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Van Data Team
Current modelOpenAI

GPT-5.6 Sol benchmarks, pricing and specs

GPT-5.6 Sol is an OpenAI model released on July 9, 2026 that takes text and image input and produces text. It costs $4 per 1M input tokens and $20 per 1M output tokens and accepts up to 1,050,000 tokens of context. It scores 1485 Elo on Arena Text, #10 of 39 current models (Arena, measured October 8, 2026).

Per 1M input tokens
$4
Per 1M output tokens
$20
Context window
1.05M
Arena Text
1485 Elo · #10/39

Data verified October 12, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-12

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Key facts

Provider
OpenAI
Model family
GPT-5.6
Release date
July 9, 2026
Status
Current
Access
API only
API model id
Not reported
Context window
1,050,000 tokens
Max output
128,000 tokens
Input
text, image
Output
text
Task families
text, multimodal
Declared capabilities
reasoning

GPT-5.6 Sol pricing

It is the #8 most expensive of 37 current text models priced per 1M input tokens.

UnitPrice (USD)TierAppliesSource
1M input tokens$4standardCurrent
1M output tokens$20standardCurrent
1M input tokens$0.40cachedCurrent

Independent benchmark results

Scores come from independent evaluators that ran the model themselves, pinned to a dated snapshot. Rank is among current models in the same snapshot. OpenAI's own launch figures are listed under strengths with the publisher named, because they are not measured the same way.

BenchmarkScoreRankMeasuredSource
Arena Text1485 Elo#10 of 39October 8, 2026Arena · 2026-10-12
GPQA Diamond93.5%#11 of 37October 12, 2026Epoch AI · 2026-10-12
FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2)89.1%#6 of 37October 12, 2026Epoch AI · 2026-10-12
SimpleQA Verified69.7%#7 of 34October 12, 2026Epoch AI · 2026-10-12

Strengths, cautions and best uses

Strengths

  • GPT-5.6 Sol is OpenAI's GPT-5.6 flagship for complex professional work, with a 1.05M-token context window and 128K output tokens
  • Six reasoning-effort levels from none to max, and the full Responses API tool set including computer use, hosted shell, apply patch and MCP
  • Epoch AI measured 93.5% on GPQA Diamond and 89.1% on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3, near the top of this dataset

Cautions

  • Not in the pinned LiveBench snapshot; its independent scores here come from Epoch AI's own GPQA Diamond, FrontierMath and SimpleQA Verified runs

Best for

  • Frontier capability evaluations for complex API workflows
  • Long-horizon coding and research agents that use computer use or MCP tools

Alternatives to GPT-5.6 Sol

The closest current textmodels by price. The cheapest model that scores as well or better is listed first; failing that, the cheapest one within 3% of the benchmark's scale.

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GPT-5.6 Sol FAQ

How much does GPT-5.6 Sol cost?

GPT-5.6 Sol costs $4 per 1M input tokens and $20 per 1M output tokens at the standard tier. It is the #8 most expensive of 37 current text models priced per 1M input tokens. Source: OpenAI, verified October 11, 2026.

What is the context window of GPT-5.6 Sol?

GPT-5.6 Sol accepts up to 1,050,000 tokens of context. It can return up to 128,000 tokens in one response. That ranks #1 of 44 current text models by context length.

How does GPT-5.6 Sol score on independent benchmarks?

GPT-5.6 Sol scores 1485 Elo on Arena Text, #10 of 39 current models (Arena, measured October 8, 2026), 93.5% on GPQA Diamond, #11 of 37 current models (Epoch AI, measured October 12, 2026) and 89.1% on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), #6 of 37 current models (Epoch AI, measured October 12, 2026). These are independent evaluations, not OpenAI's own launch figures.

Is GPT-5.6 Sol open source or API only?

GPT-5.6 Sol is available through OpenAI's API only; its weights are not published.

What are the best alternatives to GPT-5.6 Sol?

The closest current alternatives by price and measured performance are Gemini 3.8 Flash (81% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $0.75 vs $4), Claude Opus 5.5 (same price per 1M input tokens, $4), Claude Opus 4.8 (25% more per 1M input tokens, $5 vs $4) and GPT-5.5 (25% more per 1M input tokens, $5 vs $4).

Sources

Cite this page

Van Data Team. "GPT-5.6 Sol Benchmarks, Pricing and Specs." AI Model Benchmark Dataset 2026-10-12. https://vandatateam.com/ai-model-benchmarks/gpt-5-6-sol

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Production evaluation

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