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OpenAI has expanded its low-cost ChatGPT Go plan priced under $5 — to 16 new countries across Asia, including Pakistan, marking another major step in making AI tools more accessible to emerging markets.
The subscription tier is now live in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam. In countries like Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, users can now pay in local currency, while others will be charged around $5 USD, adjusted for local tax rates.
The ChatGPT Go plan gives users extended daily limits for messages, image generation, and file uploads, along with double the memory of the free version, enabling more personalized AI responses. It also provides faster response times, improved reasoning abilities, and limited access to GPT-4-turbo features for daily productivity and creative work.
| Feature | Free Plan | ChatGPT Go Plan |
| Message Limit | Standard | Higher daily limit |
| Image Generation | Limited | Extended quota |
| File Uploads | Limited | Enabled |
| Memory | Basic | Double |
| Access to GPT-4 Turbo | No | Partial Access |
| Cost | Free | ~$5/month |
OpenAI stated that the expansion reflects a quadruple growth in active users across Southeast Asia over recent months. Since its launch in India (August 2025) and Indonesia (September 2025), the Go plan has doubled the number of paying users in these markets, prompting broader regional rollout.
At the DevDay 2025 conference, CEO Sam Altman revealed that ChatGPT now has over 800 million weekly active users, a surge from 700 million in August. OpenAI also unveiled its in-app ecosystem, allowing users to run partner apps like Spotify, Coursera, and Zillow directly inside ChatGPT.
OpenAI’s expansion move directly challenges Google’s AI Plus Plan, which recently extended access to over 40 countries with its Gemini 2.5 Pro model. Despite reporting a $7.8 billion operating loss in early 2025, OpenAI sees ChatGPT Go as a key to building long-term profitability and strengthening its foothold in high-growth Asian markets.
Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT, said:
“The evolution we’re making is to turn ChatGPT into an operating system where users can access applications for writing, coding, or even interacting with services.”
