OpenAI Offers Up to $500 Monthly API Credit for ChatGPT Pro and Business
Starting October 28, 2026, OpenAI will provide eligible ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers with up to $500 per month in API credits, usable for app and agent development. Pro's three monthly price tiers of $100, $200, and $500 correspond to credits of the same amount; Business accumulates at $20 per month per Standard seat and $100 per month per Premium seat, with a workspace-wide cap of $500. Annual Business plans receive up to $6,000 in credits for the full year at once, initially prorated based on the remaining days in the billing cycle, with unused portions expiring at the end of the period. These credits cannot be used to call Codex via API key, nor do they increase the usage limits of ChatGPT or the logged-in version of Codex; users must link an API organization in billing settings and enable it manually.
Why read this
AI score 58
The original text lists the credit differences across plans and seats, prorated calculation, and expiration rules, which can be used to judge the actual usable scope of this benefit.
Topics
Body · AI translation
On October 28, 2026, OpenAI launched a benefit that provides eligible ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers with up to $500 per month in API credits. The credits can be applied to usage fees for the OpenAI API used in developing apps and agents. The amount granted varies depending on the subscription plan and the number of paid seats. To receive them, users must complete a procedure to enable the benefit in their billing settings.
Pro receives $100–$500 per month, while Business receives an amount based on the number of seats
For Pro, the $100, $200, and $500 monthly plans are granted $100, $200, and $500 per month, respectively. For Business, $20 per month for each paid Standard seat and $100 per month for each Premium seat are added together, with a cap of $500 per month for the entire workspace.
For annual Business plans, up to $6,000 per year is received in a lump sum. However, for both monthly and annual plans, the initial grant amount is prorated based on the remaining days in the billing period at the time the benefit is enabled. From the next grant onward, as long as the contract meets the eligibility conditions, it is granted automatically upon contract renewal. Unused amounts expire at the end of the billing period and cannot be carried over.
Eligible subscribers are those whose paid contract started at least 7 days ago. Plus and free trials are not eligible.[1]
Used for app development and other purposes, separate from ChatGPT usage limits
The credits are granted to the API organization linked to the ChatGPT subscription (the unit for managing API billing and permissions). They can be applied to API usage fees for text processing, agent execution, voice interaction, and image generation/editing. Built-in tools such as web search are also covered. However, they cannot be used for Codex usage via API keys, nor do they increase the usage limits for ChatGPT or for Codex when used while logged in.
These credits can be used without registering a payment method for the API. After the free amount is used up, if any purchased API credits remain, those will be used. If neither balance remains, API calls will result in an error. Purchasing additional API credits costs money separately from the ChatGPT subscription fee.[2]
Enable by linking an API organization from billing settings
The Pro subscriber themselves or the Business workspace owner performing the procedure must also be an owner of the destination API organization and have permission to manage billing.
Use the same email address for ChatGPT and the API account, and proceed with the procedure from the ChatGPT billing settings or the billing screen of API Platform, the API management site. Select the destination API organization, enable the benefit, and check the grant result on the API organization's billing screen.[1]