- ChatGPT Business Premium will cost US$125 per user monthly, or US$100 with annual billing.
- Companies can reserve the higher-priced seats for intensive users without upgrading their entire workforce.
- OpenAI remains private, but the plan could influence its IPO case and publicly traded technology partners.
OpenAI is creating a considerably more expensive ChatGPT Business option as the artificial-intelligence company seeks to generate more revenue from its most active corporate users.
The forthcoming Premium seats will cost US$125 per user monthly or US$100 a month when billed annually. Prices may vary by country and currency, making the final cost for Canadian customers dependent on OpenAI’s local billing terms and exchange rates.
This article is a journalistic opinion piece which has been written based on independent research. It is intended to inform investors and should not be taken as a recommendation or financial advice.
Premium is currently at the waitlist stage, and OpenAI has not announced when it will become generally available.
More capacity rather than a new product
Premium seats will include five times more usage than the Standard plan, remove the existing five-hour usage limit and reset allowances weekly, according to OpenAI.
The service is not unlimited. Companies can purchase additional shared credits if employees reach their included allowances.
Standard seats remain US$25 per user monthly or US$20 with annual billing. On an annual plan, Premium therefore costs US$1,200 per employee compared with US$240 for Standard.
OpenAI is not requiring companies to choose one tier for everybody. Workspace administrators can mix the two seat types, upgrade or reassign individual users and monitor spending centrally.
That could make Premium easier to adopt. Businesses can provide additional capacity to developers, researchers and analysts who regularly run complex workloads while leaving occasional users on the cheaper plan.
The announcement did not identify exclusive Premium models or capabilities. The primary benefit is the ability to complete more work with fewer interruptions.
A new route to revenue growth
The plan allows OpenAI to increase average revenue per business customer without imposing a general price increase.
At annual prices, converting one Standard seat to Premium adds US$960 in recurring subscription revenue. A company upgrading 10 employees would contribute an additional US$9,600 annually, before accounting for any extra credits.
This type of pricing is common in business software. Entry-level subscriptions encourage broad adoption, while specialized tiers capture more spending from the employees receiving the greatest value from the product.
OpenAI is supporting the rollout with a limited promotion. The first 10,000 eligible workspace owners can receive US$100 in credits for each Premium seat they add, up to five seats and US$500 in total. Customers must join the waitlist by August 20.
The promotion could help OpenAI measure demand before setting a wider launch schedule.
Why it matters ahead of the IPO
OpenAI confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering in June but has not disclosed its expected timing, size or pricing.
The company said a listing may still take time because some objectives could be easier to pursue while it remains private.
A successful Premium rollout would strengthen one part of OpenAI’s future pitch to investors: its ability to charge businesses more as ChatGPT becomes integrated into everyday work.
OpenAI reportedly exceeded US$25 billion in annualized revenue in February, up from US$21.4 billion at the end of 2025. Reuters said it could not independently verify the figure.
Its cost structure remains the more difficult question. OpenAI reportedly incurred approximately US$34 billion in costs and expenses during 2025 while generating about US$13 billion in revenue.
Artificial-intelligence models require substantial spending on data centres, advanced processors, electricity and research. More revenue does not necessarily translate into better profitability if each additional workload carries high computing costs.
Premium seats could help by requiring intensive users to contribute more toward the infrastructure they consume. Their fixed subscriptions should also provide more predictable revenue than purely usage-based billing.
How Canadian investors can gain exposure
Canadian retail investors cannot currently buy OpenAI shares on a public exchange. Any exposure remains indirect until the company completes its proposed U.S. listing.
Publicly traded companies connected to OpenAI include Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT, TSX:MSFT), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN, TSX:AMZN), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA, TSX:NVDA) and SoftBank Group Corp. (OTC:SFTBY, PINL:SFTBF).
Greater ChatGPT usage could support demand for cloud capacity, chips and other AI infrastructure supplied or financed by those companies. However, buying their shares is not equivalent to investing directly in OpenAI, because each has much broader operations and its own risks.
Investors should watch three indicators once Premium becomes available: how many businesses adopt it, how many employees receive the higher-priced seats and whether customers continue buying credits after upgrading.
The results will help show whether ChatGPT is becoming essential business software or remains a tool companies will replace when a lower-cost competitor emerges.
OpenAI’s announcement is therefore about more than a new subscription. It is an early test of whether the company can convert intensive AI use into the durable, higher-margin revenue that public-market investors will expect.
