Head-to-head list prices

Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs GPT-6.1 Sol API Pricing

Compare verified published API prices for Claude Sonnet 5.5 and GPT-6.1 Sol. This page compares price, not output quality.

Last verified Oct 21, 2026

Quick answer

Verified Oct 21, 2026, Claude Sonnet 5.5 lists input at $2.00 and output at $10.00 per 1M tokens, while GPT-6.1 Sol lists $2.00 input and $10.00 output. They have the same published list price for both token types; their published long-context pricing tier differs, and this comparison does not assess output quality.

ModelInput $/1MCached input $/1MOutput $/1MSourceLast verified
Claude Sonnet 5.5$2.00$0.10$10.00Official sourceOct 9, 2026
GPT-6.1 Sol$2.00$0.10$10.00Official sourceOct 21, 2026

Prices from official provider pages, verified on the date shown.

Published rates

Side-by-side API pricing

FieldClaude Sonnet 5.5GPT-6.1 Sol
ProviderAnthropicOpenAI
Input / 1M$2.00$2.00
Cached input / 1M$0.10$0.10
Output / 1M$10.00$10.00
Batch input / 1M$1.00$1.00
Batch output / 1M$5.00$5.00
Context window1M1050K
Release dateSep 28, 2026Sep 29, 2026
Official sourceAnthropic pricing ↗
Last verified Oct 9, 2026
OpenAI pricing ↗
Last verified Oct 21, 2026

Standard token prices

Which is cheaper depends on your input:output ratio

Costs below allocate 1M total tokens across each input:output ratio. They use standard prices only, without cache or Batch discounts.

Input:output ratioClaude Sonnet 5.5GPT-6.1 SolCheaper published price
10:1 (RAG / long context)$2.73$2.73Same price
3:1 (chat)$4.00$4.00Same price
1:1$6.00$6.00Same price
1:3 (long generation)$8.00$8.00Same price

Computed examples

Monthly cost for real workloads

WorkloadAssumed volumeClaude Sonnet 5.5GPT-6.1 SolDifference
Side project10,000 requests/month
8,000,000 input + 3,000,000 output tokens
$46.00$46.00Same cost
Customer support chatbot10,000 conversations/month
121,650,000 input + 10,800,000 output tokens
$351.30$351.30Same cost
Agent task1,000 tasks/month
12,000,000 input + 3,200,000 output tokens
$56.00$56.00Same cost

Assumptions

  • Side project: 10,000 requests per month, with 800 input and 300 output tokens per request.
  • Customer support chatbot: 10,000 conversations, with 6 replies per conversation, 600 system tokens, 90 user-message tokens, 1,000 retrieved-context tokens, 180 output tokens per reply, and 50% history carry.
  • Agent task: 1,000 tasks, with 8 calls per task and 1,500 input plus 400 output tokens per call.
  • All three rows use standard non-cached, non-batch prices and exclude retries, tools, storage, and taxes.

Provider conditions

Pricing rules that can change the answer

GPT-6.1 Sol

Long-context pricing tiers

TierInputCached inputOutput
Long context>272k input tokens$4.00$0.20$15.00
Short context≤272k input tokens$2.00$0.10$10.00

Batch API: input $1.00 and output $5.00 per 1M tokens.

Full GPT-6.1 Sol pricing components

Verified changes

Price history

  1. On Sep 29, 2026, OpenAI added GPT-6.1 Sol with published input $2.00 and output $10.00 per 1M tokens.

    View this update in the price monitor
  2. On Sep 28, 2026, Anthropic added Claude Sonnet 5.5 with published input $2.00 and output $10.00 per 1M tokens.

    View this update in the price monitor

Operational costs

Cheaper per token is not always cheaper per task

Retries, failed calls, fallback requests, and longer outputs can raise the cost of completing a task even when the published token price is lower. Model the effect with the LLM Retry & Fallback Cost Calculator, read the cost-per-successful-task guide, or estimate a migration with the Model Switch Cost Calculator.

Primary evidence and next steps

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Is Claude Sonnet 5.5 cheaper than GPT-6.1 Sol?

Input prices are the same. Output prices are the same. This compares published list prices, not output quality.

How much do Claude Sonnet 5.5 and GPT-6.1 Sol cost for 10,000 requests a month?

At 800 input and 300 output tokens per request, Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs about $46.00 and GPT-6.1 Sol costs about $46.00 at standard list prices.

Which is cheaper for input-heavy workloads like RAG?

At a 10:1 input-to-output token ratio, Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs $2.73 and GPT-6.1 Sol costs $2.73 per 1M total tokens. Same price.

Where do these prices come from?

The prices come from Anthropic and OpenAI official pricing sources, verified on Oct 9, 2026 and Oct 21, 2026, respectively. See the AI API pricing dataset.