OpenAI Introduces Affordable ChatGPT Go Plan in 16 Additional Asian Countries

OpenAI is rapidly expanding its affordable ChatGPT Go subscription plan, available for under $5, to 16 additional countries in Asia. This service can now be accessed in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam.

In specific countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Pakistan, users have the option to pay in their local currencies. In other locations, payments must be made in USD at a rate of approximately $5, although actual prices may vary due to local taxes.

ChatGPT Go offers enhanced daily limits for messages, image creation, and file uploads, as well as double the memory compared to the free version, ensuring more personalized responses.

According to OpenAI, this growth follows a substantial increase in the weekly active user base across Southeast Asia, which has surged up to fourfold. The ChatGPT Go plan first launched in India in August, followed by Indonesia in September, with paid subscriptions in India reportedly doubling since its introduction.

As OpenAI strives to compete with Google in providing budget-friendly AI chatbot subscription services in various regions, Google has also rolled out its Google AI Plus plan, available in a similar price range, in Indonesia last September, planning to extend to over 40 countries. This Plus tier grants access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google’s most advanced AI model, alongside creative tools for generating images and videos—like Flow for design, Whisk for image remixing, and Veo 3 Fast for video creation—plus 200GB of cloud storage.

The timing of this launch is crucial for OpenAI. At its recent DevDay 2025 conference in San Francisco, CEO Sam Altman announced that ChatGPT now boasts 800 million weekly active users globally, rising from 700 million just a month ago. Additionally, the company unveiled a major platform update with apps integrating directly into ChatGPT, essentially evolving the chatbot into an ecosystem resembling an app store, featuring collaborations with partners like Spotify, Zillow, and Coursera.

“Our objective in the coming years is to transform ChatGPT into software akin to an operating system where users can interact with various applications,” stated Nick Turley, head of ChatGPT, to TechCrunch during the event. “Whether you need to write, code, or interact with different products and services, we have specialized applications to cater to those needs.”

Despite OpenAI’s rapid expansion and a recent valuation hitting $500 billion, the company reported an operating loss of $7.8 billion in the first half of 2025 as it continues to heavily invest in AI infrastructure. Its cost-effective subscription plans, such as ChatGPT Go, are seen as a vital step toward achieving profitability while simultaneously broadening its global user base, particularly in fast-growing Asian markets where it faces stiff competition from Google.