Hajra Naz
OpenAI has temporarily paused subscriptions for its $200-per-month Pro plan. The company cited strain on its infrastructure as the reason. This decision follows surging demand for Astra, OpenAI’s newest and most powerful model.
Thibault (Tibo) Sottiaux announced this move on X. He leads core products at OpenAI, including Codex and ChatGPT. He explained that the Pro plan puts the most strain on the company’s systems. That’s why sign-ups for this specific tier are now disabled.
“We wanted to take the smallest step that allows us to continue giving the broadest access possible,” Sottiaux wrote. He added that other OpenAI plans remain fully available. That includes the API. It also includes the lower-cost Go and Plus plans.
OpenAI had actually warned about this possibility earlier in the week. On Wednesday, Sottiaux wrote directly about this concern.
“Demand for Astra is really unprecedented. We’re pulling all the levers possible to sustain the demand, but I’ve not seen anything like it until now and we went through very steep growth before. Priority will always be to keep excellent service for existing users, but we might have to pause new Pro subscriptions for a bit if this continues.”
OpenAI hasn’t specified how long Pro tier sign-ups will remain disabled. The company also hasn’t shared daily sign-up numbers. That information would help illustrate the actual scale of current demand.
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OpenAI raised usage limits for Codex users just last month. This timing suggests the current infrastructure strain is a relatively recent development.
Astra launched on September 3. Since then, it’s been rolling out across OpenAI’s various plans. That includes Pro, Plus, Enterprise, and Business accounts. It’s also becoming available through OpenAI’s broader AI offerings.
The model promises major advances in several key areas. That includes AI reasoning, coding, and computer use. Each of these areas faces intense competition industry-wide. OpenAI even described Astra as the beginning of the “AGI era.” The company called it a generational leap forward. This framing has only intensified demand for the model further.
