---
title: "OpenAI cuts prices on GPT-5.6 Sol for developers: $4 per million input tokens for three months"
description: "OpenAI has cut API access prices for GPT-5.6 Sol for three months: $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens, down from the previous $5 and $30. Pro, Plus, and Business subscriptions have not changed."
date: 2026-08-23T17:28:50.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/openai-cuts-gpt-5-6-sol-api-prices-en
tags: [openai, gpt-5-6, sol, api-pricing, anthropic, claude, ai-competition, ipo]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# OpenAI cuts prices on GPT-5.6 Sol for developers: $4 per million input tokens for three months

![OpenAI logo displayed on a smartphone screen resting on a laptop keyboard](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/24/openai-snizhila-tseny-na-api-gpt-5-6-sol/openai-snizhila-tseny-na-api-gpt-5-6-sol-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- OpenAI has cut API access prices for the GPT-5.6 Sol model by more than 20% for three months.
- New rates: $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens, down from the previous $5 and $30.
- Pro, Plus, and Business subscriptions have not changed; the new terms are available to ChatGPT Work and Codex customers.
- Rival Anthropic keeps Claude Fable 5 at $10/$50 and Claude Opus 5 at $5/$25 per million tokens.
- Price pressure is intensifying due to competition and IPO preparations: Anthropic is aiming for the fall, while OpenAI is prepared to wait until next year.

OpenAI has continued its push to make access to its flagship GPT-5.6 lineup more affordable. If at the end of July the company had already revised the pricing for two models in the series — Luna and Terra — while also expanding their usage limits, then now, according to Reuters, similar changes have been applied to the third and most performant of the trio, the Sol model, which is aimed at software developers. For the next three months, the cost of access to it will be reduced by more than 20%.

### What exactly got cheaper

It is important to distinguish between two pricing tiers. The cost of consumer and enterprise subscriptions — the Pro, Plus, and Business plans — has remained unchanged. Only access to the model via the API has been adjusted, and the new terms will be available to ChatGPT Work and Codex customers. The specific figures look like this: for every million input tokens, users of GPT-5.6 Sol now pay $4, while output tokens under standard use with a short context cost $20 per million. Before the revision, these rates were $5 and $30, respectively.

### Competitive context

To gauge how aggressive OpenAI's move is, it is useful to compare its rates with those of its main rival. Anthropic offers access to its flagship Claude Fable 5 model at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens, while working with Claude Opus 5 costs $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens. Thus, even after the cut, Sol remains noticeably cheaper than Anthropic's top model, but is comparable to its more affordable Opus 5 on input tokens and cheaper on output tokens.

### Reasons: competition and IPO

AI developers are being forced to adjust their prices by growing competition in the API market and the need to demonstrate positive revenue trends in light of upcoming public offerings. At the same time, the timelines of the two leaders diverge: Anthropic, according to available reports, is determined to go public as early as this fall, whereas OpenAI is prepared to wait until next year. It is precisely this difference in IPO timing that may explain OpenAI's tougher pricing policy in the coming months.

### Contradictory data

The phrasing "a reduction of more than 20%" contains a slight inconsistency with the actual figures. For input tokens, the rate dropped exactly from $5 to $4, i.e. by 20%, and not "more than 20%". The 20% threshold is exceeded only thanks to output tokens, where the reduction amounted to a third — from $30 to $20. In other words, the "more than 20%" figure cited in the news is valid only as an average or as a characteristic of output traffic, whereas for input tokens the reduction is exactly 20%. Readers should keep this difference in mind when calculating their own cost of using the API.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [OpenAI decides to cut prices for access to GPT-5.6 Sol for developers for the next three months window-new](https://3dnews.ru/1147274/openai-reshila-snizit-rastsenki-na-dostup-k-gpt56-sol-dlya-razrabotchikov-na-bligayshie-tri-mesyatsa) - Первичный источник: снижение на 3 месяца, цены $4/$20 против $5/$30, подписки не менялись, сравнение с Anthropic, контекст IPO.
- [OpenAI cuts prices on GPT-5.6 Sol — they will be in effect for three months](https://wtftime.ru/tech/167376/openai-snizila-tseny-na-gpt-56-sol--oni-budut-dejstvovat-tri-mesjatsa/) - Подтверждает срок действия новых цен в три месяца для GPT-5.6 Sol.
- [OpenAI cuts API prices: what got cheaper and how much it now costs in rubles](https://dtf.ru/oplatazabugor/5250587-snizhenie-tsen-na-api-openai) - Подтверждает снижение цен именно на API-доступ к моделям OpenAI.
- [OpenAI cuts prices on GPT-5.6 Sol following Luna and Terra](https://overclockers.ru/blog/Nacvark/show/262314/OpenAI-snizhaet-ceny-na-GPT-5-6-Sol-vsled-za-Luna-i-Terra) - Подтверждает, что Luna и Terra уже были снижены ранее, а Sol следует за ними — согласуется с хронологией «в конце прошлого месяца».

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What are the new prices for GPT-5.6 Sol via the API?
**A:** $4 per million input tokens, and $20 per million output tokens under standard short-context use. Previously, the rates were $5 and $30, respectively.

### Q: How long will the reduced prices last?
**A:** For the next three months, according to a Reuters report cited by the outlet.

### Q: Have ChatGPT subscription prices changed?
**A:** No. The Pro, Plus, and Business plans have remained unchanged; only API access for ChatGPT Work and Codex customers has been revised.

### Q: How does this compare with Anthropic's rates?
**A:** Claude Fable 5 costs $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens, while Claude Opus 5 costs $5 and $25. After the cut, Sol is cheaper than Anthropic's top model and comparable to Opus 5.

### Q: Why is OpenAI cutting prices?
**A:** Due to growing competition in the API market and the need to show positive revenue trends ahead of a planned IPO. Anthropic is targeting a market debut this fall, while OpenAI is prepared to wait until next year.