OpenAI: GPT-5.1 API Price, Cost Calculator & Specs

GPT-5.1 represents a different economic proposition than its Codex sibling. While both share the same $1.25/$10 pricing, the token consumption patterns for general reasoning differ significantly from code generation. A typical reasoning query might generate 800-1,500 output tokens versus 2,000-5,000 tokens for code completion, making the premium more palatable for knowledge work applications.

The model excels at multi-step analysis where the cost per decision matters more than the cost per token. Think business strategy, legal document analysis, or technical research - scenarios where getting the right answer matters more than the processing cost.

For AI assistants targeting professionals (consultants, researchers, analysts), GPT-5.1's pricing becomes reasonable when users generate 50-100 interactions monthly. The key is matching your revenue model to usage patterns.

Best For:

Professional Knowledge Workers: Consultants and analysts who need deep reasoning on complex business problems where each successful recommendation justifies the API cost.

Multi-source Research Projects: Academic and market research requiring synthesis across domains, where GPT-5.1's reasoning quality produces insights that cheaper models miss.

Enterprise Decision Support: B2B applications where users make high-stakes decisions based on AI analysis, supporting pricing tiers from $99-299/month.

The economics favor GPT-5.1 when your users' success directly correlates with reasoning quality rather than response volume.