OpenAI API Pricing History: 2026 Enterprise Cost Trends
AI Costs & Pricing

OpenAI API Pricing History

By Paige Gilmore, Founder, NetLift· Published July 28, 2026· Updated September 1, 2026
Prices checked September 1, 2026 against official vendor pages

OpenAI pricing has stabilized around tiered model families and seat-based business plans, with Business Standard seats at $20-$25 and the GPT-5.6 model series ranging from $0.20 to $12.50 per million input tokens.

14-day free trial. No credit card required.

OpenAI API pricing reflects a strategic shift toward specialized model families like GPT-5.6 and metered utility services. Business plans are currently structured between Standard seats at $20 to $25 and Premium seats at $100 to $125, depending on the billing cycle. Both require a minimum of two users, while ChatGPT for Teachers has moved to a $0 price point.

For procurement and AI leaders, the GPT-5.6 series introduces significant price variance based on performance needs. The family spans from the high-efficiency 'Luna' tier at $0.20 per million input tokens to the 'Cyber' tier at $12.50 per million tokens, necessitating precise model selection to maintain budget control.

OpenAI API pricing history

Date Plan Previous price New price
2026-08-30 ChatGPT — Business Standard Seat (Monthly) $25 $25
2026-08-30 ChatGPT — Business Standard Seat (Annual) $20 $20
2026-08-30 ChatGPT — Business Premium Seat (Monthly) $125 $125
2026-08-30 ChatGPT — Business Premium Seat (Annual) $100 $100
2026-08-25 sora-2-pro — 1080p Portrait/Landscape Standard $0.7 $0.7
2026-08-25 sora-2 — 720p Portrait/Landscape Standard $0.1 $0.1
2026-08-25 gpt-realtime-translate — Live translation $0.03 $0.03
2026-08-25 gpt-5.6-cyber — Cyber Short Context Output $75 $75
2026-08-25 gpt-5.6-cyber — Cyber Short Context Input $12.50 $12.50
2026-08-25 gpt-5.3-codex — Codex Standard Input $1.75 $1.75
2026-08-25 chat-latest — ChatGPT Standard Input $5 $5
2026-08-25 Web search — All models (Standard) $10 $10
2026-08-25 Hosted Shell and Code Interpreter — 1 GB Container $0.03 $0.03
2026-08-25 File search — Storage $0.1 $0.1
2026-08-21 File search — Tool call $2.50 $2.50
2026-08-11 gpt-image-2 — Standard Image Output $30 $30
2026-08-11 gpt-image-2 — Standard Image Input $8 $8
2026-08-11 ChatGPT — ChatGPT for Teachers $0 $0
2026-08-11 ChatGPT — ChatGPT Edu Contact sales Contact sales
2026-08-10 ChatGPT — ChatGPT for Teachers $0 $0
2026-08-10 ChatGPT — ChatGPT Edu Contact sales Contact sales
2026-08-09 ChatGPT — ChatGPT for Teachers Contact sales $0
2026-08-09 ChatGPT — ChatGPT Edu Contact sales Contact sales
2026-08-08 ChatGPT — ChatGPT for Teachers $0 $0
2026-08-08 ChatGPT — ChatGPT Edu Contact sales Contact sales
2026-08-07 ChatGPT — ChatGPT for Teachers $0 $0
2026-08-07 ChatGPT — ChatGPT Edu Contact sales Contact sales

NetLift has monitored the official OpenAI API pricing page since 2026-08-25. 27 change(s) recorded so far.

Current verified prices

Plan Price Billing Notes
ChatGPT — Business Standard Seat (Annual) $20 per seat / month $20/month if billed annually. Minimum 2 users. Nonprofits may access up to 75% discount.
ChatGPT — Business Standard Seat (Monthly) $25 per seat / month $25/month if billed monthly. Minimum 2 users. Nonprofits may access up to 75% discount.
ChatGPT — Business Premium Seat (Annual) $100 per seat / month $100/month if billed annually. Minimum 2 users. Nonprofits may access up to 75% discount.
ChatGPT — Business Premium Seat (Monthly) $125 per seat / month $125/month if billed monthly. Minimum 2 users. Nonprofits may access up to 75% discount.

Current verified per-token prices

Model / rate Price Unit
chat-latest — ChatGPT Standard Input $5 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.3-codex — Codex Standard Input $1.75 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.6-cyber — Cyber Short Context Input $12.50 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.6-cyber — Cyber Short Context Output $75 per 1M output tokens
gpt-5.6-luna — Standard Short Context Input $0.2 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.6-luna — Standard Short Context Output $1.20 per 1M output tokens
gpt-5.6-sol — Standard Short Context Cached Input $0.4 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.6-sol — Batch Short Context Input $2 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.6-sol — Standard Short Context Input $4 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.6-sol — Standard Short Context Cache Writes $5 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.6-sol — Standard Long Context Input $8 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.6-sol — Fast mode Short Context Input $8 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.6-sol — Standard Short Context Output $20 per 1M output tokens
gpt-5.6-sol — Standard Long Context Output $30 per 1M output tokens
gpt-5.6-terra — Standard Short Context Input $2 per 1M input tokens
gpt-5.6-terra — Standard Short Context Output $12 per 1M output tokens
gpt-image-2 — Standard Image Input $8 per 1M input tokens
gpt-image-2 — Standard Image Output $30 per 1M output tokens
gpt-realtime-2.1 — Text Input $4 per 1M input tokens
gpt-realtime-2.1 — Text Output $24 per 1M output tokens
gpt-realtime-2.1 — Audio Input $32 per 1M input tokens
gpt-realtime-2.1 — Audio Output $64 per 1M output tokens

14-day free trial. No credit card required.

Why is there such a wide range in GPT-5.6 pricing?

The GPT-5.6 family—comprising Luna, Terra, Sol, and Cyber—is priced according to task complexity and context requirements. For example, GPT-5.6-Luna ($0.20/1M input) is designed for high-volume, low-complexity tasks, while GPT-5.6-Cyber ($12.50/1M input) serves high-stakes performance needs. Buyers must match the model tier to the specific use case to avoid overspending on token overhead.

What should buyers consider for ChatGPT Business renewals?

Renewing Business Standard or Premium plans requires choosing between annual and monthly commitments. Annual billing offers a 20% savings ($20 vs $25 for Standard). Additionally, nonprofits can access discounts of up to 75%, which can significantly improve the net return on AI seat investments.

To determine if these costs are generating a return, organizations must move beyond tracking spend to measuring time saved versus a human baseline. NetLift quantifies this by comparing the cost of specific model tiers, such as GPT-5.6-Sol, against the efficiency gains realized in production, providing a clear view of the net value of AI adoption.

14-day free trial. No credit card required.

Sources

All pricing on this page comes from official vendor pages:

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to see your AI return?

14-day free trial. No credit card required.

About the author

Paige Gilmore · Founder, NetLift

Paige Gilmore is the founder of NetLift, the AI Value Management platform that helps organisations measure the cost, savings and return of AI adoption.

Paige Gilmore on LinkedIn

Keep reading