OpenAI Halts Pro Plan Sign-ups as Astra Model Strains Infrastructure

OpenAI has suspended new registrations for its Pro subscription tier, which costs $200 monthly, as the company grapples with infrastructure constraints stemming from exceptional uptake of its recently launched Astra model. Thibault (Tibo) Sottiaux, the product leader overseeing core offerings including Codex and ChatGPT, announced the decision via X, explaining that the Pro plan generates the heaviest load on the company's systems.

"We wanted to take the smallest step that allows us to continue giving the broadest access possible," Sottiaux wrote. He noted that OpenAI's other service tiers—the API, Go, and Plus plans—continue to accept new customers without interruption.

The company had signaled this possibility earlier in the week. At that time, Sottiaux indicated that "Demand for Astra is really unprecedented. We're pulling all the levers possible to sustain the demand, but I've not seen anything like it until now and we went through very steep growth before. Priority will always be to keep excellent service for existing users, but we might have to pause new Pro subscriptions for a bit if this continues."

OpenAI has not disclosed the duration of the Pro subscription pause or provided figures on daily sign-up volumes, leaving the full scope of demand unclear. The company did raise usage caps for Codex users in the previous month, indicating that infrastructure pressures are a recent development.

Astra, which debuted on September 3, is being distributed across OpenAI's entire product lineup, spanning Pro, Plus, Enterprise, and Business tiers alongside the AI platform itself. The model represents a significant advancement in reasoning, programming, and machine automation capabilities—domains marked by intense competitive activity. OpenAI's positioning of Astra as marking the start of the "AGI era" and a transformational breakthrough has intensified customer interest.