API cost decision in 10 seconds

Solar Pro 3 vs GPT-5.2 Pro

Pick Solar Pro 3 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.2 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 Solar Pro 3 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.2 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro, saving $104.55 (99.6% lower).

Cost-first pickSolar Pro 3
Context-first pickGPT-5.2 Pro
Sample savings$104.5599.6%
10x traffic gap$1045.5

GPT-5.2 Pro has more context, but Solar Pro 3 saves $104.55 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1045.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Solar Pro 3 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickSolar Pro 3GPT-5.2 Pro
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputSolar Pro 3$1.05$189
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputSolar Pro 3$0.75$189
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputSolar Pro 3$3.15$861
Cheaper input Solar Pro 3 $0.15 vs $21 / 1M

Solar Pro 3 is $20.85 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.3% lower; 140x difference).

Cheaper output Solar Pro 3 $0.6 vs $168 / 1M

Solar Pro 3 is $167.4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99.6% lower; 280x difference).

Larger context GPT-5.2 Pro 128K vs 400K

GPT-5.2 Pro has 272K more context (3.12x larger).

Sample workload Solar Pro 3 $0.45 vs $105

Solar Pro 3 is $104.55 cheaper on the standard workload (99.6% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Solar Pro 3 Calculating… Estimated API cost
GPT-5.2 Pro 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

Solar Pro 3 has the lower input price; Solar Pro 3 has the lower output price; GPT-5.2 Pro offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Solar Pro 3 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.45 for Solar Pro 3 and $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro.

Best Fit

Choose Solar Pro 3 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose GPT-5.2 Pro when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro, saving $104.55 (99.6% lower).
  • Solar Pro 3 is $104.55 cheaper on the standard workload (99.6% lower).
  • Solar Pro 3 is $20.85 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.3% lower; 140x difference).
  • Solar Pro 3 is $167.4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99.6% lower; 280x difference).
  • GPT-5.2 Pro has 272K more context (3.12x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureSolar Pro 3
(Upstage)		GPT-5.2 Pro
(OpenAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$0.15$21
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$0.6$168
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$0.45$105
Context Window128K400K
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionSolar Pro 3On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro, saving $104.55 (99.6% lower).
High-volume input processingSolar Pro 3Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsSolar Pro 3Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGPT-5.2 ProA larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5.2 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.2 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.2 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
  • gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5.2 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
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.
  • GPT-5.5 offers 1.05M context with $20 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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Provider catalogs

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

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Upstage catalog

Review all tracked Upstage models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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OpenAI catalog

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

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Solar Pro 3

Solar Pro 3 is Upstage's powerful Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) language model. With 102B total parameters and 12B active parameters per forward pass, it delivers exceptional performance while maintaining computational efficiency. Optimized...

GPT-5.2 Pro

GPT-5.2 Pro is OpenAI’s most advanced model, offering major improvements in agentic coding and long context performance over GPT-5 Pro. It is optimized for complex tasks that require step-by-step reasoning,...