OpenAI has launched a new subscription plan for ChatGPT users in India, priced at ₹399 ($4.60) per month.
The plan, called ChatGPT Go, is the company’s most affordable paid tier yet, deliberately launched to convert India’s vast free user base into paying subscribers.
Unlike the standard Plus plan, which costs ₹1,999 ($23) a month, Go aims squarely at India’s price-sensitive market. It offers ten times the capacity for messages, image generation, and file uploads compared to the free version, along with extended memory for personalised interactions.
For the first time, OpenAI has also enabled payments through India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a move expected to make subscriptions easier for millions of users who rely on digital wallets and bank-linked apps.
“Making ChatGPT more affordable has been a key ask from users! We’re rolling out Go in India first and will learn from feedback before expanding to other countries,” said Nick Turley, vice president at OpenAI and head of ChatGPT.
India has become central to OpenAI’s global expansion. CEO Sam Altman recently described it as the company’s second-biggest market, with the potential to overtake the United States.
Data from app analytics firm AppFigures shows that in the last 90 days alone, more than 29 million ChatGPT downloads came from India. However, revenue from the country during the same period was just $3.6 million, a stark reminder of how few users were willing to pay international prices.
The new plan is designed to bridge this gap. While other AI firms have experimented with giveaways, OpenAI has avoided freebies. Competitors such as Google and Perplexity have launched promotional offers, Google with free one-year AI Pro subscriptions for Indian students, and Perplexity through a partnership with Airtel that gives Pro access to millions of subscribers.
OpenAI, instead, is banking on localised pricing and payment flexibility to attract long-term, paying customers.
The company’s timing is also deliberate. India’s internet population has surged past 850 million, making it one of the most valuable digital markets globally. As usage of AI-powered tools grows, affordability will remain the deciding factor in whether platforms like ChatGPT become everyday utilities rather than occasional experiments.
With ChatGPT Go, OpenAI is betting that a low-cost but feature-rich plan will finally unlock the spending power of India’s massive user base, while ensuring expansion into other regions with similar market dynamics.
