Community Starts On Budget 1× Models

September 2, 2026

New Community accounts now start on Budget 1× models only — Auto, the picker, Swarm workers, and scheduled runs all stay on that band until review approval or any purchase.

What you can do

• Start immediately on Budget 1× — GPT-5.6 Luna, GLM 5.3 Flash, MiniMax M3, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, and the other budget-band models stay available from the first chat.
• Leave Auto on — Auto, Swarm workers, Agent Smith, debate roles, and scheduled tasks all respect the same 1× ceiling, so a Workhorse or SOTA model cannot sneak in through a side route.
• Unlock the rest of the catalog after review or a purchase — approval, a paid plan, or a credit pack lifts the ceiling. Paid plans were never capped and still are not.

Where this shows up

You just created a Community account and want to begin real work. You used to be able to pin Grok 4.6 or GPT-5.6 Terra from day one. Now those sit locked in the picker until the account is approved or you buy a pack — pick Auto or Luna and keep going.

You already have a pending Community account pinned to a Workhorse model. The next turn refuses that pin and Auto re-picks a Budget 1× model. Re-pin after approval if you still want the heavier model.

Try it

• "Summarise this brief and draft a one-page reply. Stay on Auto."
• "Pin GPT-5.6 Luna and rewrite this section in the same voice."
• "After I'm approved, switch this thread to Grok 4.6 and tighten the argument."

Heads up

This is a tighter ceiling than the previous Workhorse 3× start. Existing approved Community accounts, paid plans, VIP, and anyone with a verified Stripe purchase are unchanged. A temporary promotion does not unlock a model whose catalog band is above 1×.