OpenAI has temporarily halted new subscriptions to its Pro plan, priced at $200 per month, in response to overwhelming demand for its newest AI model, Astra. The announcement was made by Thibault Sottiaux, OpenAI’s product leader for core offerings including Codex and ChatGPT. He explained that the Pro plan places the greatest load on OpenAI’s infrastructure, prompting the company to disable new sign-ups for this tier to ensure continued service quality.
Other subscription options, such as the API access and the more affordable Go and Plus plans, remain available. OpenAI had previously indicated that such a pause might be necessary due to Astra’s unprecedented demand, which has surpassed previous growth experiences. Sottiaux emphasized the company’s priority to maintain excellent service for existing users.
OpenAI has not disclosed how long the Pro plan sign-ups will remain paused or provided specific figures on daily subscription rates. The strain on infrastructure appears to be a recent development, as usage limits for Codex were increased as recently as last month.
Launched on September 3, Astra is integrated across various OpenAI offerings, including Pro, Plus, Enterprise, and Business accounts. The model represents a significant advancement in AI capabilities, particularly in reasoning, coding, and computer interaction. OpenAI has described Astra as marking the start of the "AGI era," which has contributed to the surge in demand for access to the model.