Free Models Router is free for input tokens while GPT-5.5 Pro costs $30 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
GPT-5.5 Pro vs Free Models Router
Pick Free Models Router for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.
Page updated:
Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Free Models Router 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, Free Models Router is estimated at $0 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $120 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickFree Models Router
Context-first pickGPT-5.5 Pro
Sample savings$120100%
10x traffic gap$1200
GPT-5.5 Pro has more context, but Free Models Router saves $120 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1200. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Free Models Router stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | GPT-5.5 Pro | Free Models Router |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Free Models Router | $240 | $0 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Free Models Router | $210 | $0 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Free Models Router | $930 | $0 |
Free Models Router is free for output tokens while GPT-5.5 Pro costs $180 per 1M tokens.
GPT-5.5 Pro has 850K more context (5.25x larger).
Free Models Router is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $120.
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
Free Models Router has the lower input price; Free Models Router has the lower output price; GPT-5.5 Pro offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Free Models Router 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 $0 for Free Models Router.
Choose GPT-5.5 Pro when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Free Models Router when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Free Models Router is estimated at $0 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $120 (100% lower).
- Free Models Router is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $120.
- Free Models Router is free for input tokens while GPT-5.5 Pro costs $30 per 1M tokens.
- Free Models Router is free for output tokens while GPT-5.5 Pro costs $180 per 1M tokens.
- GPT-5.5 Pro has 850K more context (5.25x larger).
| Feature | GPT-5.5 Pro (OpenAI) | Free Models Router (OpenRouter) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $30 | $0 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $180 | $0 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $120 | $0 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 200K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Free Models Router | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Free Models Router is estimated at $0 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $120 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Free Models Router | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Free Models Router | 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
- 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.
- 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.
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- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
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