Guide · ChatGPT Ads
How much do ChatGPT ads cost?
By Jamie Lund · Updated · Platform facts from OpenAI's own documentation
The short answer
You set the price. The only documented floor is the budget: each campaign needs at least $25 a day in US dollars. You choose a maximum CPM or CPC bid in a second-price auction. OpenAI suggests starting cost-per-click bids at $3 to $5 and says it has no performance benchmarks yet. What matters is whether a sale costs less than it earns, which the planner below works out.
How ChatGPT Ads pricing works
You pick what to buy, set a maximum bid and a budget, and pay through a relevance-weighted, second-price auction, so the price you pay can be lower than your maximum.
| Buy | Your bid | You pay for |
|---|---|---|
| Views | Maximum CPM | Every thousand impressions |
| Clicks | Maximum CPC | Valid clicks |
| Conversions | A bid cap per conversion | Valid clicks (oCPC) or every thousand impressions (oCPM), with delivery optimized toward one conversion event. Never per conversion. |
Bids are set per ad group. Eligible new ad groups default to a "Maximize results" strategy that gets as many clicks or conversions as it can within your budget; switch to a manual maximum bid if you want a cap. When several ads qualify for a conversation, relevance and bids together decide which shows, so a more relevant ad can win with a lower bid. For conversion campaigns, OpenAI says it has no recommended bid yet. Sources: Ads in ChatGPT: The Basics (OpenAI Help Center), Maximize Results Bid Strategy (OpenAI Help Center), Conversion-optimized Campaigns (OpenAI Help Center).
Is there a minimum spend for ChatGPT Ads?
Yes, per campaign. The minimum daily budget is $25 in US dollars. OpenAI doesn't document a minimum account spend or monthly commitment for self-serve Ads Manager.
| Billing currency | Minimum daily budget per campaign |
|---|---|
| USD | 25 |
| CAD | 25 |
| AUD | 25 |
| NZD | 25 |
| GBP | 15 |
| EUR | 15 |
| CHF | 20 |
A daily budget is an average over the week (Sunday to Saturday in your account's time zone), so one day can spend up to twice the budget and the week up to seven times it. Campaigns can use a campaign-total budget instead, which paces spend over your dates; OpenAI doesn't list a minimum for it in Ads Manager, but recommends newcomers start with a daily budget. OpenAI lists minimums for 30 billing currencies. Sources: Daily Budgets (OpenAI Help Center), Create Campaigns for ChatGPT Ads (OpenAI Help Center), Budget Pacing (OpenAI Help Center).
Is $20 a day enough for ChatGPT Ads?
No, not as a daily budget: the minimum is $25 in USD, which buys at least 5 to 8 clicks at OpenAI's suggested $3 to $5 bid. That's enough if the test can spend 3 times your profit per sale.
A test is only useful if it can end in a clear answer: either sales, or enough spend with no sale that you can stop with confidence. Our stop rule is 3 times your profit per sale. If a test spends that much without a single sale, it pauses. So whether the $25 minimum is enough depends on what you make per sale:
| Profit per sale | Stop line (3×) | Days to reach it at $25 a day |
|---|---|---|
| $30 | $90 | 4 days |
| $50 | $150 | 6 days |
| $100 | $300 | 12 days |
| $200 | $600 | 24 days |
If you make $50 a sale, $25 a day reaches a verdict in under a week. If you make $200 a sale, the same budget needs more than three weeks, so spend more per day or accept a longer test. The 5 to 8 clicks a day are a floor: in a second-price auction you often pay less than your maximum bid.
Free tool · No login
ChatGPT Ads Test Budget Planner
Put in your budget, bid and store numbers. You'll see how many clicks you'll get, what a sale costs, the most you can pay per click, and whether the test can give you an answer.
Your test · example values shown
OpenAI's minimum is $25 a day in USD.
OpenAI suggests starting maximum bids at $3 to $5. It's a second-price auction, so you often pay less than your maximum. Try lower numbers too.
Your store
Your paid-traffic rate from Shopify or GA4. Visitors from ChatGPT may convert differently; the test is how you find out.
Margin after product cost, shipping and fees. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Is $25 a day enough?
A 14-day test spends $350. That passes the $150 stop line (3× your $50 profit per sale), so the test either sells or tells you to stop by day 6.
6.2
clicks a day, at least · 87 over the test
Expected sales
2.2
at 2.5% of clicks
Cost per sale
$160
at $4 a click
Break-even CPC
$1.25
the most a click can cost
Test result
−$241
profit after ad spend
At $4 a click, each sale costs $160 but earns $50. You break even at $1.25 a click, so you need the auction to clear lower, or a higher conversion rate or order value.
Cost per sale at each price per click
White bars make money at your margin; red bars lose it. Bold rows are OpenAI's suggested starting range.
How billing works for ChatGPT Ads
ChatGPT Ads are postpay. A self-serve account is charged to its credit card each time unpaid spend reaches a payment threshold, and again at month end.
- The threshold starts low (OpenAI's example is $25) and rises after two successful payments at each level, for example to $50, $100 and $200. You can't change it yourself.
