ChatGPT Free vs ChatGPT Plus
Published limits, price and every dated limit change for both plans, side by side. Each value comes from the vendor’s page or a cited source; where a vendor publishes no number, we say so.
ChatGPT Free costs $0; ChatGPT Plus costs $20/mo. LimitWatch has logged 0 changes to ChatGPT Free (0 cuts, 0 increases) and 8 to ChatGPT Plus (2 cuts, 2 increases).
| ChatGPT Free (Codex) | ChatGPT Plus (Codex) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $20/mo |
| Published limits | Usage Codex for quick coding tasks (no figure published) | Windows Five-hour + weekly (shared by Work and Codex) |
| Coding agent Codex in the desktop app, subject to rollout | GPT-6 Astra ~5–45 local messages / 5h (estimate) | |
| Models GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed | GPT-6.1 Sol ~15–160 local messages / 5h (estimate) | |
| Resets Not published | GPT-6.1 Terra ~35–285 local messages / 5h (estimate) | |
| Beyond the limit Extra local chats with your own API key, at API rates | GPT-6 Luna ~350–3,000 local messages / 5h (estimate) | |
| Limit changes logged | None logged yet | 8 changes since 2 Apr 2026 ▲ 2 ▼ 2 ● 4 |
| Cuts in last 180 days | 0 | 1 |
| Last change | — | Same 14 Oct 2026 GPT-5.5 retired from Codex for ChatGPT sign-ins |
| Notes | ChatGPT Go ($8/mo) lists the same Codex access: GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app. Codex on the web, CLI and IDE extension, cloud code review and GPT-6.1 Sol start at Plus ($20/mo). Image generation isn't available on Free. | OpenAI says ranges are estimates, not guaranteed counts; cloud tasks can use more. |
| Source | developers.openai.com checked 1 Nov 2026 | help.openai.com checked 27 Oct 2026 |
| Full ChatGPT Free page → | Full ChatGPT Plus page → |
Units differ between vendors (sessions, credits, requests, multipliers), so limits are shown as each vendor publishes them rather than converted.
Same-day alerts for 2 plans
Change history, both plans (8)
GPT-5.5 retired from Codex for ChatGPT sign-ins
GPT-5.5 selectable in Codex with ChatGPT sign-in.GPT-5.5 removed; GPT-6.1 Sol recommended on paid plans.Details and source
From 19:00 UTC on Oct 14, GPT-5.5 is no longer available in Codex when signed in with ChatGPT. Paid plans should switch to GPT-6.1 Sol; API-key Codex sessions are unaffected. Update saved settings, configs and scripts that select gpt-5.5.
Vendor’s framing: “The OpenAI API and Codex sessions authenticated with an API key aren’t affected.”
Source: ChatGPT & Codex changelog · Announced: 2026-09-14 (notice) and 2026-10-14, ChatGPT & Codex changelog · Plans: ChatGPT Plus (Codex), ChatGPT Pro 100, ChatGPT Pro 200Devin (Windsurf) can bill GPT usage to your ChatGPT plan
All model usage in Devin counted against the Devin allowance.GPT usage can draw from a linked ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan (Go was added later per Devin's docs); other usage still uses Devin quota.Details and source
On Devin Pro, Max and Teams you can sign in with ChatGPT and have OpenAI model usage come out of your ChatGPT plan's Codex and Work usage instead of your Devin allowance. You can cap how much Devin may use in ChatGPT settings; past that cap, sessions fall back to Devin usage. Non-GPT models, Fast/priority variants, Cloud machine time and code scans still use Devin quota.
Vendor’s framing: “If you have an eligible ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan, you can sign in to Devin with ChatGPT and use that plan for any OpenAI models usage in Devin.” … “Usage in Devin counts toward the Codex and ChatGPT Work usage already included in your plan.”
Source: Devin (Cognition) blog · Announced: 2026-09-29, Cognition blog · Plans: Windsurf Pro, ChatGPT Plus (Codex), ChatGPT Pro 100, ChatGPT Pro 200, ChatGPT Pro 500ChatGPT Plus: five-hour Codex limit is back
No five-hour limit on Plus.Rolling five-hour limit on Plus.Details and source
The rolling five-hour limit returned for Plus across ChatGPT Work and Codex; Pro $100 and $200 exempt.
