ChatGPT Plus 5‑hour limit returns as OpenAI re‑establishes a five‑hour usage window for its Plus tier. In a post on X, Thibault Sottiaux, head of Codex and ChatGPT at OpenAI, announced that starting 25 August, ChatGPT Plus users will once again be subject to a 5‑hour limit for ChatGPT Work and Codex. The Vietnamese headline reads “ChatGPT Plus bị đưa trở lại 'vòng kim cô' 5 giờ”, underscoring the re‑implementation.
The new mechanism divides the weekly quota into discrete 5‑hour intervals. Users retain a total weekly allowance, but consumption is throttled within each interval. If a user exhausts the quota during a window, they must wait until the system resets the limit before continuing. Any unused portion of the weekly quota is preserved and can be used in later intervals, preventing a total loss of capacity after a single intensive session.
According to Sottiaux, the 5‑hour limit helps OpenAI manage compute resources more efficiently while still offering a relatively generous weekly quota. The company previously lifted the limit in mid‑July 2026, allowing users to spread usage more flexibly across the week. Restoring the older mechanism signals OpenAI’s intent to balance user experience with system responsiveness.
The restriction currently applies only to ChatGPT Plus subscribers. ChatGPT Pro users paying $100 or $200 per month remain on a weekly‑only quota without the 5‑hour windows. However, Sottiaux indicated that OpenAI may extend the 5‑hour window model to Pro accounts in the coming months. He also noted that the approach is especially suited to Plus users, many of whom are infrequent or new to the platform and may not realize they are nearing their weekly limit.
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Conclusion
The re‑introduction of the ChatGPT Plus 5‑hour limit reflects OpenAI’s effort to balance compute capacity with a user‑friendly weekly quota, ensuring that Plus users can manage their usage without unexpected interruptions.
