OpenAI introduces a ₹399 monthly ChatGPT Go tier exclusively for India, offering 10x higher limits with UPI payment integration support.
OpenAI has unveiled ChatGPT Go, a new budget-friendly subscription tier priced at ₹399 per month ($4.60), marking the company's strategic push to capture India's rapidly growing AI market with localized pricing and payment options, including the country's popular UPI system.
The launch, announced Monday by Nick Turley, Vice President and Head of ChatGPT, positions India as the testing ground for OpenAI's most affordable paid plan to date—significantly cheaper than the existing ChatGPT Plus subscription priced at ₹1,999 ($23) per month.
Tailored for India's Price-Sensitive Market
"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," Turley stated in a post on X, emphasizing the company's responsive approach to market demands.
The new tier offers substantial improvements over the free version, providing users with 10 times higher message limits, 10 times more image generations, 10 times more file uploads, and double the memory capacity for personalized responses—all powered by GPT-5 with enhanced Indic language support.
Turley shared that they’ve been inspired by how millions of people in India use ChatGPT daily for learning, work, creativity, and problem-solving. Turley further stated:
"With ChatGPT Go, we're excited to make these capabilities even more accessible and easier to pay for through UPI."
India represents ChatGPT's second-largest market globally. According to TechCrunch, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed in a podcast that India is the company's second biggest market, with ChatGPT reaching over 700 million weekly users worldwide—up from 500 million in March.
App analytics firm AppFigures data shows India leading global ChatGPT app downloads with over 29 million downloads across platforms in the last 90 days. However, revenue generation has lagged, with only $3.6 million earned from Indian users during the same period, highlighting the potential for a more affordable tier to boost subscription conversions.
UPI Integration: A Game-Changer
The integration of UPI payments across all ChatGPT subscription tiers represents a crucial localization effort. "All users in India will now see prices for subscriptions in Indian Rupees, and can now pay through UPI," Turley announced, addressing a significant barrier to adoption in a market where UPI processes billions of transactions monthly.
This payment integration puts OpenAI in direct competition with other AI companies courting Indian users. Google recently offered free Gemini AI Pro subscriptions to Indian students for one year, while Perplexity partnered with telecom provider Airtel to provide free Perplexity Pro subscriptions to select users.
ChatGPT Go Subscription’s Feature Comparison and Limitations
- ChatGPT Go subscribers gain access to several premium features, including:
- Extended access (10x) to GPT-5, OpenAI's flagship model
- Enhanced image generation capabilities for creative projects
- Increased file upload limits for document analysis
- Advanced data analysis tools including Python integration
Access to projects, tasks, and custom GPTs for personalized AI tools
However, the plan has notable limitations compared to higher tiers. Unlike ChatGPT Plus, Go subscribers won't have access to custom personalities (Cynic, Robot, Listener, and Nerd), deep research capabilities, agent mode, or Sora video creation features. The plan also excludes access to connectors and remains geo-restricted to India for the initial rollout.
While OpenAI hasn't announced specific expansion plans, the company indicated it will gather feedback from Indian users before rolling out ChatGPT Go to other markets.
