AI MODEL PROFILE

GPT-5.6 Terra

The sensible default in the GPT-5.6 family: the same very large context as Sol at a fraction of the price.

Source review Last reviewed August 7, 2026 By OpenAI

The facts at a glance

ProviderOpenAI
TypeGeneral purpose model
Current version or tiergpt-5.6-terra, generally available 9 July 2026
ModalityText and image in, text out
AccessProprietary
Context or limits1,050,000 token context, 128,000 max output
Free optionReached by ChatGPT Free and Go users through ChatGPT Work and Codex at launch
Paid priceUSD 2.00 per million input and USD 12.00 per million output on the OpenAI docs pricing page

Pricing last checked August 7, 2026. Prices change and vary by region. Check the official pricing page ↗

Assessment

What it does well

  • Same 1.05 million token context as the top tier at well under half the cost
  • Positioned by OpenAI as the balance of intelligence and cost in the 5.6 family
  • Reachable by Free and Go users through ChatGPT Work and Codex

Where it falls short

  • Not available on the API free tier, requiring paid usage tier 1 or higher
  • OpenAI's launch blog and its own docs pricing page quote different rates for this model, which we have not been able to reconcile
  • Lower capability ceiling than Sol on the hardest tasks

Privacy and data control

Covered by OpenAI platform terms for API use. Consumer ChatGPT data controls are separate and are described on the ChatGPT profile.

The longer read

A pricing discrepancy worth knowing about

At the time of checking, OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 launch post and its developer pricing page state different rates for Terra. We have used the figure from the docs pricing page because it is the page OpenAI maintains for billing, but you should confirm the current rate in your own account before budgeting against it. We will update this profile when the two pages agree.

How it performs by outcome

We assess products against a job, not a leaderboard. These are the outcomes this entry is compared under.

Worth comparing against

How this profile was produced

Source review. Every fact here is drawn from the provider documentation linked below and checked on the date shown. We have not yet run this entry through a controlled test, and no scoring is implied.

Read the full review methodology →

Primary sources