OpenAI API
Pay per token, from $0.10 per million input tokens (GPT-6 Luna)
OpenAI's developer API for adding GPT text, image, voice and transcription models to your own product, paid per use
The OpenAI API is how you put OpenAI’s models inside your own product: a support bot, a writing feature, image generation, voice or transcription. You pay for what you use, counted in tokens for text models and in minutes for some audio models.
There are three main text models. GPT-6 Luna ($0.10 per million input tokens, $0.50 output) is built for focused, high-volume tasks, GPT-6.1 Sol ($2 / $10) for coding and agent workflows, and GPT-6 Astra ($10 / $50) for the hardest work. These are the standard rates for prompts under 272K tokens.
Built-in tools cost extra; web search, for example, is $10 per 1,000 calls. Set a monthly budget in the billing settings early and add an email alert, because OpenAI notes that the budget limit can take effect with a delay.
Pros
- Three GPT-6 models from $0.10 to $10 per million input tokens, so you can match the cost to the task
- The Batch API halves the price for jobs that can wait up to 24 hours
- Voice, image and transcription models in the same account, with transcription from $0.0045 a minute
Cons
- Billed separately from ChatGPT: a Plus or Pro subscription does not include API usage
- The top model is expensive: GPT-6 Astra costs $50 per million output tokens
- Monthly budget limits can take effect with a delay, and you pay for any usage over them
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