OpenAI is preparing a $500 ChatGPT Pro Max plan with faster Codex

OpenAI appears to be preparing a new ChatGPT Pro Max subscription that could cost $500 per month, but it's unclear when it'll begin rolling out.

OpenAI users, particularly power users, have been requesting more usage than the existing $200 plan offers for a while, so the $500 plan isn't just coming out of nowhere.

Right now, we don't know when you'll be able to subscribe to the $500 plan, but as spotted by TestingCatalog, the unannounced plan has started appearing in ChatGPT's subscription interface alongside Plus and existing Pro options.

One version of the page lists Pro Max at $500 per month, while another shows $600 after local taxes or VAT are included.

So far, the most interesting difference in OpenAI's description is "Fastest Work and Codex."

I also noticed that ChatGPT's new plan teases access to the company's most capable frontier models, maximum memory, 100GB of file storage, and early access to new features.

It is worth noting that the $200 plan also promises early access, so we are not sure if that capability is going away and becoming exclusive to the $500 plan.

OpenAI has not announced Pro Max, so we don't know its exact usage limits yet. It could also offer substantially higher allowances than the existing Pro plans.

ChatGPT Pro Max could use Cerebras for faster AI

There's another interesting possibility behind the "Fastest Work and Codex" wording, and the guess is that it could use Cerebras.

For those unaware, OpenAI has been deploying more Cerebras hardware for ultra-fast AI inference, but we haven't seen anything recently from the company on that front.

The most recent development was from early this year, when Codex-Spark launched on Cerebras at more than 1,000 tokens per second, and OpenAI later demonstrated GPT-5.6 Sol running at up to 750 output tokens per second in its Cerebras-powered Ultrafast mode.

It is entirely possible that Cerebras is a likely candidate for powering at least some of Pro Max's faster Work and Codex experience, although neither OpenAI nor Cerebras has confirmed that connection.

Right now, ChatGPT offers Pro tiers at $100 and $200 per month, but new sign-ups and upgrades to the ChatGPT Pro $200 plan have been temporarily paused since September 10.

Build your security blueprint for AI-powered attacks

Join Mikko Hyppönen and security leaders from the NFL, CHANEL, and Atlassian for a two-hour digital summit on what AI-speed attacks change, what defenders should stop doing, and how to validate, decide, fix, and re-validate at machine speed.

Save your seat