OpenAI API pricing
Part of ChatGPT
The OpenAI API is the developer side of ChatGPT's maker, priced per million tokens with cached input at a tenth of the standard input rate. Batch and Flex processing cost half, Fast mode costs double, and the flagship has been repriced with almost every model generation since GPT-3 charged per thousand tokens.
- Priced by
- Usage based
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, US
- Founded
- 2015
- Pricing page tracked since
- Unknown
- Last checked
- Sep 21, 2026
OpenAI API price history and price changes
Show the data as a table
| Observed | Flagship model, input | Flagship model, output | Cheapest model, input | Cheapest model, output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 20, 2021 | $60 | $60 | $0.80 | $0.80 |
| Nov 3, 2022 | $20 | $20 | $0.40 | $0.40 |
| May 2, 2024 | $10 | $30 | $0.50 | $1.50 |
| Nov 12, 2024 | $2.50 | $10 | $0.15 | $0.60 |
| Nov 11, 2025 | $1.25 | $10 | $0.05 | $0.40 |
| May 9, 2026 | $5 | $30 | ||
| Sep 21, 2026 | $10 | $50 | $0.20 | $1.20 |
OpenAI API's pricing page has been read at 7 points in time between Nov 2021 and Sep 2026. Prices are USD per million tokens, standard processing.
Flagship model, input has been listed since Nov 2021, starting at $60. It came down to $20 by Nov 2022 (-67%), then came down to $10 by May 2024 (-50%), then came down to $2.50 by Nov 2024 (-75%), then came down to $1.25 by Nov 2025 (-50%), then went up to $5 by May 2026 (+300%), and finally went up to $10 by Sep 2026 (+100%).
Flagship model, output has been listed since Nov 2021, starting at $60. It came down to $20 by Nov 2022 (-67%), then went up to $30 by May 2024 (+50%), then came down to $10 by Nov 2024 (-67%), then went up to $30 by May 2026 (+200%), and finally went up to $50 by Sep 2026 (+67%).
Cheapest model, input has been listed since Nov 2021, starting at $0.80. It came down to $0.40 by Nov 2022 (-50%), then went up to $0.50 by May 2024 (+25%), then came down to $0.15 by Nov 2024 (-70%), then came down to $0.05 by Nov 2025 (-67%), and finally went up to $0.20 by Sep 2026 (+300%).
Cheapest model, output has been listed since Nov 2021, starting at $0.80. It came down to $0.40 by Nov 2022 (-50%), then went up to $1.50 by May 2024 (+275%), then came down to $0.60 by Nov 2024 (-60%), then came down to $0.40 by Nov 2025 (-33%), and finally went up to $1.20 by Sep 2026 (+200%).
Early GPT-3 prices were quoted per thousand tokens with one rate for input and output; they are converted to millions here. The flagship line follows whichever model OpenAI listed first: Davinci, then GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4o, GPT-5, the top GPT-5 series model in May 2026 and gpt-6-astra now. The cheapest line follows Ada, GPT-3.5 Turbo, GPT-4o mini, GPT-5 nano and gpt-5.6-luna. Flagship prices fell for four years and have risen since 2026.
Plans and prices
Billed on what is consumed, such as API calls, messages or payment volume. Prices as extracted on Sep 21, 2026.
gpt-6-astra
$10per million input tokens, $50 per million output
Sep 21, 2026
gpt-5.6-sol
$4per million input tokens, $20 per million output
Sep 21, 2026
gpt-5.6-terra
$2per million input tokens, $12 per million output
Sep 21, 2026
gpt-5.6-luna
$0.2per million input tokens, $1.2 per million output
Sep 21, 2026
Compare OpenAI API with its category
OpenAI API head to head
Both price histories on one chart, plans side by side.
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Pricing page over the years
No archived copies of this pricing page were found yet.
See how other products lay out their plans in our pricing page examples.
Similar companies
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OpenAI API pricing questions
- How much does OpenAI API cost?
- OpenAI API plans start at $0.2 per million input tokens, $1.2 per million output for gpt-5.6-luna and go up to $10 per million input tokens, $50 per million output for gpt-6-astra. Prices are as shown on the pricing page when it was last read on Sep 21, 2026.
- Has OpenAI API raised its prices?
- Flagship model, input has been listed since Nov 2021, starting at $60. It came down to $20 by Nov 2022 (-67%), then came down to $10 by May 2024 (-50%), then came down to $2.50 by Nov 2024 (-75%), then came down to $1.25 by Nov 2025 (-50%), then went up to $5 by May 2026 (+300%), and finally went up to $10 by Sep 2026 (+100%). Flagship model, output has been listed since Nov 2021, starting at $60. It came down to $20 by Nov 2022 (-67%), then went up to $30 by May 2024 (+50%), then came down to $10 by Nov 2024 (-67%), then went up to $30 by May 2026 (+200%), and finally went up to $50 by Sep 2026 (+67%). Cheapest model, input has been listed since Nov 2021, starting at $0.80. It came down to $0.40 by Nov 2022 (-50%), then went up to $0.50 by May 2024 (+25%), then came down to $0.15 by Nov 2024 (-70%), then came down to $0.05 by Nov 2025 (-67%), and finally went up to $0.20 by Sep 2026 (+300%). Cheapest model, output has been listed since Nov 2021, starting at $0.80. It came down to $0.40 by Nov 2022 (-50%), then went up to $1.50 by May 2024 (+275%), then came down to $0.60 by Nov 2024 (-60%), then came down to $0.40 by Nov 2025 (-33%), and finally went up to $1.20 by Sep 2026 (+200%). Early GPT-3 prices were quoted per thousand tokens with one rate for input and output; they are converted to millions here. The flagship line follows whichever model OpenAI listed first: Davinci, then GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4o, GPT-5, the top GPT-5 series model in May 2026 and gpt-6-astra now. The cheapest line follows Ada, GPT-3.5 Turbo, GPT-4o mini, GPT-5 nano and gpt-5.6-luna. Flagship prices fell for four years and have risen since 2026. Every OpenAI API price change, dated, in the pricing news feed
About OpenAI API
OpenAI API have offered 4 different plans starting with gpt-6-astra at 10$. OpenAI API is a San Francisco, US based company. Founded in 2015. They are using a combination of Sales-Led and Product-Led go-to-market strategy. The company describes themselves as "OpenAI's platform prices each model per million tokens with separate input, cached input and output rates. Batch and Flex processing halve the standard price, Fast mode doubles it, and regional data residency adds a 10 percent uplift.". They are in involved in Artificial Intelligence, Developer Tools, API, SaaS.