API cost decision in 10 seconds

Fugu Ultra vs GPT-5.5 Pro (batch)

Pick Fugu Ultra for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-08-06T14:08:16Z Data confirmed: 2026-08-23T11:07:50Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Fugu Ultra for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Fugu Ultra is estimated at $20 vs $60 for GPT-5.5 Pro (batch), saving $40 (66.7% lower).

Cost-first pickFugu Ultra

Context-first pickGPT-5.5 Pro (batch)

Sample savings$4066.7%

10x traffic gap$400

GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) has more context, but Fugu Ultra saves $40 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $400. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Fugu Ultra stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Fugu Ultra	GPT-5.5 Pro (batch)
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Fugu Ultra	$40	$120
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Fugu Ultra	$35	$105
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Fugu Ultra	$155	$465

Cheaper input Fugu Ultra $5 vs $15 / 1M

Fugu Ultra is $10 cheaper per 1M input tokens (66.7% lower; 3x difference).

Cheaper output Fugu Ultra $30 vs $90 / 1M

Fugu Ultra is $60 cheaper per 1M output tokens (66.7% lower; 3x difference).

Larger context GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) 1M vs 1.05M

GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) has 50K more context (1.05x larger).

Sample workload Fugu Ultra $20 vs $60

Fugu Ultra is $40 cheaper on the standard workload (66.7% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Fugu Ultra Calculating… Estimated API cost

GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) 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

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

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $20 for Fugu Ultra and $60 for GPT-5.5 Pro (batch).

Best Fit

Choose Fugu Ultra when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

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

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Fugu Ultra is estimated at $20 vs $60 for GPT-5.5 Pro (batch), saving $40 (66.7% lower).
Fugu Ultra is $40 cheaper on the standard workload (66.7% lower).
Fugu Ultra is $10 cheaper per 1M input tokens (66.7% lower; 3x difference).
Fugu Ultra is $60 cheaper per 1M output tokens (66.7% lower; 3x difference).
GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) has 50K more context (1.05x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Fugu Ultra (Sakana)	GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) (OpenAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$5	$15
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$30	$90
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$20	$60
Context Window	1M	1.05M
Release Date	2026-06-24	2026-04-24

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Fugu Ultra	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Fugu Ultra is estimated at $20 vs $60 for GPT-5.5 Pro (batch), saving $40 (66.7% lower).
High-volume input processing	Fugu Ultra	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Fugu Ultra	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GPT-5.5 Pro (batch)	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Sakana Namazu can replace Fugu Ultra when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.95.
gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.

Larger context near this budget

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.
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #1
MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
Hy3 · Tencent · #3
Ox Alpha · stealth · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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

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Sakana catalog

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OpenAI catalog

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

Open OpenAI models

Fugu Ultra

Fugu Ultra is the higher-performance model in Sakana AI's Fugu family. Rather than a single monolithic model, Fugu is a learned multi-agent orchestration system: a language model trained to route...

GPT-5.5 Pro (batch)

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...