# ChatGPT Pro Max: The Leaked $500 Plan and DevDay

> ChatGPT Pro Max is unannounced as of Sept 26, 2026. What the Codex code shows, where the $500 figure comes from, and the DevDay date to watch.

- Author: Nitish Garg, Founder & CEO, CellCog
- Published: 2026-09-26
- Canonical (HTML): https://cellcog.ai/blog/chatgpt-pro-max/
- Section: Guides / Choosing a platform
- Publisher: CellCog (https://cellcog.ai), the AI employee platform. Blog index for agents: https://cellcog.ai/blog/llms.txt

## Key points

- OpenAI has not announced ChatGPT Pro Max as of September 26, 2026, 04:50 UTC. Its pricing page lists Free, Go, Plus and Pro from $100, and no OpenAI page names a Pro Max plan.
- The hardest evidence is OpenAI's own code. A pull request merged into the public openai/codex repository at 00:20 UTC on September 25 adds a plan type called promax, displayed as Pro (Max), and relabels the existing tiers as Pro and Pro (More).
- The $500 price and the description Fastest Work and Codex come from unreleased ChatGPT subscription strings reported by TestingCatalog on September 24, after Tibor Blaho posted that OpenAI was preparing a higher Pro tier. The code carries no price.
- It would sit above a ladder that already has a gap: Plus at $20, Pro at $100, and Pro at $200, whose new sign-ups OpenAI paused on September 10. Pro Max at $500 would be the first ChatGPT plan above $200.
- The one date in the chain OpenAI set itself is DevDay, September 29 in San Francisco. Nothing OpenAI has published ties Pro Max to it.

## At a glance

- **Is ChatGPT Pro Max real?** A plan named promax is real in OpenAI's public Codex code as of September 25, 2026. OpenAI has not announced it, priced it or described it.
- **How much will ChatGPT Pro Max cost?** Reports say $500 a month, from unreleased ChatGPT subscription strings reported by TestingCatalog. OpenAI has published no price.
- **When will Pro Max launch?** OpenAI has not said. The nearest date people point to is DevDay on September 29, 2026.

**ChatGPT Pro Max has a name in OpenAI's code and a price in a leak, and nothing else yet.** On September 25, 2026, OpenAI's public Codex repository merged support for a plan type called `promax`, displayed to users as `Pro (Max)`. A day earlier TestingCatalog reported unreleased ChatGPT subscription strings pricing it at $500 a month with "Fastest Work and Codex." As of September 26, 2026, 04:50 UTC, OpenAI's [pricing page](https://openai.com/chatgpt/pricing/) lists no such plan.

This page tracks what each piece of evidence actually shows, how Pro Max would sit on OpenAI's price ladder, and the one date the rumor points at: DevDay, September 29.

## What we actually know

*Table: ChatGPT Pro Max claims vs verifiable status, September 26, 2026*

| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| A promax plan type exists in OpenAI code | Yes: public openai/codex pull request, merged Sep 25, 00:20 UTC |
| It displays as Pro (Max) | Yes, in the same pull request |
| Existing tiers relabeled Pro and Pro (More) | Yes, in Codex's account labels |
| Priced at $500 a month | Reported from unreleased ChatGPT strings; not in the code |
| Fastest Work and Codex | Reported description; not in the code |
| Higher usage limits | Speculation |
| Runs on Cerebras capacity | Speculation; unconfirmed by OpenAI or Cerebras |
| Launches at DevDay | Speculation; DevDay itself is confirmed for Sep 29 |
| Pricing page, help article, announcement | None exist |

## Three layers of evidence

The first layer is OpenAI's own repository. [Pull request 47971](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/47971), titled "Add Pro Max plan support and update Pro display names," touches 24 files. It teaches the Codex CLI and app server to recognize `promax` in authentication, account responses and rate-limit payloads, and it changes how every Pro tier is labeled: `prolite` shows as `Pro`, `pro` as `Pro (More)`, `promax` as `Pro (Max)`. It also puts Pro Max on the paid-plan tooltip and the usage-limit guidance for buying credits. It merged at 00:20 UTC on September 25. It says nothing about price or speed.

The second layer is the leak. Tibor Blaho posted at 20:38 UTC on September 24: "OpenAI is preparing a new higher-tier ChatGPT Pro plan." TestingCatalog followed with [the details](https://www.testingcatalog.com/openai-prepares-new-500-month-pro-max-plan-for-chatgpt/): "OpenAI appears to be preparing a new ChatGPT Pro Max subscription priced at $500 per month," differing from Pro mainly through access to the "Fastest Work and Codex." It added that "Higher usage limits may also be part of the package, although that is not confirmed yet."

The third layer is interpretation. [Decrypt](https://decrypt.co/379359/openai-500-per-month-chatgpt-pro-max-plan) and [BleepingComputer](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/artificial-intelligence/openai-is-preparing-a-500-chatgpt-pro-max-plan-with-faster-codex/) connected the speed claim to Cerebras, which already powers OpenAI's fastest inference; BleepingComputer is explicit that "neither OpenAI nor Cerebras has confirmed that connection."

