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NewsMaterial3 min readDisconfirmAI Editorial

OpenAI Developer Conference: ChatGPT Pricing Shifts from Per-Conversation to Per-Work Output

Alan (Zhang Yongyi) of GeekPark analyzes OpenAI's pricing adjustments at its 2026 developer conference: while model API prices are falling, the usage quotas for new subscriptions have shrunk because the billing unit has shifted from per-conversation to per-work output.

2026-09-30 02:59 GMT+8

In his coverage of OpenAI's 2026 developer conference, Alan (Zhang Yongyi) of GeekPark reserved his most significant observation for the minutes when Sam Altman announced the ChatGPT Pro membership adjustments—there was not a single round of applause from the audience. His assessment is that what this conference truly changed was not any specific feature, but rather how ChatGPT charges money: it no longer charges like a chat software, but begins charging like an "employee," with clear price tags for how much work is done and how fast it is completed.

Specific numbers illustrate this shift. Before the conference, Thibault Sottiaux (Tibo), Head of Products at OpenAI, posted on X revealing the new multipliers: Plus counts as 1x, Pro 100 is 5x, Pro 200 is 10x, and Pro 500 is 25x. The monthly fees and usage multipliers align perfectly—each tier offers 1 portion of Plus usage for every $20. The old "wholesale price" of Pro 200, which cost 10 times the money for 20 times the usage, is gone. Tibo calculated that the new Pro 200, converted to API costs, amounts to only about half of the previous version.

The contradiction lies in the fact that the models themselves are becoming cheaper. At the same conference, OpenAI released its only new model, GPT-6.1 Sol, officially stating that its API price is one-fifth that of Astra; both Sol and Luna had also just been reduced to half their original prices. Alan explains that these two facts are not contradictory; they simply reflect a change in the billing unit. According to OpenAI's logic, since the models are more efficient, each unit of quota can accomplish more work, so the quota can be reduced. You are no longer paying for the number of conversations or tokens, but for the amount of work done.

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Speed is also priced separately. In the API, Astra Ultrafast is up to 6 times faster than standard speed, and its price is exactly 6 times the standard price; when placed into ChatGPT memberships, it consumes quota at 8 times the speed of standard mode and is available only to Pro 500 and Enterprise plans. Alan connects this trend to earlier developments in Silicon Valley: in May, Microsoft paused "vibe coding," concluding that burning tokens had become more expensive than employees; in September, upon reviewing employee AI bills, the median reported monthly AI spending by Microsoft employees was $300. At that time, companies were learning to account for AI costs; now, it is OpenAI's turn to price AI using labor-cost calculations.

This "employee" framework also explains the other half of the conference announcements: OpenAI opened ChatGPT as a developer platform, where plugins function like mini-programs, ChatGPT login resembles WeChat login, and membership quotas can be used across partner products. Alan points out that developers gained access to an entry point for 1.2 billion users, but simultaneously surrendered ranking power—who gets promoted and who does not is decided by ChatGPT. His conclusion is that there was no applause for Altman because the developers in the audience were the first batch to pay according to this price list.

Sources

  • geekpark.netGeekPark↗
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