--- title: "It Costs So Much to Run ChatGPT That OpenAI Is Losing Money on $200 ChatGPT Pro Subscriptions" description: "While trying its hardest to become profitable, OpenAI is still falling massively short — and is even losing money on its pro subscriptions." date: "2025-01-06" modified: "2025-01-06" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-chatgpt-pro-subscription-losing-money" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "chatgpt" - "OpenAI" - "sam altman" - "the digest" --- # It Costs So Much to Run ChatGPT That OpenAI Is Losing Money on $200 ChatGPT Pro Subscriptions ![https://wordpress.futurism.com/wp/wp-admin/post.php?post=338653&action=edit]() *\Image: Mark Coppola / Justin Sullivan via Getty / Futurism\* ## Fiscal Shortage While trying its darndest to become profitable, OpenAI is still falling comically short — which, since it's the 800-pound gorilla in the nascent AI industry, should probably give pause to its rivals both large and small. In a [post on X-formerly-Twitter](), CEO Sam Altman admitted an "insane" fact: that the company is "currently losing money" on ChatGPT Pro subscriptions, which [run $200 per month]() and give users access to its suite of products including its [o1 "reasoning" model](). "People use it much more than we expected," the cofounder wrote, later [adding in response to another user]() that he "personally chose the price and thought we would make some money." Though Altman didn't explicitly say why OpenAI is losing money on these premium subscriptions, the issue almost certainly comes down to the enormous expense of running AI infrastructure: the massive and increasing amounts of electricity needed to power the facilities that power AI, not to mention the cost of building and maintaining those data centers. Way back in spring 2023, analyst [Dylan Patel told *The Information*]() that the company was likely spending around $700,000 per day running ChatGPT, or about 36 cents per query; nowadays, a single query on the company's most advanced models can [cost a staggering $1,000](). In other words, there's an inconvenient reality for anyone in the AI space trying to turn a profit, as [OpenAI now is](): the smarter these systems get, the more expensive they become to run — which poses a major problem for pricing. ## Is This Loss With [around 10 million paying subscribers](), that gargantuan overhead means OpenAI is still [burning through mountains of cash]() while chasing the dream of profitability. Indeed, according to insiders who [spoke to *CNBC* last fall](), OpenAI was on track to lose a whopping $5 billion in 2024, which put the company firmly in the red compared to its $3.7 billion in revenue. To that end, the company's board of directors sheepishly admitted in an [end-of-year blog post]() that OpenAI needs way more cash than it previously thought — even though it [secured $6.6 billion in funding]() just a few months prior. "We once again need to raise more capital than we'd imagined," the governing body wrote. "Investors want to back us but, at this scale of capital, need conventional equity and less structural bespokeness." Though there have reportedly been internal talks to [raise the price of a regular ChatGPT subscription]() (which currently costs a more modest $20 per month), that level of pricing increase doesn't seem like it'll keep up with the energy demands of powering the behemoth — or the draw of shinier new toys. **More on ChatGPT:** [*What the Company With the Highest Stock Gain From AI Actually Does Is Extremely Grim*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()