Sign in with ChatGPT is OpenAI’s way of letting you log in to other apps with your ChatGPT account and, if you are on Plus or Pro, spend your ChatGPT plan allowance on eligible AI requests inside those apps. Instead of the app paying for the model, or you pasting in an API key, the usage comes out of the plan you already pay for.
OpenAI expanded the feature at DevDay on September 29, 2026. The identity half has been in beta since July and is available globally. The plan-usage half is new, limited to Plus and Pro, and launched with 16 named partners, according to The New Stack’s coverage of the launch.
Below: who pays, which apps support it, what data an app sees, and what it means for edtech vendors and L&D buyers. Where the public record has gaps, we say so. It is part of our coverage of the OpenAI DevDay 2026 announcements.
What is Sign in with ChatGPT?
Sign in with ChatGPT is a login option, like “Continue with Google”, that uses your ChatGPT account as the identity. OpenAI’s help centre describes it as an identity-provider sign-in option for creating, linking or accessing an account with a partner app.
The September 29 expansion added a second layer on top. Users with Plus or Pro can also let a connected app run eligible AI requests against their ChatGPT plan, so they do not need to create or share an OpenAI API key. OpenAI’s page on using your ChatGPT plan in other apps and sites states this directly.
The two layers are separate permissions. The ChatGPT documentation shows the prompt as “Allow this app to consume usage from your ChatGPT Plan’s limits.”
How does Sign in with ChatGPT work?
You pick “Continue with ChatGPT” in a partner app, sign in to ChatGPT, and review what the app is requesting. If the app also wants plan usage, you approve that separately. From then on, eligible AI requests in the app count against your ChatGPT plan instead of a separate bill.
Supabase, a July launch partner, describes the identity step in its Sign in with ChatGPT beta announcement as an OAuth/OIDC integration similar to its GitHub sign-in. New users get an account created, and existing users with a matching email are linked.
The plan-usage step is what is new. OpenAI says eligible usage “counts toward your plan limits,” specifically the ChatGPT Work and Codex usage included in your plan. Rates can differ between an app and ChatGPT itself.
Who pays for the tokens when you sign in with ChatGPT?
The user does, through their subscription. When you sign in with ChatGPT and grant plan usage, eligible model requests draw down your ChatGPT allowance rather than the app maker’s API bill or a per-token charge. OpenAI is explicit that connecting an app “does not add a new allowance.”
That is the real shift. Until now an app had three options: absorb the model cost, pass it on through credits or higher prices, or ask users for their own API key. This adds a fourth: the user’s plan pays, up to a cap the user sets.
The app may still charge its own fees. OpenAI’s documentation says so plainly, and Devin’s own explanation of its integration shows how that works in practice: the model usage goes against your ChatGPT plan, while Devin’s plans (Pro, Max and Teams are eligible) still exist. Your cost for the tool itself does not disappear.
The allowance is also finite and, for some tiers, shrinking. The Next Web reports that from October 30, 2026, the Pro 200 allowance for Work and Codex drops from 20x to 10x Plus, as covered in our ChatGPT Pro 500 plan guide. Spending it in third-party apps leaves less for your own ChatGPT work. For plan prices, see our ChatGPT pricing breakdown.
Which apps support Sign in with ChatGPT?
As of September 30, 2026, the sourced plan-usage partners are Devin (Cognition), Notion, Vercel, T3, OpenClaw and Dactyl from OpenAI’s own announcement, plus Amp, Warp, Kilo Code, OpenCode and Lovable (coming soon) named in trade coverage. That is 11 names. OpenAI says the launch had 16 partners, and we could not source the other five.
The sources differ slightly: The New Stack omits OpenCode, while a Daily.dev summary omits Kilo Code and Dactyl. Treat the combined list as reported, not as an official roster.
The identity-only beta of July 31, 2026 had a different list: Airtable, GitLab, HubSpot, Notion, Supabase and Vercel, according to RuntimeWire’s report on the identity rollout. Vercel’s changelog entry adds that “Continue with ChatGPT” appears on Vercel and v0 sign-in pages, and that it is in beta.
You may also see “60+ partners” in DevDay coverage. That figure appears in Simon Willison’s DevDay live blog in the context of the OpenAI Marketplace, and we found no source tying it to Sign in with ChatGPT specifically. None of the named partners is an LMS or training platform.
Who can use Sign in with ChatGPT?
Anyone with a ChatGPT account can use the identity sign-in, and OpenAI says it is available globally, including for Enterprise organizations. Using your plan’s allowance inside an app is limited to Plus and Pro subscribers, and OpenAI adds that plan eligibility can vary by app.
For workplaces, RuntimeWire reports that Enterprise admins can manage the identity side in the Global Admin Console. It is on by default, and admins can turn it off or restrict staff to approved apps.