Vendor’s framing: “Tomorrow we will bring back the 5h limit for Plus accounts across ChatGPT Work and Codex. I had mentioned this a while ago, but then postponed it”
Source: Digital Applied ledger (row 19; original report: explainx) · Announced: 2026-08-25, Tibo Sottiaux on X · Plans: ChatGPT Plus (Codex)Codex five-hour limit ‘restored’ (didn’t hold for Plus)
No five-hour limit.Five-hour limit restored as announced; whether it landed for Plus is not established.Details and source
OpenAI said the five-hour limit would return on Jul 30 with a full usage reset; on Aug 25 the same exec said he had postponed it.
Vendor’s framing: “Tomorrow, we’ll also restore the five-hour limit that we temporarily paused while investigating”
Source: Digital Applied ledger (row 18; original report: Codex Runway) · Announced: 2026-07-29, Tibo Sottiaux on X · Plans: ChatGPT Plus (Codex), ChatGPT Pro 100, ChatGPT Pro 200Codex five-hour limit temporarily removed (launch week)
Five-hour limit enforced alongside weekly limit.No five-hour limit (temporary).Details and source
During GPT-5.6 Sol launch week the rolling five-hour limit was removed for Plus, Business and Pro; weekly limits unchanged.
Vendor’s framing: A temporary removal during launch week
Source: Digital Applied ledger (row 17; original report: Morph) · Announced: 2026-07-12, Tibo Sottiaux on X · Plans: ChatGPT Plus (Codex), ChatGPT Pro 100, ChatGPT Pro 200Codex adds banked rate-limit resets
No user-controlled way to clear a rate limit.One banked reset per user at launch.Details and source
Rate-limit reset banking added: one free reset per user at launch, redeemable against a hit limit.
Vendor’s framing: A new capability
Source: Digital Applied ledger (row 16; original report: Ofox) · Announced: 2026-06-11, Codex changelog · Plans: ChatGPT Plus (Codex), ChatGPT Pro 100, ChatGPT Pro 200ChatGPT Plus Codex allocation rebalanced toward steady daily use
Plus allowed longer burst sessions.Plus rebalanced toward steadier daily usage.Details and source
Announced with the new $100 Pro tier: Plus shifted toward steadier day-to-day usage rather than longer burst sessions.
Vendor’s framing: Presented as part of a tier launch, not as a reduction
Source: The Next Web · Announced: 2026-04-09 · Plans: ChatGPT Plus (Codex)Codex credits move from per-message to per-token pricing
Credits charged per message or per PR as approximate averages.Credits charged per 1M input, cached input and output tokens.Details and source
Codex credits for Plus, Pro, Business and new Enterprise switched to a token-based rate card (input, cached input, output). No conversion published.
Vendor’s framing: “we updated Codex pricing to align with API token usage, instead of per-message pricing”
Source: Digital Applied ledger (row 12; original: OpenAI Help Center Codex rate card) · Announced: On or before 2026-04-02, OpenAI Help Center · Plans: ChatGPT Plus (Codex), ChatGPT Pro 100, ChatGPT Pro 200
ChatGPT Free vs ChatGPT Plus: FAQ
How much do ChatGPT Free and ChatGPT Plus cost?
ChatGPT Free: $0 (OpenAI pricing page, checked 1 Nov 2026). ChatGPT Plus: $20/mo (OpenAI pricing page, checked 27 Oct 2026).
What are the usage limits on ChatGPT Free vs ChatGPT Plus?
ChatGPT Free — Usage: Codex for quick coding tasks (no figure published); Coding agent: Codex in the desktop app, subject to rollout; Models: GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed; Resets: Not published; Beyond the limit: Extra local chats with your own API key, at API rates. ChatGPT Plus — Windows: Five-hour + weekly (shared by Work and Codex); GPT-6 Astra: ~5–45 local messages / 5h (estimate); GPT-6.1 Sol: ~15–160 local messages / 5h (estimate); GPT-6.1 Terra: ~35–285 local messages / 5h (estimate); GPT-6 Luna: ~350–3,000 local messages / 5h (estimate).
Which has had more limit cuts, ChatGPT Free or ChatGPT Plus?
ChatGPT Free: no dated changes logged yet. ChatGPT Plus: 8 logged changes since 2 Apr 2026 (2 increases, 2 cuts, 4 other).
When did ChatGPT Free and ChatGPT Plus limits last change?
No change logged for ChatGPT Free yet. ChatGPT Plus last changed on 14 Oct 2026: GPT-5.5 retired from Codex for ChatGPT sign-ins.
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