Why did NanoGPT raise its subscription to $12, and is it still worth it?
NanoGPT raised its subscription from $8 to $12 a month on May 12, 2026, saying in its May 5 update that models are getting more expensive and providers are less willing to give discounts. Nothing else changed, so $12 buys the same 60 million input tokens a week on open-weight models.
The subscription this year
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 2026 | Weekly cap of 60 million input tokens, plus limits on concurrent and burst requests | NanoGPT blog |
| Mar 1, 2026 | New subscription signups paused; the plan is open again now | NanoGPT blog |
| May 5, 2026 | Increase announced. Compute is shifting to newer, pricier models such as GLM, Kimi and DeepSeek, and demand for them is rising | Updates |
| May 12, 2026 | Renewals from this date cost $12; a renewal before it paid $8 one last time | Updates |
What changes, and what doesn't (yet)
- Price: up 50%, from $8 to $12.
- Allowance: the weekly cap set in February stays.
- Included models: open-weight only, and the list changes often. NanoGPT posts additions and removals in a subscription-model feed.
- Future prices: no further change announced.
If you're reconsidering
| Option | Pick it when | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Stay on NanoGPT | Your agent runs well on open-weight models | $12 a month |
| Standard Compute | Your agent needs Claude, GPT or Gemini for part of the work, and you want those inside one monthly budget | From $19 a month, with a $20 compute budget |
| OpenCode Go | You work in OpenCode on open models and can plan around 5-hour and weekly limits | $10 a month, one person |
The catch
Count how many of your agent's requests need a frontier model. Each one is billed per token on top of the subscription, so for a Claude-heavy workflow the $12 is only the floor of the bill.
Where Standard Compute fits
On Standard Compute, Claude, GPT and Gemini draw from the same monthly compute budget as open models, and the router chooses a model for each request from the lineup you set. There is one budget per month with no weekly window, plans start at $19, and a team can share one company account with a key per person.
FAQ
Will NanoGPT raise prices again?
It hasn't announced another increase. Its May 5 update said $12 "should work" but that NanoGPT "cannot rule out further changes in the future".
Did existing subscribers pay $12 right away?
No. A renewal before May 12 at 12:00 (GMT+2) was still charged $8; the next renewal was $12.
Does the $12 NanoGPT subscription include Claude?
No. When we checked, every model included in the subscription was open-weight. Claude, GPT and Gemini are pay-as-you-go at list price.