OpenAI has paused new subscriptions for its Pro plan, the most expensive consumer tier at $200 per month, due to what it describes as unprecedented demand for its newest model, Astra.
Product leader Thibault Sottiaux, who oversees core products including Codex and ChatGPT, announced the decision on X. "We wanted to take the smallest step that allows us to continue giving the broadest access possible," Sottiaux wrote. He confirmed that OpenAI's other plans — including the API and lower-cost Go and Plus tiers — remain available.
The company had warned on Wednesday that such a move might become necessary. In an earlier post, Sottiaux said demand for Astra was "really unprecedented" and that he had "not seen anything like it until now and we went through very steep growth before." He added that the priority would be maintaining excellent service for existing users.
Astra launched on September 3 and is rolling out across OpenAI's Pro, Plus, Enterprise, and Business plans. The model is positioned as a major leap forward in reasoning, coding, and computer use — areas of intense competition. OpenAI has described Astra as the beginning of the "AGI era," further stoking demand.
OpenAI has not disclosed how long the Pro pause will last or how many people are signing up daily. The company recently raised usage limits for Codex users last month, suggesting the infrastructure strain is a recent phenomenon.