Moondream 3 Preview is $0.7 cheaper per 1M input tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewGPT-6.1 Terra Pro vs NewMoondream 3 Preview
Pick Moondream 3 Preview for lower cost; pick GPT-6.1 Terra 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 Moondream 3 Preview for lower cost; pick GPT-6.1 Terra Pro only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Moondream 3 Preview is estimated at $1.55 vs $3.5 for GPT-6.1 Terra Pro, saving $1.95 (55.7% lower).
Cost-first pickMoondream 3 Preview
Context-first pickGPT-6.1 Terra Pro
Sample savings$1.9555.7%
10x traffic gap$19.5
GPT-6.1 Terra Pro has more context, but Moondream 3 Preview saves $1.95 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $19.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Moondream 3 Preview stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | GPT-6.1 Terra Pro | Moondream 3 Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Moondream 3 Preview | $7.5 | $2.75 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Moondream 3 Preview | $6 | $2.8 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Moondream 3 Preview | $26 | $12.8 |
Moondream 3 Preview is $2.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
GPT-6.1 Terra Pro has 1.02M more context (32.8x larger).
Moondream 3 Preview is $1.95 cheaper on the standard workload (55.7% 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
Moondream 3 Preview has the lower input price; Moondream 3 Preview has the lower output price; GPT-6.1 Terra Pro offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Moondream 3 Preview is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $3.5 for GPT-6.1 Terra Pro and $1.55 for Moondream 3 Preview.
Choose GPT-6.1 Terra Pro when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Moondream 3 Preview when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Moondream 3 Preview is estimated at $1.55 vs $3.5 for GPT-6.1 Terra Pro, saving $1.95 (55.7% lower).
- Moondream 3 Preview is $1.95 cheaper on the standard workload (55.7% lower).
- Moondream 3 Preview is $0.7 cheaper per 1M input tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).
- Moondream 3 Preview is $2.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
- GPT-6.1 Terra Pro has 1.02M more context (32.8x larger).
| Feature | NewGPT-6.1 Terra Pro (OpenAI) | NewMoondream 3 Preview (Moondream) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1 | $0.3 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $5 | $2.5 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $3.5 | $1.55 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 32K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Moondream 3 Preview | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Moondream 3 Preview is estimated at $1.55 vs $3.5 for GPT-6.1 Terra Pro, saving $1.95 (55.7% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Moondream 3 Preview | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Moondream 3 Preview | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | GPT-6.1 Terra 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-6.1 Terra Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-6.1 Terra Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-6.1 Terra Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.06.
- gpt-oss-20b (batch) can replace GPT-6.1 Terra Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.08.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
- Kimi K3.1 Pro · MoonshotAI · #1
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 · DeepSeek · #2
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #3
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsOpenAI catalog
Review all tracked OpenAI models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open OpenAI modelsMoondream catalog
Check other Moondream models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Moondream modelsGPT-6.1 Terra Pro is the same underlying model as [GPT-6.1 Terra](https://openrouter.ai/openai/gpt-6.1-terra), served with `reasoning.mode` set to `pro` for higher-quality responses on complex tasks. **Cost note:** pro mode spends far more...
Moondream 3 Preview is a vision-language model from Moondream with 9B total parameters and 2B active (mixture-of-experts). It handles visual question answering, captioning, OCR, and visual reasoning over images, with...