GPT-6 Astra vs GPT-5.6 Sol
GPT-5.6 Sol is the better buy: the AIGROW small-business benchmark cannot tell the two apart, and GPT-5.6 Sol has the lower list price. GPT-6 Astra passed 17 of 20 tasks and costs $10 in and $50 out per million tokens; GPT-5.6 Sol passed 17 and costs $4 in and $20 out.
Run GPT-6 Astra up to 75% below list price. $25 a month brings $110 of API credit and cancels any time; $25 once buys $100. US dollars, standard rate, shortest context band. Cost per pass from the AIGROW small-business benchmark. Newer comparison: GPT-6 Astra vs GPT-6.1 Sol
- GPT-6 Astra
- $27.91
- Tasks passed
- 17 of 20
- GPT-5.6 Sol
- $11.33
- Tasks passed
- 17 of 20
AIGROW small-business benchmark, failed runs included.
Tests whether the new flagship earns 2.5 times the price of the model it sits above. GPT-5.6 Sol costs $11.33 per 1,000 passing answers on the AIGROW small-business benchmark, GPT-6 Astra $27.91. 1,000 support replies cost $50.00 on GPT-6 Astra and $20.00 on GPT-5.6 Sol, so GPT-6 Astra costs 2.5 times as much.
What each one costs
The API price per million tokens and the cheapest app plan with each model, from the makers’ own pages. Each name opens that model’s full price page.
- GPT-6 Astra
- On the OpenAI API, GPT-6 Astra costs $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens. In ChatGPT, the cheapest plan with it is Plus at $20/mo. Plan prices read 22 October 2026. AIGROW API credit runs GPT-6 Astra at $2.50 / $12.50 per million input / output tokens, 75% below list price. See API credit
- GPT-5.6 Sol
- On the OpenAI API, GPT-5.6 Sol costs $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens. In ChatGPT, the cheapest plan with it is Plus at $20/mo. Plan prices read 22 October 2026.
$25 a month brings $110 of API credit and cancels any time; $25 once buys $100.
Side by side
Each maker’s published rate for its standard tier. Cached input is what a repeated prompt prefix costs once the provider has stored it.
| Fact | GPT-6 Astra | GPT-5.6 Sol |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | OpenAI | OpenAI |
| Tier | Flagships | Flagships |
| Input, per M tokens | $10.00 | $4.00 |
| Output, per M tokens | $50.00 | $20.00 |
| Cached input | $1.00 | $0.40 |
| Context window | 1.05M | 1.05M |
| Released | 3 Sep 2026 | 9 Jul 2026 |
| Weights | Closed weights | Closed weights |
What a job costs on each
1,000 runs of each job at the two list prices. The gap moves from job to job because the models price input, output and cached context differently.
| Job | GPT-6 Astra | GPT-5.6 Sol | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support reply3,000 in, 400 out. | $50.00 | $20.00 | GPT-5.6 Sol, 60% less |
| Document summary25,000 in, 1,000 out. | $300 | $120 | GPT-5.6 Sol, 60% less |
| Agent task80,000 in (70,000 cached), 3,000 out. | $320 | $128 | GPT-5.6 Sol, 60% less |
The token counts are ours, chosen to look like real work; the prices are the makers’. A model with no published cache price bills the agent task’s repeated context at its full input rate.
The small print
What each base rate leaves out, from the makers’ own pages: surcharges, discounts, promotions and cache pricing.
- GPT-6 Astra
- Requests above 272K input tokens bill 2x input and 1.5x output ($20 / $75, cached $2). Cache write $12.50. Batch and Flex 50% off, Fast mode 2x, Ultrafast mode $60 / $300 since 29 September 2026. Data residency adds 10%. Context 1,050,000 with max input 922K. OpenAI’s pricing page
- GPT-5.6 Sol
- Promotional price since 2026-08-21, 'available until November 30, 2026'; the previous price was $5 / $30. Requests above 272K input tokens bill 2x input and 1.5x output ($8 / $30). Cache write $5. Batch and Flex 50% off. Data residency adds 10%. OpenAI’s pricing page
Other comparisons
Every head to head on the list that involves GPT-6 Astra or GPT-5.6 Sol.
Run GPT-6 Astra up to 75% below list price
AIGROW API credit covers GPT-6 Astra at published rates never above the list prices here, and $25 buys $100 of credit.
Prices checked 12 November 2026