How affordable can advanced AI get? OpenAI is testing that question with the launch of a new subscription tier in India. The company has introduced ChatGPT Go, priced at ₹399/month, making it the cheapest paid option available. The move highlights India’s growing role in the global AI landscape.
During the recent visit to India, Sam Altman mentioned that India has become the 2nd largest market after the U.S. Millions of people are using the free version of ChatGPT, but fewer are willing to pay for premium plans. With ChatGPT Go, OpenAI is offering a middle option that provides more features than the free plan. The plan is being launched in India first before expanding to other countries.
What ChatGPT Go Offers Compared to the Free Plan?
- 10x more messages than the free plan
- 10x more image generations
- 10x more file uploads
- 2x memory for longer and more personalized chats
- Runs on GPT-5
- Support Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, and Bengali.
OpenAI has enabled Indian users to pay through UPI, the country’s most widely used digital payment system. Credit cards and other local options are also available. This is expected to make subscriptions easier, especially for students and freelancers who may not have access to international payment methods.
The launch highlights India’s importance in the AI market. CEO Sam Altman praised how people in the country are using AI in creative and practical ways. His remarks reflect a larger trend of global tech firms tailoring their products and pricing specifically for Indian users.
ChatGPT Plans and Features
| Plan | Price | Model | Key Features |
| Free | Free | Basic | Limited messages, images, and uploads |
| Go | ₹399/ $4.60 | GPT-5 | 10x more usage, double memory, better Indian language support |
| Plus | ₹1,999/ $23 | GPT-4 + others | More usage, AI personas, video tools, priority access |
| Pro | ₹19,900/ $230 | Advanced models | Very high usage limits, advanced tools, priority support |
For Indian users, it opens the door to more powerful AI features without the cost barrier of premium plans. For OpenAI, it is a test of whether a low-cost strategy can turn millions of free users into paying customers.
The question now is whether this experiment will succeed. If ChatGPT Go gains traction in India, it could shape the way AI subscriptions are priced in other countries as well, making advanced tools part of daily life for far more people than today.
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