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OpenAI caps paid ChatGPT accounts per device and payment card
OpenAI now blocks new paid ChatGPT subscriptions from stacking on one device or payment card, covering Go, Plus, and Pro tiers. Free, Business, Enterprise, and Edu accounts are exempt.
OpenAI has started blocking new paid ChatGPT subscriptions from stacking on the same device or payment card, according to The Decoder, citing OpenAI's support page. The limit covers ChatGPT Go, Plus, Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500. Free, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts are exempt. Users who hit the ceiling see a flat "Device limit reached" message, and the account "can no longer be used on that device."
The cap is per device and per card, not per person. Signing out does not release the slot, so a blocked user cannot simply switch accounts to get back in. For teams that share hardware - a front-desk terminal, a shared laptop in a small office, a kiosk at an event - that means one paid subscription can lock the device for everyone else.
What OpenAI says, and what it doesn't
OpenAI frames the limit as a security measure. The Decoder reads it differently: "The policy will likely hit users who've been switching between multiple paid accounts on one device to squeeze more usage out of cheap flat-rate subscriptions."
Blocked users are not offered a second subscription. They get a different upsell. "OpenAI instead points to buying extra credits or usage resets, options that are generally more expensive than an additional subscription," the article reports. Anyone who built a workflow around rotating cheap accounts will pay more for the same usage, or lose access on that machine.
A wider shift toward revenue
The change lands alongside other OpenAI policy moves. The Decoder sets it inside a broader turn: "OpenAI also appears to be slowly prioritizing revenue over growth, as its move to merge Chat and Work suggests." The same week, OpenAI patched a share-link flaw. Our tracker has logged 394 OpenAI stories in the last 90 days.
None of this changes what the products do. It changes who can use them on which machine, and at what price.
Why this matters for your team
Audit shared devices before someone gets locked out mid-task. If a single laptop or terminal carries more than one paid ChatGPT account, decide now which one stays and move the others to separate hardware or a Business plan, which is exempt. Support and front-desk teams that rotate logins on one machine are the most exposed. Finance should also check the card side: if several subscriptions bill to one corporate card, expect the cap to bite there too. Budget for credits or usage resets if the current setup depended on account-switching, because that workaround now costs more than the subscription it replaced.