ChatGPT's top plan costs $500 a month, while Claude's runs far cheaper

ChatGPT now sells three Pro plans, at $100, $200 and $500 a month. Claude's flagship model, Opus 5.5, lists at $4 for every million input tokens through its developer service. Tokens are the small chunks of text an AI reads and writes. The prices come from OpenAI and Anthropic pages checked on October 27, 2026.

What changed

OpenAI's price list now runs Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise, and the $500 plan sits at the top. GPT-6 models reached ChatGPT on October 7 for paid users and on October 8 for Free and Go. Anthropic's lineup is shorter: Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. Max comes in 5x and 20x versions, which multiply the Pro usage allowance.

Where Claude costs less

For developers who pay per use, Claude is cheaper at the top end. Opus 5.5 costs $4 in and $20 out per million tokens. OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra costs $10 in and $50 out. That makes Opus 40% of Astra's price on both sides. The small models tie: GPT-6 Luna and Claude Haiku 5.5 both list at $0.10 in and $0.50 out.

Claude's Max 5x and Max 20x plans also bundle $100 and $200 of monthly Claude Platform credit. ChatGPT plans do not, because OpenAI bills its developer service separately.

The free tier and the speed trap

OpenAI describes the Free plan as unlimited for everyday text chats, with safeguards against abuse. File uploads, images and voice have separate caps. Someone who mostly asks questions and drafts short text may not need a paid plan at all. The material did not confirm prices for Go or Plus, so check OpenAI's live page.

Speed settings matter on Pro plans. Ultrafast mode uses your included allowance at eight times the Standard rate. Fast mode uses it at 2.5 times. Leaving Ultrafast on by default can shrink even a $500 plan.

What to do

• Start with a free tier and move up only when you hit its limits.
• Skip the $500 plan unless one person truly maxes out a lower tier daily.
• Turn off Ultrafast unless you need it.
• Check live prices first, since Claude's US prices vary by region and billing cycle.

The math favors spreading seats. Five people on Pro 100 cost $500 a month, the same as one person on Pro 500. Models also change fast: OpenAI retired GPT-5.5 from ChatGPT this month, so expect the menu to keep shifting.