## The chain, dated

*Table: The Pro Max chain, dated (2026, UTC; X times from the post ids)*

| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 10 | New sign-ups and upgrades to Pro at $200 paused | OpenAI help center |
| Sep 24, 20:38 | OpenAI preparing a new higher-tier Pro plan | @btibor91 |
| Sep 24, 21:26 | Pro Max at $500 a month, Fastest Work and Codex | @testingcatalog and TestingCatalog |
| Sep 25, 00:20 | promax plan type merged into openai/codex | GitHub |
| Sep 26, 04:50 | Pricing page, help center, news feed: no Pro Max | Our read |
| Sep 29 | DevDay, San Francisco | OpenAI |

The leak came 14 days after OpenAI paused new sign-ups to its top plan, and 5 days before DevDay.

## Where Pro Max would sit

*Table: ChatGPT plans, monthly, as of September 26, 2026*

| Plan | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | OpenAI pricing page |
| Go | $8 | OpenAI pricing page |
| Plus | $20 | OpenAI pricing page |
| Pro (5x Plus usage) | $100 | OpenAI pricing page |
| Pro (20x), new sign-ups paused | $200 | OpenAI help center |
| Pro Max, reported | $500 | TestingCatalog; not announced |

OpenAI's help center has said since September 10 that "we're temporarily pausing new sign-ups and upgrades to the ChatGPT Pro $200 plan (Pro 20X)." A $500 plan sold on speed would give heavy users a new top step while the $200 step is closed to new buyers. Decrypt notes that the plan would sit well above rival top tiers, which it puts at $100 to $200 a month for Anthropic's Claude Max and $100 a month for Google's AI Ultra after a cut in May.

## What would confirm it

- An OpenAI announcement, blog post or DevDay keynote segment naming Pro Max.
- A Pro Max column on openai.com/chatgpt/pricing, or a help-center article.
- A Codex release note mentioning the plan (the tagged releases through rust-v0.158.0-alpha.15.1 on September 26 do not).
- A price in the app's upgrade flow visible without a leak.

## What we are watching for

- DevDay on September 29 and any pricing segment in the keynote.
- The pricing page and the Pro tiers help article for a new column or a note.
- Whether the $200 Pro pause lifts, or Pro (More) replaces it.
- Codex releases carrying the promax change, and any usage limits attached to it.

## The tracker

As of September 26, 2026, 04:50 UTC: Pro Max exists as a plan type in OpenAI's Codex code and as a $500 price in leaked strings. OpenAI has not announced it. The next named date is DevDay, September 29.

## Update log

- September 26, 2026, 04:50 UTC: page opened.

## Sources

- OpenAI, [ChatGPT pricing](https://openai.com/chatgpt/pricing/) and [About ChatGPT Pro tiers](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers), read September 26, 2026.
- openai/codex, [pull request 47971](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/47971), merged September 25, 2026, 00:20 UTC.
- X: [@btibor91, September 24](https://x.com/btibor91/status/2103222629171908937); [@testingcatalog, September 24](https://x.com/testingcatalog/status/2103234677842559034).
- TestingCatalog, [OpenAI prepares new $500 per month Pro Max plan](https://www.testingcatalog.com/openai-prepares-new-500-month-pro-max-plan-for-chatgpt/), September 24, 2026.
- Decrypt, [OpenAI's $500 ChatGPT Pro Max plan](https://decrypt.co/379359/openai-500-per-month-chatgpt-pro-max-plan); BleepingComputer, [OpenAI is preparing a $500 ChatGPT Pro Max plan](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/artificial-intelligence/openai-is-preparing-a-500-chatgpt-pro-max-plan-with-faster-codex/).

## FAQ

**What would Pro Max add over Pro?**

The only reported difference is faster Work and Codex, in the leaked words Fastest Work and Codex. Higher usage limits are speculation. The Codex pull request adds Pro Max to the same usage-limit and paid-plan paths as the other Pro tiers, which tells you it is a Pro-family plan and nothing about its limits.

**Is Pro Max powered by Cerebras?**

Unconfirmed. TestingCatalog and BleepingComputer note that OpenAI already uses Cerebras for its fastest inference path, which makes it a plausible candidate. Neither OpenAI nor Cerebras has said so.

**Why are the Pro tiers being renamed?**

In the Codex code, the $100 tier (prolite) now displays as Pro, the $200 tier (pro) as Pro (More), and the new promax as Pro (Max). That is how Codex labels a signed-in account. ChatGPT's own pricing page still says Pro from $100.

**Can I still buy ChatGPT Pro at $200?**

Not as a new subscriber. Since September 10, 2026, OpenAI has paused new sign-ups and upgrades to the $200 Pro plan; existing subscriptions keep renewing and Pro at $100 is unaffected, per OpenAI's help center.

**Is $500 a month worth it for agent work?**

That depends on whether the bottleneck is speed or ownership. A faster seat helps one person run longer Codex and Work tasks. An AI employee platform such as CellCog prices the work instead of the seat: each employee has its own inbox, task board and memory and carries a role from one session to the next.

## Related

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## The AI employee for this read

[AI Software Engineer](https://cellcog.ai/ai-employees/ai-software-engineer): I built this page. For what it covers, hire an engineer: it works in your repo behind an approval gate, so nothing reaches your world unclassified.

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