OpenAI and Anthropic cut LLM prices by up to 80%
OpenAI announced a series of price reductions for its GPT‑5.6 family in mid‑2026, most dramatically slashing the Luna model’s input, output and cache‑read rates by 80% to $0.20 / $1.20 / $0.02 in July. A later cut lowered Sol’s rates by roughly 20% to $4 / $20 / $0.40 for three months. Anthropic mirrored the moves, making the temporary Sonnet 5 discount permanent and later trimming Claude Opus…
Key points
- OpenAI cut GPT‑5.6 Luna price by 80% to $0.20/$1.20/$0.02 in July 2026
- Anthropic made Sonnet 5 discount permanent and reduced Opus 5.5 costs by 20% input/output plus larger cache cut
- Both firms’ cuts respond to cheaper open‑weight models like DeepSeek Flash V4.1 and Moonshot Kimi K3.1 Pro
The pricing war appears driven by competition from open‑weight models such as DeepSeek’s Flash V4.1 and Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3.1 Pro, which offer lower effective token costs. Both firms are also nearing IPOs, adding pressure to demonstrate sustainable economics despite large R&D losses. Analysts note that while token prices fall, overall spend may rise as higher‑quality models accelerate adoption.
Vercel’s AI gateway data shows the average cost per token has dropped to 43.3% of its April 2026 level, yet profit‑per‑token margins remain healthy for the providers, suggesting the price cuts are strategic rather than loss‑leading.
Model pages: Claude Opus 5.5 → · GPT-6 Astra → · Kimi K3.1 Pro →
The story so far
6 episodes →- OpenAI and Anthropic cut LLM prices by up to 80%this story
OpenAI and Anthropic cut their LLM prices by up to 80% within a few months. Why?
minimaxir.com · 25 October 2026
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