GPT-5.2API Pricing

OpenAI API Pricing: Every Model, Every Tier

OpenAI offers four main API tiers in 2026, from the budget-friendly GPT-4o mini to the flagship GPT-5.2. Understanding the cost differences across models is critical to controlling your AI spend - the price gap between tiers is up to 80x.

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Why teams start here first
No monthly subscription
Pay-as-you-go credits
Start with trial credits, then buy only what you consume.
Failover safety
Production-ready routing
Auto fallback across providers when latency, quality, or reliability changes.
Data control
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BYOK and zero-retention mode keep training and storage scope explicit.
Single API experience
One key, multi-provider access
Use Chat/Compare/Blend/Judge/Failover from one dashboard.
OpenAI API pricing (reference)

Kept as reference for model evaluation. LLMWise pricing shown below uses credit reserves plus token-settled billing.

TierInput / 1M tokensOutput / 1M tokensContextNote
GPT-5.2$3.00$12.00256K tokensOpenAI's most capable model with vision, function calling, structured outputs, and top benchmark scores. The default choice for complex reasoning and production apps.
GPT-5.2 Mini$0.40$1.60128K tokensLightweight variant of GPT-5.2 optimized for speed and cost. Retains 90%+ quality on classification, extraction, and straightforward Q&A tasks.
GPT-4o$2.50$10.00128K tokensPrevious-generation flagship still available on the API. Slightly cheaper than GPT-5.2 but outperformed on most benchmarks. Best for teams with existing GPT-4o prompt pipelines.
GPT-4o mini$0.15$0.60128K tokensThe cheapest OpenAI model. Ideal for high-volume, cost-sensitive workloads like tagging, routing, and simple completions where top-tier accuracy is not required.
User-facing pricing uses credit reserves + token settlement
Evidence snapshot

GPT-5.2 pricing analysis

Current GPT-5.2 billing context: compare providers, then run the same workload on LLMWise for request-based credits.

LLMWise usage
Reserve by mode: Chat 1, Compare 2, Blend 4, Judge 5, Failover 1
minimum reserve credits by mode
Pricing tiers
4
provider options for this model family
LLMWise scenario cost
$306.00/mo with LLMWise auto-routing - complex queries go to GPT-5.2, simple ones to GPT-5.2 Mini or GPT-4o mini
50,000 API calls per month (avg 1,000 input + 500 output tokens each). Mix of complex queries (20%) and simple ones (80%).
Savings result
32% savings - $1,728/year saved by intelligently routing easy queries to cheaper OpenAI models when quality is equivalent
based on workload mix and routing auto-mode
Usage starts-to-finish

Example: Product support workload

If your team sends 20 support messages a day in Chat mode, the minimum reserve is around 600 credits each month (starts at 1 reserve credit/request). Final usage settles by model and token volume.

Workflow
20 req/day
Chat mode / starts at 1 reserve credit
Monthly estimate
~600+ credits
reserve floor before settlement
What you get
Predictable
same behavior, single model switch
Try this scenario in your dashboard

Why people use LLMWise

API key management
Single LLMWise API key accesses every OpenAI model plus Claude, Gemini, and 6 more providers
See OpenAI comparison
Create OpenAI account, generate key, manage billing and rate-limit tiers separately
Failover & reliability
Detects OpenAI errors and reroutes to Claude or Gemini near-instantly - zero downtime during outages
See OpenAI comparison
No built-in failover - OpenAI outages directly impact your application
Cost optimization
Auto-router analyzes each query and picks the cheapest OpenAI model that can handle it, saving 20-35%
See OpenAI comparison
Manual model selection per request - developers must build their own routing logic
Vendor lock-in
Unified API format across all providers - switch from GPT-5.2 to Claude or Gemini by changing one parameter
See OpenAI comparison
Tightly coupled to OpenAI SDK, prompt format, and billing - switching providers requires a rewrite
Rate limits
Pooled rate limits across providers - effectively 3x higher burst throughput from day one
See OpenAI comparison
Tier-based limits (500 RPM on Tier 1 up to 10K RPM on Tier 5) - takes months to scale up
Free tier
20 free trial credits on signup - test GPT-5.2 alongside Claude, Gemini, and every other model
See OpenAI comparison
No free tier for production API usage
Cost example

50,000 API calls per month (avg 1,000 input + 500 output tokens each). Mix of complex queries (20%) and simple ones (80%).

LLMWise total
$306.00/mo with LLMWise auto-routing - complex queries go to GPT-5.2, simple ones to GPT-5.2 Mini or GPT-4o mini
You save
32% savings - $1,728/year saved by intelligently routing easy queries to cheaper OpenAI models when quality is equivalent
Optional: reference direct API cost

$450.00/mo sending everything to GPT-5.2 ($150 input + $300 output)

OpenAI's API remains the industry standard, but their pricing spans an 80x range between GPT-4o mini and GPT-5.2 reasoning. Most teams overpay by sending every request to the flagship model. LLMWise's auto-router fixes this by analyzing each query and routing it to the cheapest OpenAI model that delivers equivalent quality. Pair that with automatic failover to Claude or Gemini during outages, and you get lower costs with higher reliability - all through a single API key.

Common questions

How much does GPT-5 API cost?
GPT-5.2, OpenAI's current flagship, costs $3.00 per million input tokens and $12.00 per million output tokens. For a typical 1,500-token request (1,000 input + 500 output), that works out to about $0.009 per call. The Mini variant is significantly cheaper at $0.40/$1.60 per million tokens.
Does OpenAI have a free API tier?
OpenAI does not offer a free tier for production API usage. New accounts may receive a small trial credit, but it expires quickly. LLMWise provides 20 free trial credits at signup, enough for approximately 40 GPT-5.2 completions or 200+ GPT-5.2 Mini calls, so you can evaluate before committing.
What is the cheapest OpenAI model for API use?
GPT-4o mini at $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens is OpenAI's cheapest model. It handles classification, extraction, and simple Q&A well. For slightly higher quality at a modest price bump, GPT-5.2 Mini ($0.40/$1.60) offers 90%+ of flagship performance.
How does OpenAI API pricing compare per token?
OpenAI's pricing ranges from $0.15/$0.60 (GPT-4o mini) to $3.00/$12.00 (GPT-5.2) per million tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($2.50/$10.00) is slightly cheaper than GPT-5.2, while Gemini 3 Flash ($0.15/$0.60) matches GPT-4o mini pricing. DeepSeek V3 ($0.14/$0.28) is the cheapest overall.
How can LLMWise reduce my OpenAI API costs?
LLMWise's auto-router analyzes each incoming query and routes it to the cheapest OpenAI model that can handle it. Simple classification tasks go to GPT-4o mini, standard queries to GPT-5.2 Mini, and only complex reasoning tasks use the full GPT-5.2. This typically saves 20-35% compared to sending everything to the flagship model, without any quality degradation on the queries that were routed down.

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Replace multiple AI subscriptions with one wallet that includes routing, failover, and optimization.

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