- Taxes are added on top, so a charge can be higher than the threshold.
- Ads can keep running for up to 24 hours after you pause, and that spend is billed.
- Spend in reports lags 7 to 8 hours behind impressions and clicks.
- Larger, sales-managed advertisers can be invoiced instead of charged by card.
As of October 14, 2026, ads.openai.com offers $500 in ad credit when you spend $500. Under OpenAI's Ad Credit Terms, credits expire 90 days after they're issued unless the offer says otherwise. Sources: Billing & Payment (OpenAI Help Center), OpenAI Ads Manager, Ad Credit Terms (OpenAI).
What a sale costs at OpenAI's suggested bids
Cost per sale is your cost per click divided by your conversion rate. At a $4 click and a 2% conversion rate, a sale costs $200 in ad spend.
| Conversion rate | $3 a click | $4 a click | $5 a click |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1% | $300 | $400 | $500 |
| 2% | $150 | $200 | $250 |
| 3% | $100 | $133 | $167 |
| 5% | $60 | $80 | $100 |
Read each number two ways: it's what a sale costs in ad spend, and the profit per sale you need to break even at that bid. At today's suggested starting bids, ChatGPT Ads suit products with a healthy profit per sale: at a 3% conversion rate you need about $100 profit per sale to break even on a $3 click. Lower-margin stores can still test, but they need the auction to clear below the suggested bids, or ChatGPT visitors who convert better than their usual traffic. Only a measured test tells you which.
Average CPC and CPM for ChatGPT ads
OpenAI doesn't publish average CPCs or CPMs. It says ChatGPT Ads don't have performance benchmarks yet. Its only price guidance is the suggested $3 to $5 starting maximum for cost-per-click bids.
The numbers OpenAI does publish are partner-reported case results. One example: WeightWatchers' cost per acquisition came in 15.3% below its blended paid-search benchmark, as measured by DV Rockerbox. These are single advertisers' results, as are the figures in forum threads and news stories, so treat them as anecdotes, not benchmarks. Ads Manager reports your own average CPC and CPM once you're running. Sources: ChatGPT Ads: Frequently asked questions (OpenAI Help Center), Building advertising for the way people use AI (OpenAI), Ads in ChatGPT: The Basics (OpenAI Help Center).
Are ChatGPT ads worth it?
They're worth a measured test if you sell in an allowed category, can track conversions, and earn enough per sale to pay for clicks at OpenAI's suggested bids.
Wait if your category isn't allowed during the test, or if you can't measure conversions yet: an unmeasured test teaches you nothing. Check both in two questions with the eligibility check, then read how to set up Ads Manager.
Frequently asked questions
How much do ChatGPT ads cost?+
You set a maximum CPM or CPC bid in a second-price auction. OpenAI suggests starting cost-per-click bids at $3 to $5, and the minimum daily budget is $25 in US dollars. OpenAI says it has no performance benchmarks yet.
Is there a minimum spend for ChatGPT Ads?+
Yes, per campaign: the minimum daily budget is $25 in US dollars (£15 or €15). OpenAI doesn't document a minimum account spend or monthly commitment for self-serve Ads Manager.
Is $20 a day enough for ChatGPT Ads?+
No, not as a daily budget: the minimum is $25 in USD, which buys at least 5 to 8 clicks at OpenAI's suggested $3 to $5 bid. That's enough if the test can spend 3 times your profit per sale.
What is the CPM for ChatGPT ads?+
You set your own maximum CPM when you buy Views. OpenAI doesn't publish an average or suggested CPM, so any figure you see elsewhere is one advertiser's result, not a platform rate.
Do you pay per click or per conversion?+
Neither, for conversions. Views campaigns pay per thousand impressions and Clicks campaigns per valid click. Conversions campaigns optimize toward a conversion but bill per valid click or per thousand impressions. OpenAI never bills per conversion.
How does billing work for ChatGPT Ads?+
It's postpay. A self-serve account is charged to its card each time unpaid spend reaches a payment threshold, and at month end. The threshold starts low and rises after successful payments. Taxes are extra.
Are ChatGPT ads worth it?+
They're worth a measured test if you sell in an allowed category, can track conversions and earn enough per sale to pay $3 to $5 a click. Set a stop rule first and judge on sales, not clicks.
Want a second pair of eyes?
We plan, run and measure ChatGPT Ads tests in your own account.
See the ChatGPT Ads serviceMore on ChatGPT Ads
Sources
- Ads in ChatGPT: The Basics (OpenAI Help Center)
- Maximize Results Bid Strategy (OpenAI Help Center)
- Daily Budgets (OpenAI Help Center)
- Budget Pacing (OpenAI Help Center)
- Create Campaigns for ChatGPT Ads (OpenAI Help Center)
- Billing & Payment (OpenAI Help Center)
- Conversion-optimized Campaigns (OpenAI Help Center)
- ChatGPT Ads: Frequently asked questions (OpenAI Help Center)
- Building advertising for the way people use AI (OpenAI)
- Ad Credit Terms (OpenAI)
- OpenAI Ads Manager
All checked on October 14, 2026. We update this page when OpenAI changes the platform.