GPT-5.6 Terra benchmarks, pricing and specs
GPT-5.6 Terra is an OpenAI model released on July 9, 2026 that takes text and image input and produces text. It costs $2 per 1M input tokens and $12 per 1M output tokens and accepts up to 1,050,000 tokens of context. It scores 1466 Elo on Arena Text, #23 of 39 current models (Arena, measured October 8, 2026).
- Per 1M input tokens
- $2
- Per 1M output tokens
- $12
- Context window
- 1.05M
- Arena Text
- 1466 Elo · #23/39
Data verified October 12, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-12
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 Terra pricing
It is the #12 most expensive of 37 current text models priced per 1M input tokens.
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.
| Benchmark | Score | Rank | Measured | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arena Text | 1466 Elo | #23 of 39 | October 8, 2026 | Arena · 2026-10-12 |
| GPQA Diamond | 93.3% | #13 of 37 | October 12, 2026 | Epoch AI · 2026-10-12 |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) | 86% | #9 of 37 | October 12, 2026 | Epoch AI · 2026-10-12 |
| SimpleQA Verified | 43.2% | #24 of 34 | October 12, 2026 | Epoch AI · 2026-10-12 |
Strengths, cautions and best uses
Strengths
- GPT-5.6 Terra is designed for workloads that balance intelligence and cost: $2 input and $12 output per 1M tokens, half of Sol's input price
- Same 1.05M-token context, 128K output, six effort levels and Responses API tool set as Sol
- Epoch AI measured 93.3% on GPQA Diamond, within a few tenths of Sol, but 43.2% on SimpleQA Verified against Sol's 69.7%
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
- Balanced long-context API evaluations
- Reasoning-heavy work that does not depend on broad factual recall
Alternatives to GPT-5.6 Terra
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.
Cheaper, same or higher score
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
- 85% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $0.30 vs $2
- 9 points higher on Arena Text, 1475 vs 1466
- From DeepSeek
Claude Sonnet 5
- Same price per 1M input tokens, $2
- 5 points lower on Arena Text, 1461 vs 1466
- From Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5.5
- Same price per 1M input tokens, $2
- 10 points higher on Arena Text, 1476 vs 1466
- From Anthropic
GPT-4.1
- Same price per 1M input tokens, $2
- 51 points lower on Arena Text, 1415 vs 1466
Compare GPT-5.6 Terra with
Articles about GPT-5.6 Terra
Other GPT-5.6 models
GPT-5.6 Terra FAQ
How much does GPT-5.6 Terra cost?
GPT-5.6 Terra costs $2 per 1M input tokens and $12 per 1M output tokens at the standard tier. It is the #12 most expensive of 37 current text models priced per 1M input tokens. Source: OpenAI, verified August 7, 2026.
What is the context window of GPT-5.6 Terra?
GPT-5.6 Terra 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 Terra score on independent benchmarks?
GPT-5.6 Terra scores 1466 Elo on Arena Text, #23 of 39 current models (Arena, measured October 8, 2026), 93.3% on GPQA Diamond, #13 of 37 current models (Epoch AI, measured October 12, 2026) and 86% on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), #9 of 37 current models (Epoch AI, measured October 12, 2026). These are independent evaluations, not OpenAI's own launch figures.
Is GPT-5.6 Terra open source or API only?
GPT-5.6 Terra is available through OpenAI's API only; its weights are not published.
What are the best alternatives to GPT-5.6 Terra?
The closest current alternatives by price and measured performance are DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash (85% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $0.30 vs $2), Claude Sonnet 5 (same price per 1M input tokens, $2), Claude Sonnet 5.5 (same price per 1M input tokens, $2) and GPT-4.1 (same price per 1M input tokens, $2).
Sources
- GPT-5.6: Frontier intelligence that scales with your ambition · OpenAI · official · verified August 7, 2026
- OpenAI GPT-5.6 model catalog · OpenAI · official · verified August 7, 2026
- GPT-5.6 Terra model · OpenAI · official · verified October 12, 2026
- Epoch AI Benchmarking Hub data (benchmark_data.zip) · Epoch AI · independent · verified October 12, 2026 · CC-BY-4.0
- Arena leaderboard dataset (lmarena-ai/leaderboard-dataset) · Arena · independent · verified October 12, 2026 · CC-BY-4.0
Cite this page
Van Data Team. "GPT-5.6 Terra Benchmarks, Pricing and Specs." AI Model Benchmark Dataset 2026-10-12. https://vandatateam.com/ai-model-benchmarks/gpt-5-6-terra
Reuse the data: JSON · CSV · or explore every model in the AI model benchmark comparison.
Production evaluation
Deciding whether GPT-5.6 Terra fits your workload?
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