OpenAI now gives eligible ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers up to $500 a month in free API credits. The October 28, 2026 entry in its API changelog is one line: “Eligible ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers can now claim up to $500 per month in free API credits as a subscription benefit.” The guide behind it sets the amounts. Each Pro tier returns its own monthly price as API credit, Business seats add $20 or $100 each to a pool capped at $500, and nothing carries over: “Unused credits expire at the end of the billing cycle and don’t roll over.”
The benefit links a ChatGPT subscription to an API organization the subscriber owns. Credits arrive when the subscription renews, the first grant is prorated, and no API payment method is needed to spend them. Codex is the notable gap.
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OpenAI’s API changelog of October 28, 2026 says eligible ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers can claim up to $500 a month in free API credits.
Each Pro tier returns its price as API credit: $100, $200 or $500 a month.
Business seats add $20 (Standard) or $100 (Premium) to a pool capped at $500 per workspace, reached at 25 Standard or 5 Premium seats.
Credits expire at the end of each billing cycle, are spent before purchased credits and need no API payment method.
They cover the Responses, Agents, Decisions, Realtime and Images APIs plus built-in tools, but not Codex through API keys.
Subscriptions must be paid and at least seven days old; free trials, Plus and Enterprise do not qualify.
§ 01How much each plan gets
| Plan | Plan price | Monthly API credits | Credits as a share of the price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro 100 | $100 | $100 | 100% |
| Pro 200 | $200 | $200 | 100% |
| Pro 500 | $500 | $500 | 100% |
| Business Standard seat | $20 billed annually, $25 monthly | $20 per paid seat | 100% annual, 80% monthly |
| Business Premium seat | $100 billed annually, $125 monthly | $100 per paid seat | 100% annual, 80% monthly |
Plan prices come from OpenAI’s ChatGPT pricing page and its Pro tiers help article, read October 28. For a Pro subscriber the credit equals the plan’s price, so a developer who already spends at least that much on the API each month now gets the subscription back.
Business works differently. Credits are counted per paid seat, then pooled: “Business API Credits are pooled and capped at $500 per workspace per month.” The pool fills at 25 Standard seats or 5 Premium seats, and every seat past that adds nothing. A 50-seat Standard workspace gets the same $500 as a 25-seat one, which is $10 a seat. Workspaces that pay annually upfront receive the full year’s grant in one issuance, capped at $6,000.
§ 02What $100 of credit buys
At OpenAI’s standard short-context prices, read from its API pricing page on October 28:
| Model | Input price | Output price | $100 buys (output tokens) | $500 buys (output tokens) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-6 Astra | $10.00 | $50.00 | 2M | 10M |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | $2.00 | $10.00 | 10M | 50M |
| GPT-6.1 Terra | $1.00 | $5.00 | 20M | 100M |
| GPT-6 Luna | $0.10 | $0.50 | 200M | 1B |
Output is the expensive side, so an agent that reads more than it writes stretches the credit further. Batch and Fast mode are priced differently, and regional processing endpoints carry a 10% uplift; the table uses standard pricing. Our GPT-6.1 Terra record covers the cheapest of the new flagship tiers.
§ 03What the credits cover, and what they don’t
The credits pay for API Platform usage billed to the linked organization: the Responses API, the Agents API including OpenAI-hosted sandbox charges, the Decisions API, GPT-Live and the Realtime API, the Images API, and built-in tools such as web search, file search and Code Interpreter.
Two exclusions matter for the people most likely to claim. “Codex usage through API keys is not supported by this benefit.” And the credits live in the API organization only: they “don’t increase your ChatGPT or signed-in Codex usage limits.”
Free credits are spent first. “Your organization uses free API credits before purchased API credits.” When both run out, requests fail with HTTP 429 and the error code credit_balance_exhausted, unless the organization tops up or has Auto Recharge on.
§ 04Who can claim
- An active, paid Pro or Business subscription at least seven days old. “Free trials and complimentary subscriptions don’t qualify.”
