ChatGPT Business is OpenAI's per-seat plan with a published price. ChatGPT Enterprise adds SCIM, data residency, customer-managed keys and the Compliance API, and is priced by OpenAI's sales team. This guide sets out what each plan includes, what it costs, and how we recommend a South African company runs its first rollout.
Every price and policy below comes from OpenAI's own pages, with a link and the date we checked it.
App Developer Studio is a Registered Partner in the OpenAI Partner Network. We build production OpenAI agents, multi-agent workflows and ChatGPT integrations, and deploy on the platform your organisation approves, including Claude.
By Rob MacleanReviewed by Amanda KaburiseLast reviewed
Business has a published price per seat, so you can budget before you speak to anyone. Enterprise has no public price, so the cost is only known once OpenAI quotes it.
| Item | Plan | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard seat, billed monthly | Business | $25 per user a month | help.openai.com |
| Standard seat, billed annually | Business | $20 per user a month | help.openai.com |
| Premium seat, billed monthly | Business | $125 per user a month | openai.com |
| Premium seat, billed annually | Business | $100 per user a month | openai.com |
| Premium seat usage | Business | 5x more usage than a Standard seat, with no 5-hour limit | openai.com |
| Seats | Business | Minimum 2 seats in any mix of Standard and Premium; for teams of 2 to 200 | help.openai.com |
| API usage | Business | Not included; the OpenAI API is billed separately | help.openai.com |
Prices in USD as of , excluding VAT. Check the vendor page before you buy.
| Item | Plan | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Enterprise | No public price; contact OpenAI sales. Credit-based or token-based pricing is available | openai.com |
Prices in USD as of , excluding VAT. Check the vendor page before you buy.
South African companies can check the rand amount at checkout. If older documents in your company mention a different plan name, the record below explains it.
| Item | Plan | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing currency in South Africa | Business | ZAR is a supported billing currency for standard paid plans; Enterprise is billed separately | help.openai.com |
| Plan name | Business | ChatGPT Team was renamed ChatGPT Business on 29 August 2025; the rename alone changed no features or prices | help.openai.com |
As of . Check the vendor page before you rely on it.
Both plans support single sign-on. SCIM, customer-managed keys and the Compliance API are Enterprise only.
| Item | Plan | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single sign-on | Business and Enterprise | SAML SSO on Business and Enterprise | openai.com |
| SCIM directory sync | Enterprise | Enterprise only | openai.com |
| Customer-managed encryption keys | Enterprise | Enterprise only (Enterprise Key Management) | openai.com |
| Compliance API | Enterprise | Enterprise only | openai.com |
| Audits and certifications | Business | SOC 2 Type 2 | openai.com |
| Audits and certifications | Enterprise | SOC 2 Type 2; ISO/IEC 27001, 27017, 27018 and 27701 | openai.com |
As of . Check the vendor page before you rely on it.
| Item | Plan | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training on business data | Business and Enterprise | Not used for training by default; feedback you choose to share is the exception | openai.com |
| Data retention | Business and Enterprise | Admin-controlled; deleted items are removed within 30 days unless the law requires otherwise | openai.com |
| Data processing addendum | Business and Enterprise | A DPA is available for Business, Enterprise and the API | openai.com |
As of . Check the vendor page before you rely on it.
Enterprise offers data residency in a set list of regions. South Africa is not on that list, and Business has no residency option. Using either plan means sending information outside the country, so treat it as a cross-border transfer from the start.
| Item | Plan | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data residency | Enterprise | Enterprise only, in ten regions: the US, EU, UK, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia and the UAE. South Africa is not one of them | openai.com |
| Data residency | Business | Not available on Business | openai.com |
As of . Check the vendor page before you rely on it.
These are the questions we would settle with your legal and security teams before a pilot uses personal information. This is a starting point, not legal advice.
The trade-off: Enterprise has no public price, so budget only once you have a quote.
Each setting below links to the OpenAI page it comes from. The order, pilot size and measures are our recommendations, not OpenAI requirements. OpenAI's own steps are in its Business SSO setup guide and Enterprise admin quickstart.
We recommend starting with one team and one or two workflows, not a company-wide launch. Pick work with a baseline you can measure, such as drafting proposals or answering internal policy questions. A Business pilot needs only a few seats, so it is a small first commitment before you ask for an Enterprise quote.
We recommend this order: find out who already uses ChatGPT or the OpenAI API with a company email, verify your domain, set up SSO and test it, then decide how accounts are created. SCIM is Enterprise only.
Verifying your domain can affect employees' existing personal and API accounts. Review automatic account creation before you apply the verified domain, because it gives paid seats to the people who sign in.
Settle three things before users arrive: who administers the workspace, which apps and connectors to allow, and how long to keep conversations. We recommend allowing only the apps the pilot needs, and setting spend controls before the first invitations go out.
We recommend one live session per team, built around its real work, plus a shared page of approved uses and example prompts. Name one person to answer questions in the first weeks. Tell people plainly what not to put into ChatGPT, and why.
Measure the workflow, not the tool. Before the pilot, record the time per deliverable, the cycle time and the rework rate for the chosen tasks. Measure them again after four to six weeks. Report hours saved as estimated, and treat usage figures as a sign of adoption, not of value.
At the end of the pilot, make one of three decisions: expand on Business, move to Enterprise, or stop. Move to Enterprise when you need SCIM, data residency or the Compliance API. Stop, or change the workflow, when the measured gain does not justify the seats.
A Standard seat costs $20 per user a month billed annually, or $25 per user a month billed monthly. A Premium seat costs $100 per user a month billed annually, or $125 per user a month billed monthly. Seats: Minimum 2 seats in any mix of Standard and Premium; for teams of 2 to 200. Prices are in US dollars, excluding VAT, as of 30 October 2026.
No public price; contact OpenAI sales. Credit-based or token-based pricing is available. We recommend agreeing the pilot scope before you ask for a quote, so the quote reflects real usage.
Billing currency in South Africa: ZAR is a supported billing currency for standard paid plans; Enterprise is billed separately. Check the amount at checkout, because the guide's prices are list prices in US dollars.
No. Enterprise: Enterprise only, in ten regions: the US, EU, UK, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia and the UAE. South Africa is not one of them. Business: Not available on Business.
Not used for training by default; feedback you choose to share is the exception. We recommend telling staff whether your company allows them to share feedback.
SCIM directory sync: Enterprise only. Provisioning on Business: Optional automatic account creation for people who sign in with a verified-domain email. It is separate from SCIM and does not need SSO.
API usage: Not included; the OpenAI API is billed separately.
Check the data processing addendum, your basis for sending personal information outside South Africa, the retention settings, which data staff may enter, and the training default. Get your information officer's sign-off before the pilot uses personal information. This is a starting point, not legal advice.
Our AI workflow diagnostic takes about two weeks. It baselines one process, checks data and security feasibility, and ends with a go/no-go decision. It can conclude that you need no AI build at all.
Planning a rollout now? Book a call with Rob and Amanda.
