OpenAI has just shaken up the pricing landscape with a new version of its ChatGPT Pro subscription at $100 per month, and the question on everyone's mind is: who is this really for, and does it make sense for the average user?

Let's break it down, because the answer isn't that simple.

The new Pro plan of $100: What Exactly It Includes

Until now, the only way to access ChatGPT Pro was by paying a $200 monthly subscription, a price that, let's be honest, very few people were willing to pay. Now, OpenAI has introduced an intermediate tier that promises to be much more accessible without sacrificing too much.

According to the company, the new ChatGPT Pro at $100/month offers the following:

OpenAI describes this plan with a rather straightforward phrase: “Built for real projects.”

In other words, it's not designed for someone who asks ChatGPT questions occasionally, but for someone who uses it as a continuous work tool throughout the week.

Who is the target audience for this plan?

Here's the key point that many people overlook: this plan was designed primarily for users of Codex, OpenAI's tool for AI-assisted programming.

OpenAI launched its Codex application for Mac in February, offering developers new agentic coding capabilities—that is, AI that can write, review, and execute code almost autonomously.

The success has been remarkable: Codex already has over 3 million weekly users, representing 70% month-over-month growth and a fivefold increase in just three months.

So, the ideal user profile for this plan is:

In short, if you're not a developer or don't have very specific, intensive usage needs, this plan probably wasn't designed for you.

Can the average user benefit from this plan?

To be blunt: probably not, at least not entirely. The average user who uses ChatGPT to draft emails, create summaries,Brainstorming or generating casual content won't even come close to exhausting the limits of the $20 Plus plan, so paying $100 a month would be overspending without taking advantage of the potential. However, there is an intermediate profile that could benefit: journalists, content creators, marketers, or consultants who use AI daily as part of their workflow and already feel that the $20 plan falls short. If you're in that group and access to exclusive models or higher limits truly impacts your productivity, the jump to $100 might make sense. It's also worth clarifying that the $200 a month plan still exists and isn't being discontinued. OpenAI describes it as ideal for those who need "the heaviest workloads," with 20 times more usage than Plus and the ability to run workflows in parallel continuously. So now there are two versions of ChatGPT Pro, something the company itself readily acknowledged—although, as many have noted, OpenAI has never been particularly good at naming its products. In short, the new $100-a-month ChatGPT Pro is a smart move by OpenAI to capture that segment of users who were left in limbo between the original Plus and Pro. It makes perfect sense for developers and technical users, but for everyone else, the $20 plan is still more than enough—for now.