We could not find a public statement on whether Business, Enterprise or Edu seats can spend plan usage in third-party apps, or how a company would cap it centrally. Assume individual Plus and Pro only. Partners add their own conditions too: Devin requires one of its own paid plans.
How do you control how much an app can use?
You set a weekly cap for each app in ChatGPT under Settings, then Usage. The cap is a percentage of your overall weekly ChatGPT usage, not a separate pool. When you or the app reaches the limit, plan usage stops unless you have separately allowed apps to use credits.
That credits option is opt-in, and OpenAI’s help page says apps cannot switch to another payment method on their own. Kilo Code says users can give it up to 100% of included usage.
What happens after the cap depends on the app. OpenAI’s general rule is that plan usage stops. Devin says sessions continue on its own included quota once your plan limit is hit. Check the partner’s documentation before you rely on either behaviour.
To revoke access, open ChatGPT settings under Security and login and disconnect the app.
Start With a Low Cap
Give a new app a small weekly share, use it for a week, then read the Usage screen before raising it. Agent-style tools can burn through a plan quickly, and the same pool also funds your own ChatGPT and Codex work.
Is Sign in with ChatGPT safe? What data does the app see?
On sign-in, OpenAI says the app receives only your name, email address and profile picture (if you have one). Using your plan does not by itself give the app access to your ChatGPT conversations or memories. Anything beyond that, such as plugin access, needs a separate approval from you.
That is the sourced part. Two limits apply. These statements come from OpenAI’s own documentation, and we have not seen an independent security audit. And what a partner does with your name, email and prompts is governed by that partner’s privacy policy, not OpenAI’s.
OpenAI also processes data during sign-in. Its help page says it collects account identifiers, email address, authentication provider, and technical and security information such as request and session identifiers and IP address.
Unknown: whether the app can see your plan tier or remaining allowance, and how data retention works for plan-funded requests. We found neither answered. Ask the vendor.
One more risk is contractual. Before the official launch, third-party harnesses used Codex-style logins informally. One July 2026 analysis from Manifest argued that arrangement was tolerated rather than promised. The official programme is a step toward stability, but its preview limits are not fully public.
How do developers add Sign in with ChatGPT?
According to OpenAI’s Sign in with ChatGPT developer page, developers must request a client ID and register callback URLs for their application. It documents three routes: sign-in on a website, sign-in for a ChatGPT plugin, and plan usage in an open-source app. Preview limits apply.
The documentation also lists guides on accounts and sessions, models and inference, and error recovery, plus a section titled “Preview limitations.” The page we could read did not show that section’s text, so we cannot tell you what the limits are.
One detail matters for commercial software vendors. OpenAI’s learn.chatgpt.com documentation says plan usage supports “open-source partners and selected private clients.” That suggests plan-funded AI is not yet a self-serve option for every SaaS product. Treat any vendor claim of near-term support as something to verify.
We found no published revenue terms or developer fees, and RuntimeWire reported that formal developer terms for the identity service had not been published.
What are the pros and cons of Sign in with ChatGPT?
For users, the main benefit is one login and no API key to manage or leak. The main cost is that a shared allowance now funds more places. For developers, the benefit is shifting model cost to the user, and the risk is depending on OpenAI’s rules, limits and pricing.
| Audience | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Users | No API key to create or store. One login. Per-app weekly caps. Disconnect at any time. Uses a plan you already pay for. | Draws from one shared pool. Limits can change (Pro 200 is being cut). Apps may still charge their own fees. Only Plus and Pro can spend plan usage. |
| Developers | No inference bill for eligible requests. Lower barrier for users to try AI features. Familiar sign-in pattern. | Requires a client ID and OpenAI approval. Plan usage aimed at open-source and selected clients. Users can cap or cut you off. Depends on OpenAI policy and pricing. |
Sign in with ChatGPT vs Sign in with Google vs bring your own API key: how do they differ?
Sign in with Google proves who you are and nothing more. Bring your own key (BYOK) makes you pay a model provider directly, per token. Sign in with ChatGPT does the identity job and can also route eligible AI usage through a flat-rate plan, with a per-app cap.
| Feature | Sign in with Google | Sign in with ChatGPT | Bring your own API key |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Identity only | Identity, plus optional plan usage for Plus and Pro | Gives an app a credential for a model provider |
| Who pays for AI | Not applicable | User’s ChatGPT plan, up to a cap; app may add fees | User, per token, billed by the provider |
| Cost shape | None | Flat subscription, finite weekly allowance | Variable, no fixed ceiling unless you set one |
| User controls | Revoke access | Per-app weekly cap, opt-in credits, disconnect | Provider spend limits; you rotate or delete the key |
| Main risk | Account tied to one identity provider | Shared allowance; OpenAI-only; limits can change | Key leakage, surprise bills |
| Model choice | Not applicable | OpenAI models included in your plan | Any provider the app supports |
The BYOK column is not hypothetical. Warp’s documentation says inference is billed directly through your provider account, with keys stored only on your device. Our guide to AI tools covers the wider choice of assistants.
