ChatGPT usage limits vary by subscription tier, with each plan offering different message caps to balance infrastructure load, control costs, maintain fairness, and prevent abuse, while the platform automatically determines whether to use Chat or the more advanced Thinking mode for queries. The Free plan allows 10 messages every 5 hours, while the Plus, Business, and Pro plans offer more extensive usage with varying degrees of access to GPT-5's capabilities, designed to manage the high demand and costs associated with running such advanced models. Users can potentially circumvent these limitations by self-hosting models through platforms like Bento, which offers greater control over performance, privacy, and costs, enabling customization and optimization for specific workloads. Open-source models are increasingly competitive with proprietary ones, offering transparency, adaptability, and the opportunity for fine-tuning, which proprietary APIs lack, and self-hosting allows for consistent latency, data privacy, and predictable costs, making it a viable option for enterprises seeking to optimize their AI systems.