API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT-5.5 Pro vs Seed 1.6

Pick Seed 1.6 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.

Pricing data updated: 2026-05-26T11:08:00Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Seed 1.6 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Seed 1.6 is estimated at $1.25 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $118.75 (99% lower).

Cost-first pickSeed 1.6

Context-first pickGPT-5.5 Pro

Sample savings$118.7599%

10x traffic gap$1187.5

GPT-5.5 Pro has more context, but Seed 1.6 saves $118.75 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1187.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Seed 1.6 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	GPT-5.5 Pro	Seed 1.6
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Seed 1.6	$240	$2.25
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Seed 1.6	$210	$2.25
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Seed 1.6	$930	$10.25

Cheaper input Seed 1.6 $30 vs $0.25 / 1M

Seed 1.6 is $29.75 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.2% lower; 120x difference).

Cheaper output Seed 1.6 $180 vs $2 / 1M

Seed 1.6 is $178 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.9% lower; 90x difference).

Larger context GPT-5.5 Pro 1.05M vs 262.14K

GPT-5.5 Pro has 787.86K more context (4.01x larger).

Sample workload Seed 1.6 $120 vs $1.25

Seed 1.6 is $118.75 cheaper on the standard workload (99% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GPT-5.5 Pro Calculating… Estimated API cost

Seed 1.6 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

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

Verdict

Seed 1.6 has the lower input price; Seed 1.6 has the lower output price; GPT-5.5 Pro offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Seed 1.6 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro and $1.25 for Seed 1.6.

Best Fit

Choose GPT-5.5 Pro when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Seed 1.6 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Seed 1.6 is estimated at $1.25 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $118.75 (99% lower).
Seed 1.6 is $118.75 cheaper on the standard workload (99% lower).
Seed 1.6 is $29.75 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.2% lower; 120x difference).
Seed 1.6 is $178 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.9% lower; 90x difference).
GPT-5.5 Pro has 787.86K more context (4.01x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	GPT-5.5 Pro (OpenAI)	Seed 1.6 (ByteDance Seed)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$30	$0.25
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$180	$2
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$120	$1.25
Context Window	1.05M	262.14K
Release Date	2026-04-24	2025-12-23

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Seed 1.6	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Seed 1.6 is estimated at $1.25 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $118.75 (99% lower).
High-volume input processing	Seed 1.6	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Seed 1.6	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GPT-5.5 Pro	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5.5 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.5 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.5 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5.5 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

No popular competitor is currently available.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

OpenAI catalog

Review all tracked OpenAI models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

Open OpenAI models

ByteDance Seed catalog

Check other ByteDance Seed models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open ByteDance Seed models

GPT-5.5 Pro

GPT-5.5 Pro is OpenAI’s high-capability model optimized for deep reasoning and accuracy on complex, high-stakes workloads. It features a 1M+ token context window (922K input, 128K output) with support for...

Seed 1.6

Seed 1.6 is a general-purpose model released by the ByteDance Seed team. It incorporates multimodal capabilities and adaptive deep thinking with a 256K context window.