OpenAI has introduced Astra, a new artificial intelligence model, which is being rolled out gradually to users with Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise subscriptions. Astra is designed to assist with a variety of tasks, from general conversation to coding and specialized analysis. However, early feedback from users suggests that the model is quickly hitting its usage limits, especially for Plus subscribers. For example, Guillaume Champeau, a user who tested Astra for a UX/UI audit of an app, found that he used up all of his available credits in just five minutes. Similar complaints have been shared on social media, indicating that many users are encountering the same issue. To address these concerns, OpenAI has increased the number of "local messages" that Astra can handle within a five-hour period. For Plus users, this limit was raised from 3 to 30 messages, and later to a broader range of 5 to 45 messages. The Pro subscriptions also received similar upgrades. However, the exact way these limits are enforced is not clearly explained, which could allow OpenAI to adjust them without prior notice to users. This lack of transparency may lead to confusion and dissatisfaction among customers who rely on consistent performance from the AI. On the API side, Astra has a higher cost compared to previous models. Users are charged $10 HT (HT is a French tax-exempt designation, often used in pricing) per million input tokens and $50 HT per million output tokens. This pricing is 2.5 times more expensive than the previously most costly model, GPT-5.6 Sol. Additionally, users face extra charges if the conversation context exceeds 272,000 tokens. This can happen with a single long message or a short prompt that follows a lengthy conversation. The context includes both the user's input and all previous responses from the AI, which can quickly add up and increase costs for users. These pricing and usage challenges have sparked discussions about the practicality and affordability of Astra for different types of users. While OpenAI continues to refine and expand Astra's capabilities, users are calling for more clarity on how the model's features and costs will be managed moving forward.