OpenAI has added a USD 500 monthly ChatGPT subscription, or about KES 64,900, for people who need more usage and faster responses from its most capable model. Pro 500 launched on 29th September 2026, alongside the reopening of the USD 200 Pro plan, or about KES 26,000, to new subscribers.

If you already pay for Pro 200, your subscription stays at USD 200 a month, or about KES 26,000. The change to watch is its included usage. New Pro 200 subscriptions come with a lower allowance than the plan previously carried. Existing subscribers who meet OpenAI’s eligibility rules can keep the old allowance through 29th October 2026 while their subscription remains active, then move to the new one. OpenAI says it will email affected subscribers with the details.

The Pro range now has three monthly prices:

Pro 100 at USD 100, or about KES 13,000,
Pro 200 at USD 200, or about KES 26,000, and
Pro 500 at USD 500, or about KES 64,900.

All include the Codex coding tool and ChatGPT Work, where the assistant can carry out longer tasks. OpenAI puts Pro 500’s included allowance at 25 times that of ChatGPT Plus. The amount of work that buys you still depends on the model and the task; it is not a fixed number of prompts.

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What the extra money buys

Pro 500’s distinctive feature is Ultrafast, a faster service tier for GPT-6 Astra in ChatGPT Work and Codex. Astra is OpenAI’s model for demanding work. Ultrafast changes how quickly it generates a response, and OpenAI claims up to eight times faster token generation in Codex.

You select Ultrafast in the model picker when your account has access. It uses your included allowance first, then any credits you have bought for eligible extra usage. If you add credits, heavy use can therefore add to the subscription bill. Buying credits on Pro 100 or Pro 200 does not give you access to Ultrafast.

Astra itself is already available to lower-priced subscribers. Plus users can select it in Work and Codex, while Pro 100 and Pro 200 also have access to GPT-6 Pro, the Astra-powered option in ordinary ChatGPT conversations. The new subscription is aimed at people who need more included work and the faster Astra setting, especially when a coding or research job keeps them waiting for output.

Earlier today, we covered the launch of OpenAI’s dots, agents that can keep working on a user’s behalf. That service starts with Pro 100 for eligible Kenyan subscribers. Pro 500 makes most sense for a subscriber whose Work or Codex usage regularly reaches the plan limit, or whose Astra tasks are slowed by response time. Check the usage screen against your own workload before paying the additional USD 300 a month.