OpenAI has broadened the reach of its budget ChatGPT Go plan by making it available in 16 additional Asian countries.
The plan, which costs under $5 per month, is part of the company’s strategy to grow its user base in the next booming market: Asia.
Locations
The new availability covers Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam.
In five markets (Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Pakistan), OpenAI accepts payment in local currency.
In the other countries, subscriptions are billed in U.S. dollars at roughly $5, with the final cost varying by local taxes.
This pricing was launched to lower financial friction for local users.
ChatGPT Go
ChatGPT Go raises daily limits for messages and increases image-generation quotas. It also allows more file and image uploads per day.
More importantly, the plan provides twice the memory of the free tier. As a result, ChatGPT can hold more context and deliver more personalized replies.
Regional Growth
OpenAI first launched the ChatGPT Go tier in India in August. Then it rolled the plan out in Indonesia in September.
Since the India launch, paid subscribers there have doubled. Moreover, OpenAI says weekly active users in Southeast Asia have grown by up to four times.
Competition
OpenAI’s expansion is occurring alongside a clear rivalry with Google. In September, Google launched Google AI Plus in Indonesia and then expanded it to more than 40 countries.
Google’s Plus tier offers access to Gemini 2.5 Pro. It also bundles creative tools such as Flow for design, Whisk for image remixing, and Veo 3 Fast for video creation.
Plus subscribers get 200GB of cloud storage. Pricing for Google’s plan is similar, which places both firms in direct competition for price-conscious markets.
DevDay
The timing of this development links to major announcements at DevDay 2025 in San Francisco.
There, CEO Sam Altman said ChatGPT reached 800 million weekly active users worldwide, a figure that rose from 700 million in August.
OpenAI will also now allow third-party apps to run inside ChatGPT. In practice, that turns the chatbot into an app platform.
Early partners include Spotify, Zillow, and Coursera. Nick Turley, head of ChatGPT, described the vision this way:
“The evolution we’re trying to make over the next few years is one where ChatGPT itself is more like an operating system where you can come and use applications.
If you want to write, there’s an app for that. If you want to code, there’s an app for that. If you want to interact with goods and services, there are applications for you.”
Financial Context
OpenAI’s growth has come at great cost. The company recently reached a valuation of roughly $500 billion.
Yet, it reported a $7.8 billion operating loss in the first half of 2025. OpenAI continues heavy investment in AI infrastructure.
Hence, affordable plans like ChatGPT Go play a strategic role. They can widen the paying user base.
Over time, that approach may help move the company toward profitability while scaling global reach.
