OpenAI restores five-hour limit on ChatGPT Plus subscriptions
OpenAI has reinstated a rate cap for ChatGPT Plus members that restricts message volume across rolling five-hour periods. Company representatives indicated the restriction is required to balance server workloads and maintain system availability.
The Blend
OpenAI is reintroducing usage restrictions for ChatGPT Plus subscribers, imposing caps that measure activity over five-hour intervals. According to a company representative posting on X, the rule affects Plus, Work, and Codex accounts, while subscribers paying for high-end options costing one hundred dollars or more per month will remain exempt for the time being.
For average subscribers, the update means long, unbroken work sessions could trigger temporary cooldown periods. Company representatives stated that the policy helps balance computing loads across servers while preventing newer accounts from spending their entire weekly query allowances too quickly.
This change has already sparked pushback from users who relied on uninterrupted access, with some noting that flexible limits were their primary reason for choosing ChatGPT over rivals. It remains uncertain whether this decision will successfully nudge heavy power users toward OpenAI's far pricier tiers or simply drive them to competing services.
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Ingredients
- Tibo on X: "Tomorrow we will bring back the 5h limit for Plus accounts across ChatGPT Work and Codex. I had mentioned this a while ago, but then postponed it.
This is necessary as (a) the 5h limit allows us to smoothen the load on our compute, allowing to keep the plan generous in terms of" / X
OpenAI is reinstating a five-hour rate cap on ChatGPT Plus accounts to manage server traffic and stop users from exhausting their weekly quotas prematurely.