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No—not as a confirmed price. The $44 figure came from a September 2024 report about internal OpenAI documents prepared for investors. Those documents reportedly projected that an individual ChatGPT subscription could rise from $20 per month to about $22, then eventually reach $44 per month by 2029.
That was a forecast or financial target, not a public pricing announcement. As of August 18, 2026, OpenAI’s public U.S. pricing information still lists ChatGPT Plus at $20 per month.
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Where did the $44 figure come from?
TechCrunch reported in September 2024 that documents seen by The New York Times projected a possible price path for individual paid ChatGPT subscriptions:
- About $20 per month at the time
- About $22 per month as an initial increase
- As much as $44 per month by 2029
The coverage generally concerned the consumer subscription now associated with ChatGPT Plus—not every OpenAI product. It did not establish that every ChatGPT user would pay $44, or that the same price would apply in every country.
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Was $44 officially announced?
No. The evidence supports describing $44 as an internal projection reportedly shown to investors. It was not a binding roadmap, published price schedule, or confirmed commitment from OpenAI.
The careful wording is “OpenAI reportedly projected” or “might raise the price.” It would be inaccurate to say that OpenAI announced ChatGPT will cost $44 in 2029.
Why would OpenAI consider higher prices?
The 2024 reporting connected the projection with the cost of operating and developing advanced AI systems. According to reporting on the documents, OpenAI expected approximately $3.7 billion in sales and a loss of roughly $5 billion in 2024. Reported expenses included employees, offices, computing infrastructure, and model training.
Coverage also cited an estimated operating cost for ChatGPT of about $700,000 per day at one point and a projected goal of $100 billion in annual revenue by 2029. These figures came from reported internal materials, not independently audited results, so they should be treated as attributed estimates rather than settled financial facts. Tom’s Guide also discussed the reported financial rationale.
What does ChatGPT cost now?
OpenAI’s public pricing page currently lists these U.S. signals:
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| Plan | Listed price or pricing model | Typical audience |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Users with lighter or occasional needs |
| Plus | $20 per month | Individuals wanting broader access and additional tools |
| Pro | $200 per month | Heavy individual users |
| Business | Per-seat pricing; varies by billing cycle and region | Teams and organizations |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | Larger organizations |
OpenAI’s Plus help page also describes Plus as a $20-per-month subscription. Features, usage limits, plan names, taxes, and regional prices can change, so buyers should check the official page before subscribing.
Did the reported $22 increase happen?
The 2024 report described a proposed move to approximately $22. The current U.S. public pricing pages still show Plus at $20 per month. The narrow conclusion is that the reported first step was not reflected in the current standard U.S. Plus price.
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That does not prove the increase never occurred in another country, through another billing channel, or under a different pricing arrangement. U.S. web pricing should not be treated as worldwide evidence.
What would $44 mean for a subscriber?
At a nominal $44 per month, the arithmetic would be:
- $528 per year before taxes
- $24 more per month than today’s $20 Plus price
- $288 more per year
- A 120% increase over $20
- 2.2 times the current monthly price
Those comparisons exclude taxes, app-store billing differences, regional pricing, annual discounts, promotions, and any change in what the subscription includes. A future $44 charge might also apply to a redesigned premium tier rather than a direct replacement for today’s Plus plan.
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Would the price rise all at once?
Not necessarily. The reported path suggested gradual increases rather than an immediate jump from $20 to $44. OpenAI could instead use several smaller increases, introduce a higher-priced tier, add usage credits, or separate personal, professional, and high-compute plans.
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A $44 plan could eventually represent a package with more demanding features such as advanced agents, video, coding, research, automation, or higher usage limits. There is no evidence that any particular future feature is guaranteed.
Why the forecast may not happen
The projection is weakened by the fact that the current U.S. Plus price remains $20 despite the reported near-term $22 target. Other forces could also change OpenAI’s pricing strategy:
- Lower inference costs and more efficient hardware
- Competition from rival assistants and open-source models
- Free, ad-supported, or bundled AI products
- Subscriber cancellations after a price increase
- Employers paying for workplace access instead of individuals
- A shift from subscriptions to usage-based or bundled pricing
- Regulatory, tax, or app-store changes
Charging more per subscriber does not automatically increase total revenue. OpenAI would have to balance higher revenue per account against potential churn and the cost of serving users.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why $44 remains plausible
The figure cannot be ruled out. Advanced AI services may become more valuable as they handle complex research, software development, business workflows, media creation, and autonomous tasks. If those tools require substantially more computing power—or save users enough time—some customers may accept a higher price.
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But “possible,” “planned,” and “confirmed” are different conclusions. The documents reportedly made $44 a possible financial target or scenario; they did not make it a guaranteed consumer price.
How to compare a future $44 plan
Headline price alone would not tell you whether such a plan was good value. Check:
- Usage limits: messages, file analysis, image generation, research, and agent actions.
- Model access: whether the best models are included or require extra credits.
- Tools: browsing, coding, voice, video, automation, and integrations.
- Privacy: how personal and business data are handled.
- Sharing: whether the price is for one person or supports a household or team.
- Billing: taxes, annual discounts, app-store pricing, and regional adjustments.
- Lock-in: whether downgrading affects files, projects, custom assistants, or workflows.
Consumers would also compare free rival services, employer-provided tools, usage-based API access, and bundled subscriptions. For example, Google’s official Google One plans page lists Google AI Plus at $9.99 per month and Google AI Pro at $19.99 per month in the U.S., with storage and Google-service integrations. Those plans are not identical to ChatGPT Plus, but their bundled value matters when comparing monthly costs.
What buyers should do now
Do not subscribe solely to “lock in” a supposed 2029 price. The $44 figure is not a guaranteed schedule, and there is no evidence here that paying for Plus now guarantees a permanent $20 rate.
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The precise verdict
The $44 figure is real as a reported 2024 internal projection, but not as a confirmed OpenAI price. OpenAI’s public U.S. ChatGPT Plus price remains $20 per month as of August 18, 2026. A future $44 charge is possible, but it could involve a new premium tier, a redesigned subscription, or a different pricing model altogether.
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