OpenAI gave eligible ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers up to $500 a month in free API credits

On October 28, 2026, OpenAI listed a subscription benefit that gave eligible ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers up to $500 per month in free API credits. Subscribers activated it by linking an API organization they owned.

Archive entry: this covers an event from October 28, 2026, and we published it on November 8, 2026. The details come from sources dated at the time and may have changed since.

On October 28, 2026, OpenAI described a subscription benefit in its API changelog entry on API credits for ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers: eligible subscribers could claim up to $500 per month in free API credits. The benefit was activated from ChatGPT or the API Platform by linking an API organization the subscriber owned.

What changed

Monthly amounts were $100 for the Pro $100 tier, $200 for the Pro $200 tier, $500 for the Pro $500 tier, $20 per paid seat on Business Standard and $100 per paid seat on Business Premium.
Business credits were pooled and capped at $500 per workspace per month, or $6,000 per annual billing cycle.
Unused credits expired at the end of the billing cycle and did not roll over.
No API payment method was required while free credits were active.
When free credits ran out and no purchased credits remained, API requests failed with HTTP 429 and the error code credit_balance_exhausted.

What it meant for builders

Subscribers already paying for ChatGPT got a monthly API budget for prototypes and side projects without adding a card. Unused credits did not roll over, so it worked as a monthly allowance rather than a balance that built up.

Eligibility and coverage

Eligibility required an active paid Pro or Business subscription at least seven days old. Free trials, complimentary subscriptions and ChatGPT Enterprise did not qualify.
The subscriber had to own both the subscription or workspace and the receiving API organization, using the same email address.
The credits covered the Responses API, Agents API (including hosted sandbox charges), Decisions API, GPT-Live and Realtime API, Images API and built-in tools.
Codex usage through API keys was not covered, and the credits did not raise ChatGPT or signed-in Codex usage limits.

Sources

OpenAI API changelog: API credits for ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers (OpenAI, October 28, 2026, official)
API credits for ChatGPT subscribers (OpenAI, official)

Written with AI assistance, strictly from the sources listed above. Before it went live, automated checks verified its dates, sources and every language edition.