ChatGPT usage limit reached: what it means and what to do

Which ChatGPT limit did you hit?

• A Thinking limit: Medium, High and Extra High run on GPT-6 Sol (or GPT-5.6 Sol if you picked it). OpenAI says that when you reach a Thinking limit, "ChatGPT may continue with another available model", per its GPT-6 models article.
• A Pro-model limit: GPT-6 Pro has usage limits even on Pro plans. On Pro $200, hitting the weekly GPT-6 Pro limit switches you to GPT-5.6 Thinking at Medium. On Pro $100, GPT-6 Pro and GPT-5.6 Sol Pro share one weekly allowance, so switching between them doesn't buy more messages.
• A tool limit on Free or Go: everyday text chats are unlimited (subject to abuse guardrails), but uploads, image creation, voice and data analysis have their own caps. Go ($8) raises them; Plus ($20) raises them again.
• The Work and Codex allowance: ChatGPT Work and Codex share one pool with a 5-hour window and a weekly window on Plus. You need room in both to keep going. This pool is separate from your Chat limits.

When does the ChatGPT limit reset?

• Chat limits: ChatGPT displays the reset time when that information is available. OpenAI doesn't publish a fixed window for Thinking or Pro-model limits on Plus.
• Work and Codex, 5-hour window: a new window starts with your first message in Work or Codex after the previous one ends, so it isn't tied to the clock. You can hit it before five hours pass.
• Work and Codex, weekly window: resets weekly. OpenAI also hands out one-off resets now and then; we log every one at when does Codex reset and in the Codex reset log.

How to check your ChatGPT usage

• Open Settings, then Usage. OpenAI says it shows which limit you reached, your remaining allowance and the reset times.
• In a Codex CLI session, type /status to see what's left.
• Comparing tools? Our guide to checking AI usage limits covers ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and the rest.

What to do when you hit the ChatGPT limit

• Switch models in Chat: OpenAI says you can use another available model or wait for the displayed reset time. In Work and Codex this doesn't help: switching models doesn't restore a shared pool.
• Buy credits (Plus and Pro): credits let you keep working past the plan limit without upgrading. Your included usage is used first.
• Buy an instant reset (Plus and Pro, Work and Codex only): it restores both the 5-hour and weekly allowance at once, but it applies immediately, can't be saved, restarts your weekly period and generally isn't refundable, per OpenAI's paid reset article. It isn't offered on Free, Go, Business, Enterprise or Edu.
• Use an API key: OpenAI lets you run extra local chats in Codex with your own API key, billed at standard API rates.
• Upgrade: Plus is $20 a month and Pro starts at $100. See is ChatGPT Plus worth it and ChatGPT Pro 100 vs 200 vs 500 before you pay.

Can OpenAI Support reset my ChatGPT limit?

No. OpenAI's help article says: "OpenAI Support does not reset ChatGPT or Codex usage limits." Contact Support only if you think usage was counted wrong or access didn't come back after the stated reset time.