OpenAI and Anthropic have rolled out temporary usage limit increases for select users, giving developers more room to work during the year-end period. The move targets paid subscribers using each company’s AI coding tools, not general-purpose chatbots.
Holiday usage boosts target developers
Both companies framed the changes as short-term holiday boosts designed to support heavier workloads. Developers often push more code and ship updates at year’s end, which puts pressure on rate limits and daily caps.
The increases apply only for a limited window and revert automatically once the promotion ends.
What OpenAI is offering
OpenAI has doubled usage limits for users of Codex, its AI-powered coding assistant. The company reset and expanded rate limits for eligible accounts, allowing significantly more requests per day.
The increased limits remain active until January 1, 2026, after which standard caps return.
Anthropic’s usage increase explained
Anthropic introduced a similar but shorter promotion for Claude users. Claude Pro and Claude Max subscribers received double usage limits across web, desktop, and mobile apps.
Anthropic’s boost runs from December 25 through December 31, making it a brief holiday-only increase.
Who qualifies and who does not
The expanded limits apply mainly to individual paid users and developers. Anthropic excluded most team and enterprise plans from its promotion, while OpenAI focused specifically on Codex users rather than general ChatGPT access.
Free tiers do not receive additional capacity from either company.
Why this matters
Temporary limit increases highlight how competitive the AI tooling space has become. Providers continue to test pricing, capacity, and incentives to retain developers as demand grows.
The move also suggests both companies see year-end usage patterns as an opportunity to reward heavy users while managing infrastructure load efficiently.
What happens next
Once the promotional periods end, usage caps return to normal without action from users. Developers working on large projects may want to plan high-volume tasks around the remaining boost windows.
Further changes to limits or pricing will likely appear in early 2026 as competition between AI platforms intensifies.
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