OpenAI is taking a major step toward making AI more accessible. The company has expanded its affordable ChatGPT Go plan, priced under $5 per month, to 16 new countries across Asia.
The expansion includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam.
In select markets like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Pakistan, users can now pay in local currencies. In other countries, the subscription will be billed in USD, around $5, with minor variations due to local taxes.
What ChatGPT Go Offers
The ChatGPT Go plan gives subscribers:
- Higher daily limits for messages, image generation, and file or image uploads
- Twice the memory of the free plan for more personalized responses
- Access to a more capable version of ChatGPT at a low monthly cost
Since launching the plan in India (August) and Indonesia (September), OpenAI has seen its weekly active users in Southeast Asia grow fourfold, with paid subscriptions in India doubling.
Competing with Google’s AI Plus Plan
The move comes as Google expands its own Google AI Plus plan a similarly priced subscription offering access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, plus tools like Flow (for design), Whisk (for image remixing), and Veo 3 Fast (for video creation). Google’s plan also includes 200GB of cloud storage, available in more than 40 countries.
ChatGPT’s Global Growth
OpenAI’s expansion aligns with its global growth momentum. At DevDay 2025 in San Francisco, CEO Sam Altman announced that ChatGPT now has 800 million weekly active users, up from 700 million in August.
The company also introduced a new platform model that turns ChatGPT into an AI ecosystem, allowing apps from partners like Spotify, Zillow, and Coursera to run directly inside the chatbot.
According to Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT, “The evolution we’re trying to make is one where ChatGPT becomes more like an operating system — where you can write, code, or interact with apps all in one place.”
A Step Toward Profitability
Despite its $500 billion valuation, OpenAI reported a $7.8 billion operating loss in the first half of 2025. Affordable plans like ChatGPT Go are seen as crucial for achieving profitability and expanding its reach in high-growth Asian markets, where OpenAI and Google are racing to capture user share.
