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ChatGPT Cost Calculator
Work out what your ChatGPT and Codex usage would cost at API prices and whether Plus, Pro or the API is cheapest for you.
Your usage
Estimate your usage or enter your token numbers.
How heavily do you use it on a working day?
$15 per active day, so several Codex tasks every day.
What it costs you
API value of your usage
$300 per month
What the same usage would cost at API list prices.
Cheapest option
ChatGPT Plus, but it is tight. Your usage sits inside the measured range, so you may hit limits.
- OpenAI API$300
pay as you go
- ChatGPT Plus$20
Tight · $280 cheaper
API value per month in measurements: $200 - $350
- ChatGPT Pro 100$100
Enough · $200 cheaper
API value per month in measurements: $760 - $1,520
- ChatGPT Pro 200$200
Enough · $100 cheaper
API value per month in measurements: $2,450 - $3,000
- ChatGPT Pro 500$500
No measurement · $200 more
| Option | Price per month | API value per month in measurements | Enough? | Compared with the API |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI API | $300 | pay as you go | Enough | $0 |
| ChatGPT Plus | $20 | $200 - $350 | Tight | $280 cheaper |
| ChatGPT Pro 100 | $100 | $760 - $1,520 | Enough | $200 cheaper |
| ChatGPT Pro 200 | $200 | $2,450 - $3,000 | Enough | $100 cheaper |
| ChatGPT Pro 500 | $500 | No measurement | No measurement | $200 more |
All amounts in US dollars before tax. The providers publish no dollar cap; the ranges come from measurements and cover a whole month. Where a plan also has a limit per 5 hours, a single long session can end earlier.
How much API value the plans include
OpenAI states no dollar cap for its plans, only estimated message ranges. The ranges in the calculator therefore come from published measurements of the weekly Codex limits and assume one weekly allowance per week. OpenAI reset the limits early many times in 2026, though. In those months you got clearly more.
- ChatGPT Plus: A Codex allowance per 5 hours, and weekly limits may apply. OpenAI states only estimated message ranges. Two published measurement series arrive at $46 to $81 per week.
- ChatGPT Pro 100: No 5-hour limit. Since 29 October 2026 twice the previous Work and Codex allowance. Lower bound from a single measurement before the doubling ($175 per week), upper bound calculated with the doubling OpenAI announced.
- ChatGPT Pro 200: No 5-hour limit, one Work and Codex allowance without a published amount. One published measurement series across seven accounts arrives at $565 to $696 per week.
- ChatGPT Pro 500: The highest allowance of the three Pro tiers, without a published amount. I have no measurement for it.
Sources of the measurements
- OpenAI: Codex pricing (November 12, 2026): Estimated message ranges per 5 hours on Plus, no 5-hour limit on Pro.
- OpenAI: ChatGPT Pro tiers (October 29, 2026): Three Pro tiers at $100, $200 and $500, and the doubling for Pro 100 and Pro 500.
- Wokey: Codex usage limits (November 9, 2026): Plus at a median of $46 per week (six accounts), Pro 200 at a median of $581 per week (seven accounts). The publisher sells its own product.
- FinOps LLM: Codex usage limits (October 10, 2026): Plus most recently at $61 to $81 per week across 27 weekly windows, Pro 100 at $175 in a full week. The publisher sells audits.
As of November 12, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
As soon as your usage costs more at API prices than the plan. For ChatGPT Plus that is from $20 of API value per month, for the Pro tiers from $100, $200 or $500. With Codex you pass the Plus threshold after a few working days.
There is no official figure. Published measurements arrive at $46 to $81 per week for Plus and $565 to $696 per week for Pro 200. For Pro 100 there is only a single measurement, for Pro 500 none.
They are a guide, not a promise. OpenAI changed the allowances several times in 2026, most recently on 29 October, and often reset the limits before the week was over. Every reset restores the full allowance, so the ranges are closer to a lower bound. In October 2026 more than $5,000 ran through Codex on a single Pro subscription of mine. The measurements also come from publishers that sell their own products around Codex.
The estimate based on API value per day applies to any usage. The measured ranges refer to Codex, though, because only Codex leaves token logs. Chat-only usage rarely reaches these values.
OpenAI bills the API in US dollars, and the measurements are in dollars too. The plan prices in the calculator are the US list prices. Local prices can differ.
Changelog
The latest updates and improvements to our ChatGPT Cost Calculator
November 12, 20261.0.0
First version
- Estimate based on API value per active day
- Exact calculation with your own token numbers and current API prices
- Comparison of ChatGPT Plus, Pro 100, Pro 200, Pro 500 and the API with measured ranges