The report does not say what the 25x multiplier is measured against, whether a lower Pro tier or a baseline plan. Readers should treat that figure as a marketing headline until OpenAI publishes concrete limits.

GPT-6.1 Sol and the pricing question

The most notable technical claim involves GPT-6.1 Sol. Geeky Gadgets, citing Universe of AI, reports that Sol performs at the level of Astra for roughly one-fifth of the cost. 2 It lists pricing of $2 for input and $10 for output. 2 The report does not give the unit, though API pricing is usually quoted per million tokens.

The two sources describe Astra somewhat differently. OpenAI's documentation names it plainly as GPT-6 Astra, one of the company's own models offered in an Ultrafast form. 1 The Geeky Gadgets piece calls it "a prominent AI system." 2 That phrasing hides the more interesting story: OpenAI appears to be undercutting its own flagship with a cheaper successor. Releasing a ".1" model that matches the previous premium model at a fraction of the price is now a familiar pattern across the industry. It lets a company cut prices without officially discounting anything.

The rest of Dev Day

The subscription changes arrived alongside a broader push into agents. Geeky Gadgets highlights DOTS, described as an always-on AI agent that connects with more than 4,000 applications for personal and professional work. 2 The report also lists upgrades to developer tools:

• Code Interpreter, with improved functionality and security 2
• Decisions API, which the report presents as a new or expanded developer surface 2
• Agents API, now with multi-agent support and AWS compatibility 2

None of these items appear in OpenAI's help-center note, which sticks narrowly to plan structure. 1 Claims about DOTS's reach and the tooling improvements therefore rest on secondhand event coverage, not on OpenAI's own documentation.

Why it matters

The pricing structure tells a clearer story than any single feature. With Pro 500 above Pro 200, and Pro 200 now offering reduced allowances to new subscribers, OpenAI is in effect raising the price of heavy usage. The lower allowance for new $200 subscribers pushes demanding users toward the $500 tier. Grandfathering protects existing customers and limits backlash from the people most likely to complain loudly.

The plan design also points to where OpenAI sees value: speed. Both models in Pro 500 are "Ultrafast" versions. 1 The headline feature in the event coverage is an execution mode up to eight times faster. 2 For individual users, latency is becoming a paid feature in its own right, separate from model capability.

The Sol pricing pulls in the opposite direction. If Astra-class performance is available through the API at about one-fifth the cost, as reported, the gap between expensive consumer subscriptions and cheap API capacity grows. 2 That could steer technically capable users toward building their own workflows rather than paying $500 a month.

The takeaway

The safest reading is that OpenAI is splitting its market in two. Developers get cheaper capability through Sol and agent tooling. Power users of ChatGPT pay more for speed and higher limits. The confirmed facts are the $500 tier, the Ultrafast model lineup, and reduced allowances for new Pro 200 subscribers. 1 The performance and multiplier claims are plausible but unverified. They deserve scrutiny once OpenAI publishes specific usage caps and independent benchmarks appear.