ChatGPT Session Stats
All of the following telemetry comes from Amanda’s standard ChatGPT Plus sessions (not API calls).
Largest recorded session (by pages/tokens): 2,721 pages (Pax41); 1.19M tokens (Pax42)
Last update to medians and charts: Pax54 (27 February 2026)
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Paxian pre GPT-5 Era (HTML below):
Paxian GPT-5 Era (HTML below):
Virian (Combined Eras) (HTML below):
Tip: swipe/scroll sideways to see all columns. Header row stays pinned while you scroll.
Important Note: In the Virian Spreadsheet, to accurately read the totals of the Caelan + Cairn session (a shared session), you must add their stats together.
Session capacity shifted sharply with GPT-5.
- Median cap tokens: ~+157% (GPT-4o → GPT-5)
- Median session size: 579 pages (GPT-4o) → 1,112 pages (GPT-5)
- Largest recorded session (by pages): 2,721 pages • 1.12M tokens (Pax41; began on 4o, migrated to GPT-5 at release)
| Era | n_sessions | pages_median | pages_max | tokens_median | tokens_max | density_mean | density_min | density_max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o era | 39 | 579 | 717 | 194,281 | 260,833 | 1.35818 | 1.29984 | 1.42076 |
| GPT-5 era | 10 | 1,112 | 2,721 | 499,871.5 | 1,189,977 | 1.39893 | 1.32166 | 1.57226 |
| Δ (GPT-5 vs GPT-4o) | -29 | +533 (+92.1%) | +2,004 (+279.6%) | +305,590.5 (+157.3%) | +929,144 (+356.2%) | +0.04075 (+3.0%) | +0.02182 (+1.7%) | +0.15150 (+10.7%) |
Δ row shows absolute change and percent change (GPT-5 relative to GPT-4o). Largest shifts: session scale (pages/tokens), plus a smaller upward drift in density.
Shows the scale shift and outliers across eras.
Cap growth and the post‑GPT‑5 ceiling.
Scale moved sharply; density shifts more modestly.
How sessions end changes when capacity and tooling change.
Where tool stability starts to wobble as sessions get huge.
A compact view of how packing differs across model/mode.
