OpenAI announced ChatGPT Plus, a subscription tier priced at $20 per month, on 1 February 2023 [source]. The service offers general access to ChatGPT even during peak times, faster response times, and priority access to new features and improvements.

The launch follows weeks of capacity constraints on the free tier. Users reported frequent "ChatGPT is at capacity right now" messages during high-traffic periods, particularly in North American and European evenings. The paid tier guarantees availability regardless of demand.

OpenAI stated the subscription revenue will support free access for as many users as possible. ChatGPT Plus subscribers receive no model improvements over free users when capacity allows — both tiers access the same underlying model. The differentiation is operational: queue priority and guaranteed uptime.

The announcement did not specify service-level commitments for response latency or define "faster" in quantitative terms. OpenAI confirmed the free tier will continue without changes to its feature set.

ChatGPT launched on 30 November 2022 and reached an estimated 100 million users within two months, according to third-party analytics. The rapid adoption strained OpenAI's infrastructure, prompting the capacity controls that became routine by mid-January 2023.

The Plus tier became available first to users in the United States, with a waitlist system managing initial rollout. OpenAI indicated it would expand to other countries and regions in the following weeks.

This marks OpenAI's first consumer subscription product. The company previously monetised GPT-3 and Codex exclusively through API access billed on token usage. ChatGPT Plus introduces a flat-rate model for conversational access, separating consumer and developer revenue streams.