GPT-5.6 Terra is $3 cheaper per 1M input tokens (60% lower; 2.5x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
🔥Claude Opus 5 vs GPT-5.6 Terra
Pick GPT-5.6 Terra when budget and context both matter.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick GPT-5.6 Terra when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5.6 Terra is estimated at $8 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 5, saving $9.5 (54.3% lower).
Cost-first pickGPT-5.6 Terra
Context-first pickGPT-5.6 Terra
Sample savings$9.554.3%
10x traffic gap$95
GPT-5.6 Terra is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $95. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
GPT-5.6 Terra stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Claude Opus 5 | GPT-5.6 Terra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | GPT-5.6 Terra | $37.5 | $16 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | GPT-5.6 Terra | $30 | $14 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | GPT-5.6 Terra | $130 | $62 |
GPT-5.6 Terra is $13 cheaper per 1M output tokens (52% lower; 2.08x difference).
GPT-5.6 Terra has 50K more context (1.05x larger).
GPT-5.6 Terra is $9.5 cheaper on the standard workload (54.3% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.
Quick Decision
GPT-5.6 Terra has the lower input price; GPT-5.6 Terra has the lower output price; GPT-5.6 Terra offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GPT-5.6 Terra is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $17.5 for Claude Opus 5 and $8 for GPT-5.6 Terra.
Choose Claude Opus 5 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
Choose GPT-5.6 Terra when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5.6 Terra is estimated at $8 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 5, saving $9.5 (54.3% lower).
- GPT-5.6 Terra is $9.5 cheaper on the standard workload (54.3% lower).
- GPT-5.6 Terra is $3 cheaper per 1M input tokens (60% lower; 2.5x difference).
- GPT-5.6 Terra is $13 cheaper per 1M output tokens (52% lower; 2.08x difference).
- GPT-5.6 Terra has 50K more context (1.05x larger).
| Feature | 🔥Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) | GPT-5.6 Terra (OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $5 | $2 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $25 | $12 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $17.5 | $8 |
| Context Window | 1M | 1.05M |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #9 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | GPT-5.6 Terra | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5.6 Terra is estimated at $8 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 5, saving $9.5 (54.3% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | GPT-5.6 Terra | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | GPT-5.6 Terra | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | GPT-5.6 Terra | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Claude 3 Haiku can replace Claude Opus 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.88.
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- Claude Sonnet 5 (batch) can replace Claude Opus 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
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Open OpenAI modelsClaude Opus 5 is Anthropic’s flagship model for demanding reasoning, coding, and long-horizon agentic work. It is particularly strong at end-to-end software tasks, code review and bug finding, visual analysis...
GPT-5.6 Terra is a balanced model in OpenAI's GPT-5.6 series, positioned between the flagship Sol tier and the cost-efficient Luna tier. It is suited for everyday coding, reasoning, and agentic...