$5 in / $20 out per 1M tokens
Flagship; fast
Product guide · Cloud API
OpenAI API
OpenAI's developer API. Token-based pricing for GPT-4o, embeddings, and more. Build custom apps and integrations.
What teams actually use it for
- Custom apps and integrations
- Chatbots and assistants
- Embeddings and RAG
- Structured output
- Batch processing
- Fine-tuning (select models)
Pricing model
Pay-per-token. No subscription. Input and output priced separately. Batch API for discounts. Scale tier for high volume.
$10 in / $30 out per 1M tokens
128K context
Lower
Cost-effective for high volume
Per 1M tokens
For search, RAG
Discounted
Non-time-sensitive
Fixed daily rates
High-volume users
What to know before you commit
Pros
- No per-user subscription; pay for usage
- Full control over integration
- Batch and scale tiers for cost control
- Wide ecosystem and tooling
- Same models as ChatGPT
Considerations
- You build and maintain integration
- Token costs can spike with volume
- No built-in UI; developer effort required
- Vendor lock-in to OpenAI
When it makes sense: Good for teams with dev capacity who need custom workflows. Use when ChatGPT's UI or plan limits don't fit. Estimate volume with our Cost Calculator.
Where your data goes
API data: not used for training by default. Check terms. Enterprise options for stricter controls.
GDPR / compliance. Enterprise DPA available. Check platform terms.
Data sovereignty. Enterprise data residency options.
Want a recommendation for your use case?
Every team's fit is different. We'll model cost and ROI across cloud, self-hosted, and hybrid before recommending anything, including this product.