OpenAI’s new ChatGPT tricks come with a price tag

OpenAI is gearing up to supercharge ChatGPT, but your wallet might feel the heat. 

CEO Sam Altman confirmed this week that a slate of new, “compute-intensive” features are about to roll out, and they won’t come cheap. 

In fact, some of them may be locked behind the company’s priciest tier or even require additional à la carte fees. If you thought $20 a month was steep for Plus, brace yourself.

Currently, ChatGPT’s free tier gets you the basics, while the $20 Plus plan opens the door to GPT-5, image generation, file uploads, and custom chatbots. 

Then there’s the $200 Pro subscription, yes, two hundred dollars a month, which gives power users unlimited GPT-5 access, more leeway for multi-modal input, Sora video generation, and heavy-duty ChatGPT Agent usage. 

And yet, Altman’s comments suggest even Pro users might have to cough up more cash for the next wave of tools.

Over the next few weeks, we are launching some new compute-intensive offerings. Because of the associated costs, some features will initially only be available to Pro subscribers, and some new products will have additional fees.

Our intention remains to drive the cost of…

— Sam Altman (@sama) September 21, 2025

So what’s so resource-hungry that it justifies premium pricing? OpenAI is keeping the details hush-hush, but leaks are already circulating. 

According to Reuters, one project in the works is a ChatGPT-powered browser built on Chromium. 

Instead of endless tab-hopping, this browser would keep more of your searches and tasks inside a conversational interface, like a hybrid between ChatGPT and Google Search. 

Think Perplexity’s Comet browser, but with OpenAI’s twist.

Another rumor points to a “cloud browser” designed to play nicely with GPT Agents, the company’s automation helpers. 

Imagine outsourcing your boring digital chores to a bot that can actually click around the web for you. 

It’s the kind of thing that sounds revolutionary on paper, but also explains why OpenAI is sweating its server bills.

Of course, none of this is shocking. The AI arms race has turned into a GPU-devouring, cash-burning sprint, and OpenAI clearly doesn’t want to foot the bill alone. 

For everyday users, that means the dream of having an all-powerful digital sidekick may soon come with the same monthly price tag as your phone plan. 

The question is: will people pay $200-plus for the privilege of letting ChatGPT browse the internet for them, or will they stick with good old-fashioned tabs?

Is OpenAI’s push toward premium pricing for advanced ChatGPT features a necessary step to fund AI development, or are they pricing out everyday users who could benefit from these tools? Do you think a $200+ monthly subscription for AI assistance represents good value for power users, or is this just the beginning of AI tools becoming luxury products only accessible to wealthy individuals and corporations? Tell us below in the comments, or reach us via our Twitter or Facebook.