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Every new online platform shift gives rise to a new category of digital entrepreneurs. And given the explosive growth and reach of ChatGPT which now has over 800M+ weekly active users, many are wondering, how do I make money using ChatGPT?
There’s a lot of advice relating to how to indirectly use ChatGPT to make money i.e. leveraging ChatGPT as a tool in your business (to create content, help you with marketing copy etc). This is incredibly useful. However, in this article, we’re going to talk about how to directly earn money with ChatGPT through the OpenAI GPT Store.
What is the GPT Store?
OpenAI’s GPT Store is like an “app store”, but customised versions of ChatGPT called GPTs that are created for a specific purpose or niche. They can be tailored to a specific knowledge base,workflow, or audience. Custom GPTs can be built for private use, or if you believe your GPT would be useful to others, you have the option to publish and monetise it in the OpenAI GPT Store. You don’t need to code to build, publish or monetise your GPT in the OpenAI GPT Store.
Once published to the OpenAI GPT Store, any ChatGPT user can browse and use your GPT. What’s very helpful for the creators of GPTs is that the end user utilises their message credits to interact with your GPT i.e. you don’t have to pay for AI usage when someone else uses your GPT.
With the OpenAI GPT Store, you can go global from day 1. Not only do you get immediate access to ChatGPT’s diverse, global audience. Your GPT will also be automatically translated into the end user’s preferred language.
The discoverability of your GPTs will be driven by chat count, rating, relevance, and marketing by the creator.
How to make money in the OpenAI GPT Store
You can directly monetise your GPT by adding a subscription paywall. This means users must pay a recurring fee to access your GPT’s full capabilities.
Here’s how:
Option 1: Build Your Own Paywall (for developers)
If you have coding skills, you can set up your own payment and authentication system to restrict access to your GPT. This offers maximum flexibility but requires ongoing maintenance and operations such as customer support, billing, cancellations, and so on.
Option 2: Use GPT Tools (for vibe coders & non technical individuals)
For most people, the simplest way is to use GPT Tools by Top Road which lets you add a subscription paywall to GPT, and has facilitated over USD 200,000 in GPT creator earnings to date:
- No coding required: Just connect your GPT, set your price, and publish.
- Global secure payments: allow users to pay via Apple Pay, debit or credit card via Stripe. You don’t need to have your own Stripe account, as payments are processed centrally via GPT Tools’ Stripe account. This means you can instantly start accepting paying subscribers from all over the world, and also have the option to enable dynamic geographic pricing
- All the admin handled: Customer support, user access rights, billing, refunds, and cancellations are all managed for you—freeing you to focus on improving and marketing your GPT.
Case Studies: Real GPTs Making Money
Let’s look at three live examples of paid GPTs in the OpenAI GPT Store:
1. Accounting Solver AI - It is a specialised tool designed to assist students, freelancers, and business professionals by solving financial accounting problems from text, images, or uploaded documents.
2. SQL Expert PRO - You can get a highly specialised assistant that focuses on generating, optimising, and debugging complex SQL queries across various database dialects. It acts as a high-level technical partner for developers and data analysts, offering precise code solutions and architectural advice for database management and performance tuning.
3. Pine Script Coding AI for TradingView - It is a specialised tool built to help traders and developers generate, debug, and optimise Pine Script code for custom indicators and automated strategies. It allows users to describe their trading logic in plain English and receive ready-to-use code, specifically tailored for the latest TradingView Pine Script v5 and v6 syntax.
Ready to make money with ChatGPT in the OpenAI GPT Store? Step-by-Step Guide
1. Identify your niche
To make money with ChatGPT, you don’t need to be an AI expert. What matters far more is whether you—or your business, if you’re creating a company-branded GPT—have credibility, expertise, or an existing audience in a specific area.
The most successful GPTs are built around a clear niche where users already trust the creator or immediately understand the value. Rather than trying to appeal to everyone, focus on a well-defined group with a real problem your GPT can help solve.
For example:
- A local expert could create a conversational AI guide to their home city, helping visitors plan trips, find hidden gems, or navigate local services.
- A Spanish tutor could build an AI Spanish practice assistant that students use between live sessions to reinforce vocabulary, grammar, and conversation skills.
- A consultant, coach, or educator could turn their frameworks, methods, or course material into an always-on AI companion for clients.
If people already come to you for knowledge, advice, or guidance—even in a small niche—you’re well positioned to turn that expertise into a valuable GPT.
2. Create your GPT:
Use OpenAI’s GPT builder to create your own custom GPT without writing a single line of code. You simply set its personality, describe what it should do, and upload any knowledge or files you already have. This could include proprietary data, such as content from an online course you’ve developed, articles or blog posts you’ve published, or any other valuable information you want to share. Please note you need a paid ChatGPT account to build your own customised versions of ChatGPT!
3. Publish to the GPT Store:
Once your GPT is ready, publish it to the OpenAI GPT Store. This makes your chatbot discoverable by ChatGPT’s user base of over 800 million weekly active users worldwide, giving your creation the potential to reach a truly global audience.
4. Sign up to Top Road:
Register for a Top Road account and link your published GPTs to your dashboard. This gives you an easy way to start collecting and tracking usage and rating data & analytics about your custom GPTs, add a paywall when you are ready (see paragraph below for more on this point!) and track your earnings.
5. Install GPT Tools to add a subscription paywall:
Deciding when to monetise is a strategic decision that is entirely up to you. Generally creators who are building up their online profile from scratch tend to keep their GPT free until they get some early traction (say 1000 chats) before they enable a subscription paywall. For those who are creating a GPT as an extension to a current brand or business you run, they are more able to monetise their GPT from day 1.
Whenever you decide you want to monetise, you can do so by installing GPT Tools to your custom GPTs from your Top Road dashboard. This is an entirely no code process. You will be asked to select a subscription price and review settings—consider offering a free trial, a welcome discount for new subscribers, or enable dynamic geographic pricing so your subscription adjusts for different regions. All these features help you maximise your reach and revenue, with minimal effort.
6. Promote Your GPT through organic and paid marketing:
It can take awhile for new GPTs to rank in the OpenAI GPT Store, so we recommend you proactively acquire your first paying customers. For example, we recommend you start by share your GPT’s link on social media, in relevant communities, or directly with your own network to attract subscribers, as well as consider paid marketing channels.
7. Earn Recurring Revenue Passively:
With GPT Tools, all ongoing admin is taken care of, including customer support, billing, refunds, and cancellations. You can focus on improving your GPT or developing your next project, while your earnings roll in automatically.
Final Thoughts
The OpenAI GPT Store is a credible path to generating income with ChatGPT by leveraging your expertise, your workflows, or your creative ideas. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme as it takes effort to build, gather user feedback, iterate on a high-quality GPT, and then promote your GPTs to improve discoverability in the early days. The good news is that users are willing to pay for quality, with top GPTs currently generating up to $3,000 per month (and the sky is the limit!).
If you’ve been thinking about monetising your knowledge or niche with AI in a thoughtful and intentional way, now is a great time to start. Build and monetise your own customised version of ChatGPT in the OpenAI GPT Store to participate in this current wave of AI-powered entrepreneurship.
