The company confirmed that the restriction took effect on September 10 and applies specifically to the Pro $200 tier, also described in its support material as Pro 20X. Existing subscribers on that plan remain unaffected, while the lower-priced Pro $100 option can still be purchased or renewed.
Thibault Sottiaux, an OpenAI product leader overseeing ChatGPT and Codex, said the company chose to halt the highest-usage tier because it places the greatest strain on its systems. “We wanted to take the smallest step that allows us to continue giving the broadest access possible,” he said.
OpenAI said its other paid plans, including Go and Plus, remain available, as does access through its application programming interface. The company has not announced when it will reopen new subscriptions to the $200 Pro tier, saying only that it is adding capacity as quickly as possible.
The pause follows what Sottiaux described a day earlier as “unprecedented” demand for Astra. He said OpenAI was using all available measures to sustain access and warned that new Pro subscriptions could be suspended if pressure continued. The company has not disclosed the number of new users seeking access or the volume of additional computing required.
Astra, released on September 3, is being rolled out across ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise accounts, as well as through OpenAI’s API and major cloud platforms. OpenAI describes the model as its most capable broadly deployed system, with advances in computer use, browsing, software engineering, science and professional work.
The model has also been given tighter safeguards because OpenAI has classified its cybersecurity capability at the “Critical” level under the company’s Preparedness Framework. OpenAI says Astra can, with appropriate tools and access, identify previously unknown security flaws and develop ways to exploit them across well-protected systems without step-by-step human guidance.
That capability led the company to strengthen protections around deployment, including stricter isolation, monitoring and controls intended to prevent harmful cyber activity or unauthorised actions. The safeguards are separate from the capacity problem that prompted the Pro subscription pause, but they add operational complexity to Astra’s rollout.
The launch itself was staggered. OpenAI initially gave access to a limited set of organisations before expanding availability to paying ChatGPT users. Chief executive Sam Altman apologised after some subscribers encountered delays, describing the rollout as messy and saying the company was working to put Astra in users’ hands as quickly as possible.
OpenAI later provided usage resets to eligible Plus, Pro and Business customers during the rollout period. Its support documentation says eligible users received banked resets on September 3 and September 4, followed by a global reset on September 7 for those plans.
The $200 Pro pause does not block existing subscribers from using their accounts. OpenAI says customers who cancel or schedule a downgrade retain Pro $200 access until the end of their billing cycle and can reverse the change before that period ends. Once the subscription expires, however, they cannot repurchase the $200 tier until sign-ups reopen.
The distinction is important because OpenAI now offers more than one Pro level. Its support pages say the $200 tier is the one subject to the temporary restriction, while existing and new $100 Pro subscriptions are not affected.
OpenAI introduced the higher-use Pro offering for people carrying out demanding work that relies heavily on advanced models, Codex, deep research, image creation and other resource-intensive features. The company’s decision to restrict only that tier indicates it is trying to preserve broader availability without closing lower-cost subscriptions or developer access.
Capacity constraints have periodically accompanied sharp increases in demand for generative AI services, particularly when new frontier models are released. Astra’s rollout has drawn especially strong interest because OpenAI has presented it as a major step in reasoning, coding and autonomous computer-based work.
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