Messages stopped being the unit
Text is unlimited; OpenAI meters reasoning effort, tools and tokens instead. Any “messages per day” figure you see for 2026 is either the Business estimate or a guess.
Changelog · updated September 1, 2026
ChatGPT limits changelog: what changed, and when
OpenAI does not keep a public history of limit changes, so we do. Newest first, with the source for each entry. Bookmark it; it is the page we update first when something moves.
Reviewed: . Figures marked official come from OpenAI’s help center; everything else is labelled as observed or approximate.
Log
Newest first.
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 14 Aug 2026 (approx.) | Unlimited text rolls out to Free and Go on GPT-5.6 Luna, as announced on 6 August. Limits now apply to reasoning options, images, uploads, voice, data analysis, deep research and Codex. |
| 6 Aug 2026 | OpenAI announces unlimited everyday text chats for Free and Go users, “subject to abuse-prevention safeguards”, rolling out the following week. |
| 2026 | GPT-5.6 family (Sol, Sol Pro, Luna, Terra) becomes the default. Reasoning options tiered by plan: Think on Free/Go; Instant, Medium, High on Plus; through Pro on Pro, Business and Enterprise. |
| 2026 | OpenAI publishes five-hour local-message estimates for Business Standard seats (Sol 10–100, Terra 25–200, Luna 250–2,000); Premium seats 5x with no five-hour limit. |
| 2026 | ChatGPT Pro offered at $100 (5x Plus) as well as $200 (20x Plus). ChatGPT Go ($8) available in select countries. |
| Ongoing | File upload limits unchanged in OpenAI’s FAQ: 512 MB per file, 2M tokens, ~50 MB spreadsheets, 20 MB images, 80 files per 3 hours, 3 per day on Free, 25 GB per user. |
What it means
How to read the 2026 picture.
Plans differ by reasoning access
The tier decides which reasoning options you have, and how much of them.
Business is the reference
The only official per-window numbers are Business seat estimates. Consumer plans behave in the same range.
Support cannot help
OpenAI Support does not reset usage limits. Reset times, model switches and plan changes are the only levers.
Official sources
Sources for the entries above.
Checked September 1, 2026. OpenAI changes plan rules without notice; these pages and your own in-app counter are authoritative.
OpenAI Help: GPT-5.6 in ChatGPT
Which reasoning options each plan gets, unlimited text on Free and Go, and what happens at a reasoning limit.
OpenAI Help: ChatGPT Business models and limits
The only official per-window message estimates OpenAI publishes (Standard and Premium seats).
ChatGPT pricing
Current plan names, prices and what each tier includes.
OpenAI Help: File uploads FAQ
Per-file size, files per project, rolling upload cap, Free daily cap and storage limits.
OpenAI Help: Codex rate card
Token-based Codex usage, credits and plan coverage.
FAQ
About this changelog.
Where does this changelog come from?
OpenAI’s help center, release notes and product announcements, cross-checked against reporting when OpenAI announces on social media first. Each row links to the source where one exists.
Why are some dates approximate?
OpenAI often announces a change and rolls it out over days without a dated post. We give the announcement date and mark rollout dates as approximate.
How fast is this updated?
Within two working days of an OpenAI change. If we missed one, tell us via the contact page.