OpenAI API Pricing (July 2026): GPT-5.5 $5.00/M · GPT-5.4 $2.50/M

OpenAI API pricing (July 2026): GPT-5.4 nano $0.20/M input, $1.25/M output. Compare cache, context, source, and verified date.

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Verified pricing data

OpenAI API prices as of July 2026

Source: https://platform.openai.com/docs/pricing

As of
Update cadence
Checked daily; published only after source verification.
Source policy
Official provider pricing pages or APIs only.
Machine-readable data
/api/pricing.json
Estimate monthly costs with these prices

Quick pricing answers

Cheapest input

GPT-5.4 nano

$0.20/M input · $1.25/M output

Cheapest output

GPT-5.4 nano

$1.25/M output

Best cached-input price

GPT-5.4 nano

$0.02/M cached input

Widest context

GPT-5.5

1,000,000 tokens context

These answers are generated from 4 verified OpenAI models as of July 2026. Use the calculator for workload-specific totals because output tokens and cache hit rate can change the cheapest choice.

ModelInput / 1MCached input / 1MOutput / 1MContextMax output
GPT-5.5$5.00$0.50$30.001,000,000128,000
GPT-5.4$2.50$0.25$15.001,000,000128,000
GPT-5.4 mini$0.75$0.075$4.50400,000128,000
GPT-5.4 nano$0.20$0.02$1.25n/an/a

Official OpenAI standard short-context pricing. Long-context pricing is higher and is listed separately on the official pricing page.

Official OpenAI standard short-context pricing. Long-context pricing is higher and is listed separately on the official pricing page.

Official OpenAI standard pricing.

Official OpenAI standard pricing.

Pricing questions

What is the cheapest OpenAI API model in July 2026?

GPT-5.4 nano has the lowest verified OpenAI input-token price at $0.20/M input tokens.

Which OpenAI model is cheapest for generated output?

GPT-5.4 nano has the lowest verified OpenAI output-token price at $1.25/M output tokens.

Where does TLDL get OpenAI pricing data?

TLDL uses official OpenAI pricing sources and records source URLs plus verification dates in the shared pricing dataset.

OpenAI pricing changelog

2026-07-04

Verified GPT-5.5 and GPT-5.4 family standard API pricing from the official OpenAI pricing page.

https://platform.openai.com/docs/pricing

TLDL tracks OpenAI API pricing in the shared pricing dataset used by the public pricing API, the LLM cost calculator, and the main LLM API pricing comparison.

OpenAI API Quick Answer

The OpenAI API lets developers call OpenAI models from their own apps, agents, workflows, and data pipelines. API pricing is usually based on tokens: input tokens, cached input tokens when supported, and output tokens. Use this page when you need current OpenAI API pricing by model, context window, max output, source URL, and verification date.

Common OpenAI API pricing questions:

QueryShort answer
open ai apiThe OpenAI API is the developer interface for calling OpenAI models programmatically.
api open aiUse the OpenAI API for chat, reasoning, coding, tool use, embeddings, and other model-backed product features.
open ai api pricingPricing depends on model and token type. Compare input, cached input, and output prices in the generated table on this page.
open ai pricingFor production estimates, use the TLDL cost calculator and verify against the linked official OpenAI pricing source.

The table above is generated from the same JSON file as the calculator and public API. Prices are included only after the official OpenAI source URL and verification date are recorded in the dataset.

How to use this page

Use the quick answers above for the current cheapest OpenAI input, output, cached-input, and context-window choices. Use the table when you need per-model input price, cached input price, output price, context window, max output, source URL, and verification date in one place.

For production billing decisions, also check the linked official OpenAI pricing page. TLDL is designed to catch drift and make source status visible, not to replace a provider's billing terms.

Related comparisons

OpenAI is often compared with Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, and budget hosted open models. Start with the provider table here, then use the full comparison or calculator when routing traffic across vendors.

FAQ

What is the OpenAI API used for?

The OpenAI API is used to add model-powered features to software: chat interfaces, agents, summarization, coding tools, search, data extraction, classification, embeddings, and workflow automation.

How is OpenAI API pricing calculated?

OpenAI API pricing is usually calculated from token usage. Input tokens, cached input tokens, and output tokens can have different prices, and each model has its own context window and output limit.

Where should I estimate OpenAI API costs?

Use the LLM cost calculator for workload estimates, then confirm final billing assumptions against the official OpenAI pricing page linked in the pricing table.

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