API cost decision in 10 seconds

Relace Search vs GPT-5.1

Pick Relace Search for lower cost; pick GPT-5.1 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T10:03:26Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T14:08:03Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Relace Search for lower cost; pick GPT-5.1 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Relace Search is estimated at $2.5 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $3.75 (60% lower).

Cost-first pickRelace Search

Context-first pickGPT-5.1

Sample savings$3.7560%

10x traffic gap$37.5

GPT-5.1 has more context, but Relace Search saves $3.75 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $37.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Relace Search stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Relace Search	GPT-5.1
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Relace Search	$6.5	$11.25
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Relace Search	$4	$11.25
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Relace Search	$16	$51.25

Cheaper input Relace Search $1 vs $1.25 / 1M

Relace Search is $0.25 cheaper per 1M input tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).

Cheaper output Relace Search $3 vs $10 / 1M

Relace Search is $7 cheaper per 1M output tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).

Larger context GPT-5.1 256K vs 400K

GPT-5.1 has 144K more context (1.56x larger).

Sample workload Relace Search $2.5 vs $6.25

Relace Search is $3.75 cheaper on the standard workload (60% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Relace Search Calculating… Estimated API cost

GPT-5.1 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

Relace Search has the lower input price; Relace Search has the lower output price; GPT-5.1 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Relace Search is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.5 for Relace Search and $6.25 for GPT-5.1.

Best Fit

Choose Relace Search when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose GPT-5.1 when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Relace Search is estimated at $2.5 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $3.75 (60% lower).
Relace Search is $3.75 cheaper on the standard workload (60% lower).
Relace Search is $0.25 cheaper per 1M input tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
Relace Search is $7 cheaper per 1M output tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).
GPT-5.1 has 144K more context (1.56x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Relace Search (Relace)	GPT-5.1 (OpenAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$1	$1.25
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$3	$10
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$2.5	$6.25
Context Window	256K	400K
Release Date	2025-12-08	2025-11-13

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Relace Search	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Relace Search is estimated at $2.5 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $3.75 (60% lower).
High-volume input processing	Relace Search	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Relace Search	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GPT-5.1	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Relace Apply 3 can replace Relace Search when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.48.
gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.

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.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

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Provider catalogs

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Relace catalog

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OpenAI catalog

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GPT-5.1 is the latest frontier-grade model in the GPT-5 series, offering stronger general-purpose reasoning, improved instruction adherence, and a more natural conversational style compared to GPT-5. It uses adaptive reasoning...