API cost decision in 10 seconds

gpt-oss-120b (free) vs NewGrok Build 0.1

Pick gpt-oss-120b (free) for lower cost; pick Grok Build 0.1 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T18:08:02Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick gpt-oss-120b (free) for lower cost; pick Grok Build 0.1 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, gpt-oss-120b (free) is estimated at $0 vs $2 for Grok Build 0.1, saving $2 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickgpt-oss-120b (free)

Context-first pickGrok Build 0.1

Sample savings$2100%

10x traffic gap$20

Grok Build 0.1 has more context, but gpt-oss-120b (free) saves $2 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $20. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

gpt-oss-120b (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	gpt-oss-120b (free)	Grok Build 0.1
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	gpt-oss-120b (free)	$0	$6
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	gpt-oss-120b (free)	$0	$3
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	gpt-oss-120b (free)	$0	$11

Cheaper input gpt-oss-120b (free) $0 vs $1 / 1M

gpt-oss-120b (free) is free for input tokens while Grok Build 0.1 costs $1 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output gpt-oss-120b (free) $0 vs $2 / 1M

gpt-oss-120b (free) is free for output tokens while Grok Build 0.1 costs $2 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Grok Build 0.1 131.07K vs 256K

Grok Build 0.1 has 124.93K more context (1.95x larger).

Sample workload gpt-oss-120b (free) $0 vs $2

gpt-oss-120b (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $2.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

gpt-oss-120b (free) Calculating… Estimated API cost

Grok Build 0.1 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

gpt-oss-120b (free) has the lower input price; gpt-oss-120b (free) has the lower output price; Grok Build 0.1 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, gpt-oss-120b (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for gpt-oss-120b (free) and $2 for Grok Build 0.1.

Best Fit

Choose gpt-oss-120b (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Grok Build 0.1 when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, gpt-oss-120b (free) is estimated at $0 vs $2 for Grok Build 0.1, saving $2 (100% lower).
gpt-oss-120b (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $2.
gpt-oss-120b (free) is free for input tokens while Grok Build 0.1 costs $1 per 1M tokens.
gpt-oss-120b (free) is free for output tokens while Grok Build 0.1 costs $2 per 1M tokens.
Grok Build 0.1 has 124.93K more context (1.95x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	gpt-oss-120b (free) (OpenAI)	NewGrok Build 0.1 (xAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0	$1
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0	$2
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0	$2
Context Window	131.07K	256K
Release Date	2025-08-05	2026-05-20
Popularity	#26	#119

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	gpt-oss-120b (free)	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, gpt-oss-120b (free) is estimated at $0 vs $2 for Grok Build 0.1, saving $2 (100% lower).
High-volume input processing	gpt-oss-120b (free)	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	gpt-oss-120b (free)	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Grok Build 0.1	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

No lower-cost same-provider swap is currently tracked for this pair.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

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

xAI catalog

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

Open xAI models

gpt-oss-120b (free)

gpt-oss-120b is an open-weight, 117B-parameter Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) language model from OpenAI designed for high-reasoning, agentic, and general-purpose production use cases. It activates 5.1B parameters per forward pass and is optimized...

Grok Build 0.1

Grok Build 0.1 is xAI’s fast coding model trained specifically for agentic software engineering workflows. It supports text and image inputs with text output, and is optimized for interactive coding...