- The claimer owns both the subscription or Business workspace and the API organization receiving the credits.
- The ChatGPT account and the API account use the same email address.
- Enterprise is out: “ChatGPT Enterprise is not eligible for this benefit.” Plus, Go and Free are not eligible either, and downgrading to one removes the link at the end of the billing cycle.
Pro subscribers claim from Settings, then Billing, in ChatGPT; Business owners use the workspace billing settings or the Admin Console. Either can also start from Billing on the API Platform and pick the subscription to link.
§ 05Who comes out ahead
Our read of the numbers:
- API builders already on Pro. The credit matches the price, so the subscription now pays for itself, as long as the API spend lands inside each billing cycle.
- Small Business teams. Up to 25 Standard or 5 Premium seats, every seat brings its full credit. Larger workspaces share a fixed $500.
- Heavy Codex users. Nothing changes unless they also call the API outside Codex.
OpenAI has run a smaller version before. In May 2025 it posted: “Plus and Pro users who sign in to Codex CLI with ChatGPT can now redeem $5 and $50 in free API credits, respectively, for the next 30 days.” This one has no end date in the guide, though credits come “while these benefits are available”. It turns ChatGPT subscribers into API customers who already have a balance, which is where OpenAI sells the Agents API and its hosted sandbox. Our ChatGPT Pro 500 record has the plan ladder these credits sit on.
§ 06What we are watching for
- Whether Plus or Enterprise join; the guide excludes both today.
- How long the benefit lasts; the guide grants credits only while it is offered.
- Whether Codex usage through API keys is ever covered.
- An OpenAI news post. The benefit launched as a changelog line and a guide; @OpenAIDevs announced it on X at 23:17 UTC on October 28.
§ 07The record
As of October 28, 2026: eligible Pro and Business subscribers can claim monthly API credits. Pro gets its plan price; Business gets $20 or $100 per paid seat, pooled and capped at $500. The credits are spent first, expire each billing cycle and cannot pay for Codex through API keys.
§ 08Update log
- October 28, 2026, 23:30 UTC: added @OpenAIDevs’s announcement on X.
- October 28, 2026, 22:20 UTC: added two animated scenes, the Pro payback and the Business pool.
- October 28, 2026, 22:09 UTC: published from OpenAI’s API changelog entry and guide.
§ 09Sources
- OpenAI, API changelog, October 28, 2026 entry.
- OpenAI, API credits for ChatGPT subscribers, read October 28, 2026.
- OpenAI, API pricing, read October 28, 2026.
- OpenAI, ChatGPT pricing, Individual and Business tabs, read October 28, 2026.
- OpenAI, About ChatGPT Pro tiers, read October 28, 2026.
- OpenAI Developers on X, API credits announcement, October 28, 2026.
- OpenAI on X, Codex CLI API credits, May 16, 2025.
Q1How do I claim the API credits?
Sign in to ChatGPT with the account that owns the subscription, open Settings then Billing (Pro) or the workspace billing settings (Business), and link an API organization you own. You can also start from Billing on the API Platform.
Q2Is ChatGPT Plus eligible?
No. The benefit covers paid Pro and Business subscriptions. Plus, Go, Free, free trials, complimentary subscriptions and Enterprise do not qualify.
Q3What happens when the free credits run out?
Purchased API credits take over if the organization has any. With no credits left, requests fail with HTTP 429 and the error code credit_balance_exhausted.
Q4Does a bigger Business workspace get more?
Only up to the cap. Credits are pooled and capped at $500 per workspace per month, which 25 Standard or 5 Premium seats reach. Workspaces paying annually upfront get the year’s grant at once, capped at $6,000.
Q5What can I build with the credits?
Anything billed to the linked API organization: the Responses API, the Agents API and its hosted sandbox, Decisions, GPT-Live and Realtime voice, Images and built-in tools. At standard prices, $100 buys about 10 million GPT-6.1 Sol output tokens.