Chat-GPT5 parent company OpenAI has initiated local price testing of the AI model in local Indian Rupees. This move will allows ChatGPT users in India to pay for the model in local currency for the first time, prior to which users had to struggle with payments in US dollars creating confusion. OpenAI’s decision is a part of a pilot programme that makes India one of the few countries, where the option to make payments in local currency’s is available. Other countries where similar options are available include the UK and parts of Europe
ChatGPT-5 which is one of the most advanced models by OpenAI, was released just last week globally. Sam Altman said the latest model is programmed to make the application of the AI platform much easier, faster, more accurate, and easier to use. He went to such an extent in praising the newer models that after trying ChatGPT-5, he would never go back to using the ChatGPT-4. The example he gave in lieu of this was switching over to a new iPhone from an older one.
ChatGPT Plans in Rupees
India, which is one of the biggest user bases of the ChatGPT models, is a priority market for OpenAI. Therefore, to make payments simpler and more accessible, OpenAI has made this decision. The ChatGPT Plus plan is priced at Rs 1,999 per month, including GST, while the higher-end Pro plan costs Rs 19,900 per month. Businesses using the Team plan will pay Rs 2,099 per seat per month. Until now, Indian users had to pay in US dollars, i.e. $20 (roughly Rs 1,750) for Plus, $200 (roughly Rs 17,500) for Pro, and $30 (roughly Rs 2,600) per seat for the Team plan.
Chat-GPT Affordability Issues
Interestingly, local pricing was one of the key demands made to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during his visit to India in February 2025. Indian startup founders and developers had pointed out that high costs were a barrier to wider adoption. Earlier in June, OpenAI’s vice president of engineering, Srinivas Narayanan, told Mponeycontrol that the company was working on making its tools more affordable for Indian developers as part of its global accessibility push. “India has incredibly creative developers with a deep tech ecosystem. You have people who actually are open to embracing new technology, along with a government that is super-excited about making AI more accessible through the National AI Mission,” Narayanan said.
Competitors’ Pricing Strategies
India is now OpenAI’s second-largest market outside the US, and Altman has even suggested that it could soon overtake the US in terms of ChatGPT usage. However, OpenAI isn’t alone in chasing Indian users. Rivals like Google and Perplexity are also expanding aggressively. Perplexity is offering Bharti Airtel’s 360 million customers a free one-year subscription to its premium tier (normally priced at Rs 17,000 annually), while Google is providing college students in India a year’s free access to its AI tools.