What does Sign in with ChatGPT mean for LMS and edtech vendors?
It offers a new way to fund AI features, but not yet an obvious one for LMS vendors. AI course drafting, quiz generation and learner coaching all cost tokens. If a vendor could route that through the user’s plan, its unit economics improve. Today the route appears limited to open-source partners and selected clients.
An LMS or LXP has three plausible models: the vendor pays for the model, the customer supplies a key, or an individual user connects a personal plan. The third suits a solo instructional designer testing a tool. It fits poorly for compliance training across thousands of employees, where the organization needs one auditable cost line, SCORM or xAPI reporting, and data terms it can sign.
Individual-plan funding raises governance questions too. If an SME drafts content in a vendor tool on a personal Plus account, whose data agreement applies? Our review of the best AI-powered LMS platforms for 2026 shows how varied vendors’ AI cost models already are.
We found no evidence that any LMS vendor has announced Sign in with ChatGPT support. Do not assume it.
Ask For The Cost Map
Request a one-page statement listing each AI feature and who pays for it: vendor model, your API key, or the user’s plan. Add what happens when a cap is hit. Vendors that cannot answer plainly have not designed the feature for procurement yet.
What should L&D teams ask vendors about AI costs and lock-in?
Ask who bears the AI cost, what happens when the allowance runs out, and whether you can switch model providers. A feature tied to one company’s login and plan rules can change limits without your say. That is the lock-in risk.
Use this list in vendor evaluations:
- Which AI features run on the vendor’s model account, on our key, or on each learner’s own plan?
- If Sign in with ChatGPT is offered, is it available for Business or Enterprise seats, or only Plus and Pro?
- What happens to a course draft, an assessment or a coaching session when a user hits their weekly cap mid-task?
- Can we swap to another model provider without rebuilding content, prompts or analytics?
- What learner data reaches OpenAI, and does the vendor’s data processing agreement cover it?
- Is any pricing tied to OpenAI’s current allowances, given that OpenAI is changing plan limits?
Our piece on GPT-6 Astra for learning and development covers where the models fit in instructional design, and the GPT-6.1 Sol guide covers API model costs. The DevDay 2026 recap puts the rest of the week in context.
Conclusion
Sign in with ChatGPT is worth understanding now because it changes a basic question: who pays for AI inside the apps you use. For individuals, the sensible first step is one low-stakes partner app with a small weekly cap.
If you evaluate learning technology, add the cost-map and lock-in questions above to your next vendor review. Then check OpenAI’s developer page and help centre again in a few weeks, because the preview limits, Business and Enterprise eligibility and partner list were still unclear as of September 30, 2026.
FAQ
Q1. What is Sign in with ChatGPT?
Sign in with ChatGPT is a login option that lets you use your ChatGPT account to create or access accounts in partner apps. Since September 29, 2026, Plus and Pro subscribers can also let selected apps run eligible AI requests against their ChatGPT plan allowance instead of a separate API key or app credits.
Q2. Is Sign in with ChatGPT free?
The sign-in itself has no separate fee, but plan usage is not free. It draws from your existing ChatGPT Plus or Pro allowance, and OpenAI says connecting an app does not add a new allowance. The app may also charge its own fees, so check each partner’s pricing before you connect.
Q3. Which plans can use Sign in with ChatGPT?
OpenAI says anyone with a ChatGPT account can sign in to participating apps, and the identity feature is available globally, including for Enterprise organizations. Spending plan usage in an app is limited to Plus and Pro, and eligibility can vary by app. Public information on Business, Enterprise and Edu plan usage was unclear as of September 30, 2026.
Q4. What data does an app get when I sign in with ChatGPT?
OpenAI says the app receives your name, email address and profile picture if you have one. Using your ChatGPT plan does not by itself give the app access to your conversations or memories. Other permissions, such as plugin access, need your separate approval. What the app does with data you enter in its own interface follows its privacy policy.
Q5. How do I limit how much an app uses my ChatGPT plan?
Open ChatGPT settings, go to Usage, and set a weekly limit for the app. The limit is a percentage of your overall weekly ChatGPT usage, not a separate pool. When your plan limit is reached, the app stops using plan usage unless you have separately allowed it to use credits and have credits available.
Q6. How is Sign in with ChatGPT different from bringing your own API key?
With a bring-your-own key setup, you create an API key and pay the model provider per token. With Sign in with ChatGPT, you log in and eligible usage counts against your flat-rate ChatGPT plan, with a per-app cap. It is limited to OpenAI models and to Plus and Pro users, while a key works with any provider the app supports.
