OpenAI Considers Drastic Price Cuts to Compete With Anthropic for Users

Jun 11, 2026

OpenAI is considering drastic price cuts for its AI tokens to compete with rival Anthropic, as CEO Sam Altman acknowledges that high costs have become a "huge issue" for enterprise customers. The move comes as businesses begin to ration AI usage and could trigger a price war, threatening the profitability of both companies as they prepare for initial public offerings.

OpenAI token pricing strategy

▪The potential price reductions would focus on "tokens," the unit of measurement AI firms use for billing.
▪Discussions regarding the potential price cuts are ongoing and a final decision has not been reached.
▪OpenAI anticipates that its rival Anthropic will make similar price cuts.
▪OpenAI is considering drastic price cuts for its AI services to win customers from its competitor Anthropic.

Enterprise AI cost pressures

▪Companies including Uber, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, and DoorDash have implemented new controls to manage AI spending.
▪Some enterprise customers have started to pull back on AI spending or ration usage due to rapidly increasing costs.
▪OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged at a recent event that the high cost of AI usage has become a "huge issue" for businesses.
▪Due to usage-based billing, an AI workload that previously cost $200 a month can increase to several thousand dollars.

Tokenmaxxing trend reversal

▪As costs have skyrocketed, companies are now reversing the "tokenmaxxing" trend by rationing AI access and promoting cheaper tools.
▪Uber's CTO, Praveen Neppalli Naga, stated that the company had exhausted its entire 2026 AI token budget by April.
▪"Tokenmaxxing" emerged as a trend encouraging heavy use of AI tokens for work, sometimes as a productivity metric.

AI subscription price competition

▪OpenAI's current consumer subscription tiers are priced at $8, $20, and $100 per month.
▪Google recently reduced the price of its cheapest Gemini AI Plus plan from $8 to $5 per month.
▪Anthropic offers Claude Pro for $17 per month with an annual subscription, and Claude Max for $100 or more per month.

OpenAI-Anthropic rivalry

▪A potential price war could deepen the existing multi-billion dollar losses at both OpenAI and Anthropic.
▪OpenAI is projected to have a cash burn of approximately $27 billion in 2026 and may not reach profitability until 2029 or later.
▪Both OpenAI and Anthropic have confidentially filed for initial public offerings (IPOs).
▪In a May 2026 funding round, Anthropic's valuation reached up to $965 billion, surpassing OpenAI's $852 billion valuation from March 2026.