How many prompts you can send with OpenAI o3

OpenAI places a weekly or daily message cap on its most advanced models, including o3, to manage server resources, discourage misuse such as automated scraping or mass account sharing, and ensure that performance stays stable even when traffic is high.

These limits apply only to prompts that use the “o3” model or its “o3-pro” version. If you select a different model (such as o3-mini or GPT-4o), usage is tracked separately and does not affect your o3 quota.

The current o3 limits for each subscription plan

OpenAI assigns a specific o3 prompt limit to each ChatGPT plan:

Plan	o3 Message Limit	Reset Frequency	Key Details
Plus (€23/month)	100 messages per week	Resets 7 days after your first o3 message (00:00 UTC)	If you reach the limit, o3 becomes unavailable until the next reset.
Team / Enterprise	100 messages per week	Same as Plus (per user)	Limits are enforced at the individual account level.
Pro (€229/month)	Unlimited	No reset	Unlimited use as long as you follow OpenAI’s terms and avoid scraping or reselling access.
Free	o3 not available—uses o3-mini (typically 150 messages/day)	Every 24 hours	o3-mini is the main model for the free tier; this does not impact your o3 quota.

On all plans, OpenAI reserves the right to restrict or pause accounts if it detects automated use or activities that violate terms of service.

How the rolling weekly reset works

The o3 message quota is tracked over a rolling seven-day window. The countdown begins the moment you send your first message using o3. For example, if you begin on September 12 at 14:00 UTC, your next reset will occur at 00:00 UTC on September 19, regardless of how many messages you used. After each reset, you receive a new quota of 100 messages for the next seven days.

There is currently no live usage bar or countdown timer in ChatGPT. The only warnings you receive are when you approach the cap or after you have hit the limit, at which point o3 is disabled as a model choice until reset.

The context window and message limits are separate

OpenAI o3 users need to keep two limits in mind. The context window is measured in tokens, not messages. With o3, you can use up to 200,000 tokens for the whole conversation (around 150,000 words), and output up to 100,000 tokens at once. This means you can submit very long documents or data for analysis, as long as the conversation history plus the output stay within this window.

The message limit is simply how many times you click “Send” or regenerate a response using o3. Every submission counts as one message, regardless of its length. The two limits work independently, and only the number of messages is subject to the weekly cap.

Understanding o3-mini and how it fits

For everyday requests or situations where you need high message volume, ChatGPT offers o3-mini and, on some plans, o3-mini-high. These models have their own daily caps and do not consume your o3 messages. They are ideal for lighter queries or when you expect to iterate a lot.

Plan	o3-mini	o3-mini-high
Free	Limited access, daily quotas vary	—
Plus / Team	150 messages/day	50 messages/day
Pro	Unlimited for both variants

Your o3-mini or mini-high usage does not affect your o3 quota, and these models are always available even when you have used up your o3 messages for the week.

What changes when you use the API

If you interact with o3 using the OpenAI API, there is no “message limit” as in the web or app interface. Instead, API users pay per token according to published rates, and are subject to rate limits based on account tier (such as tokens per minute). Every API request still needs to fit within the 200,000 token context window, just like in ChatGPT.

This system means you can scale up usage as far as your budget and rate limits allow, provided you stay within OpenAI’s terms and the technical boundaries of the context window.

Practical ways to maximize your o3 prompts

• Combine related questions: Batch similar queries in a single prompt to make each message count for more.

• Stay in the same thread: Regenerating a reply costs a new message; refine your follow-ups in one thread when possible.

• Use file upload rather than pasting: Upload long documents or data instead of pasting, as this may save tokens and help context efficiency.

• Summarize and restart: After a long session, ask for a summary so you can start from that point next week and avoid wasting messages or tokens.

• Use o3-mini for heavy iterations: For tasks that require many quick messages, switch to o3-mini to save your main quota for critical prompts.

Frequently asked questions about o3 usage

Can I save unused o3 messages for the following week?

No, the weekly quota does not carry over. Unused messages expire at reset.

What happens if I reach my weekly o3 message cap?

You will not be able to use o3 until your next reset. Other models such as o3-mini, GPT-4o, and similar will remain available.

Will OpenAI change the o3 prompt limits?

Limits are frequently adjusted based on system demand and model availability. It is always a good idea to check the “Limits apply” note on the pricing page or visit the OpenAI Help Center for the most current rules.

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Notes on managing o3 and future changes

OpenAI o3 is engineered for deep reasoning and demanding use cases, and these capabilities are paired with practical usage controls. For most Plus, Team, and Enterprise users, the weekly 100-message limit allows for sustained research and productivity, especially if you batch your requests and use the context window wisely. For rapid iteration or lightweight use, o3-mini and similar models fill the gap without affecting your o3 quota.

Limits can and do change as OpenAI adjusts its offerings. Staying updated via OpenAI’s official channels helps ensure your workflow is not disrupted and you make the most of your access.

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