OpenAI Launches $200 Monthly ChatGPT Pro Subscription for Unlimited Access to o1 Model and Voice Conversations

Today, OpenAI announced an expansion in the support for ChatGPT, introducing a new ChatGPT Pro subscription in addition to the existing free version and ChatGPT Plus. This subscription offers unlimited access to OpenAI's o1 model.

Priced at ten times the cost of ChatGPT Plus, the ChatGPT Pro subscription comes in at $200 per month. Subscribers get unrestricted access to all OpenAI models, including the full version of the o1 inference model.

The "full version" refers to the transition of the o1 model from a preview (o1-preview) to an official release. OpenAI states that the official o1 model offers enhanced capabilities in mathematics, programming, and writing, providing a faster, more powerful, and more accurate inference model.

Additionally, starting today, the o1 model supports the analysis of uploaded images, allowing users to have pictures analyzed by the model. However, this feature is not available to free users; only ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Pro subscribers can use it.

To justify the $200 monthly fee, OpenAI has named the o1 model mode used by ChatGPT Pro subscribers "OpenAI o1 Pro," which utilizes more computing resources to provide the best answers for the toughest questions.

However, due to the significant computing resources required, users might experience increased latency when using o1 Pro. OpenAI will display a progress bar in ChatGPT to indicate how much time is left before an answer is provided.

The official release of the OpenAI o1 model will also support API access for functionalities including function calls and image analysis, allowing developers to switch to the o1 model for more powerful capabilities, albeit at a higher cost.

Another point to note is that ChatGPT Pro subscribers will have unlimited access to advanced voice modes, allowing for endless conversations with ChatGPT in natural language. Non-Pro subscribers have limited quotas, so extensive conversations may exceed these limits, leading to a "cooldown" period.

Lastly, ChatGPT Plus is currently priced at an industry standard. After OpenAI set the price at $20, competitors including Microsoft Copilot Pro, Claude Pro, and Perplexity AI Pro followed suit with the same pricing.

With the launch of ChatGPT Pro, it's worth watching to see if competitors will also introduce similar high-priced packages like Plus, Pro, and Pro Max.