- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted that the company is losing money on its $200 per month ChatGPT Pro plan.
- A significant price increase could make users question its affordability.
- OpenAI’s pricing strategy may push users towards competitors.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared on X that the company is losing money on the $200/month ChatGPT Pro plan. He didn’t elaborate on whether or how OpenAI might address that problem, but raising the price seems like an obvious option. Will that drive people away from the premium service? More importantly, will that translate into a higher price for ChatGPT Plus, which is currently $20?
I have subscribed to ChatGPT Plus since it became available. I use it to experiment and test features for work, but I’ve also enjoyed playing with it in my own life to come up with dinner ideas, entertain the kids, and generate gift ideas, among other tasks. Paying $20 a month for faster responses, better AI models, and early access to new features like the Sora AI video creator is a good deal.
ChatGPT Pro greatly expands on those benefits, with access to the o1 pro mode model, along with unlimited use of Sora and higher speed limits on API calls. If you are a power user, a video content creator, or a software developer running AI-powered projects, I’m sure $200 a month might seem like a good deal too.
Altman’s admission that Pro doesn’t cover its costs raises a big red flag. If Pro users are pushing the limits of what OpenAI’s infrastructure can handle and the company needs “more capital than I imagined,” where does that leave the rest of us? If Pro’s financial strain means OpenAI could also increase the price of Plus, I’ll have to re-evaluate whether I’m getting enough bang for my buck.
It’s crazy – we are currently losing money on openai pro subscriptions! People use it a lot more than we expected.January 6, 2025
ChatGPT$$$
Altman’s comments also reminded me that ChatGPT Plus was rumored to cost $42 per month before it launched. It’s a number that seems absurd now, but if OpenAI had gone that route, I probably wouldn’t have signed up, or at least not as easily. If Plus prices go up to maybe $30, I might keep my subscription, but I’d have to seriously consider whether it’s worth it. As fun as Sora can be, I’m not editing blockbuster movies here.
Furthermore, it’s not like OpenAI’s competitors are standing still. Google Gemini and other competitors offer premium feature subscriber bonus packages, often tied to other products like Google One. And OpenAI isn’t running out of gas. The company has raised billions in funding and expects to reach $11.6 billion in revenue this year. If you can’t make your products sustainable without constantly squeezing your subscribers, that suggests deeper problems.
One option sometimes floated is usage-based pricing, but that sounds like a logistical nightmare. Imagine being charged per question or word count when you use ChatGPT as an individual and not a business account. Suddenly you’re overthinking every query: “Do I really need to ask GPT for help with this?”
I’m sticking with ChatGPT Plus for now, but keeping my finger on the metaphorical cancel button in case of major price increases. It’s already annoying to see subscription prices rise unexpectedly for Netflix or Spotify, but I’d endure more trouble maintaining those services than ChatGPT Plus. I enjoy ChatGPT, but it’s not $50 a month.