OpenAI Pricing Plans & Tiers
AI models for text, image, and code generation via API
Pricing last verified: March 16, 2026
Pricing Analysis
OpenAI's tiered model pricing strategy creates a hidden complexity: cheaper per-token rates on GPT-5 mini ($0.25/1M input) mask higher real-world costs when accounting for prompt caching—which pays 90% less on cached tokens. Teams running identical queries repeatedly should model cache hit rates before defaulting to the cheapest model.
The jump from GPT-4.1 mini ($0.80/1M input) to GPT-5 mini ($0.25/1M input) represents a 68% price cut, but output tokens nearly double ($3.20 to $2). This inverts the calculus for long-form generation tasks—models that generate verbose responses become economically worse choices despite cheaper input pricing.
O4-mini ($4/1M input) sits at a critical inflection point: 16x GPT-5 mini's input cost but serves latency-sensitive workloads where smaller models require multi-turn loops. Organizations must track per-request cost-of-delay versus token cost to justify the premium.
Strengths
- Prompt caching at $0.025 per cached input token on GPT-5 mini enables sub-1-cent economics on frequently-executed queries—a hidden efficiency advantage for batch operations and retrieval-augmented generation.
- Free tier includes 1GB storage for ChatKit, unusual for API-first services; teams prototyping multi-turn agents avoid cold-start costs.
- Sora-2 integration at $0.10/sec for video generation creates a unified API for multimodal applications without switching vendors.
Considerations
- Usage-based pricing offers no guardrails—a misconfigured loop can cost $1,000+ in hours. Enterprise teams need spend governance middleware before OpenAI access.
- Output token pricing (10x input on GPT-5.4) penalizes summarization and structured extraction tasks; competitors' per-request models may be cheaper for these workloads.
- No monthly commits or volume discounts; predictability requires custom contracts for >$10K/month spend.
Early-stage AI startups and enterprises with <$5K/month API spend who need maximum model optionality and low per-token costs.
The cheapest token price ($0.025 cached on GPT-5 mini) is a trap—real savings come from understanding your cache hit ratio and output-token penalty.
Third-Party Ratings
Best choice: OpenAI
Try OpenAI freePricing Plans (14)
GPT-5.4
GPT-5 mini
GPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 mini
GPT-4.1 nano
o4-mini
Realtime API
Sora Video API
Image Generation API
Responses API
Chat Completions API
Assistants API
Built-in tools
AgentKit
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does OpenAI's API cost per 1,000 tokens?
Should I use GPT-4o or GPT-4o mini for production?
Does OpenAI charge for API access or just token usage?
What is OpenAI's rate limit and does it cost extra?
Can I cache prompts to reduce API costs on OpenAI?
How does OpenAI pricing compare to using Claude?
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Sources
- OpenAI Official Pricing— Vendor pricing page
- OpenAI Reviews— Independent reviews on G2
- OpenAI Reviews— Independent reviews on TrustRadius
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