OpenAIOct 30, 2026 07:19 UTCOpenAI Dramatically Raises Usage Limits for Paid Plans
OpenAI has dramatically raised the monthly usage limit for its paid 'Pro plan' subscription from 100 to 500, a five-fold increase. After initially announcing plans to reduce the limit to 200, the company withdrew the policy in response to user backlash and instead implemented this substantial expansion. As competitor Anthropic prepares for its IPO, competition over enterprise-focused AI services is intensifying.
OpenAI has dramatically raised the usage limits for its paid subscription 'Pro plan'. Specifically, the previous limit of 100 has been expanded five-fold to 500, significantly increasing the amount of AI processing that paid users can access monthly.
This change came against a backdrop of user pushback. OpenAI had initially announced plans to lower the limit to 200, but faced mounting criticism from the user community. In response to this feedback, the company reversed course and implemented this substantial increase to 500. User opinion directly drove the policy change.
Additionally, the existence of new models 'Terra' and 'Sol' being developed by OpenAI has been revealed. These models are designed with higher processing efficiency than their predecessors, enabling more processing with the same computational resources. Beyond simply raising the usage limit figures, model optimization is expected to further enhance actual processing capabilities.
This move is driven by intensifying competition in the AI services market. The announcement comes at a time when competitor Anthropic is preparing for its initial public offering (IPO), and both companies are fiercely competing over enterprise-focused (B2B) AI services. The expansion of usage limits represents a measure to increase practical appeal to enterprise users.
In scenarios where businesses integrate AI into their operations, monthly usage capacity directly correlates with the volume of work that can be processed. Low usage limits become a barrier to business adoption, so a substantial increase in limits can appeal to enterprises considering larger-scale operational deployment. In the competition between OpenAI and Anthropic for corporate contracts, 'how much you can use' is becoming an important selection criterion alongside price.
Key points to watch going forward include the official release timeline for the new models 'Terra' and 'Sol' and the degree of actual processing capability improvement they deliver. Additionally, the competitive dynamics between both companies could shift further depending on what pricing strategy and usage terms Anthropic introduces following its IPO. Competition over AI services regarding 'usability' and 'usage capacity' is expected to accelerate further.
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