{"version":1,"type":"story","url":"https://digestai.news/story/openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-as-cheaper-alternative-to-astra","json":"https://digestai.news/story/openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-as-cheaper-alternative-to-astra.json","markdown":"https://digestai.news/story/openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-as-cheaper-alternative-to-astra.md","slug":"openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-as-cheaper-alternative-to-astra","headline":"OpenAI introduces GPT-6.1 Sol for coding and workflows at lower prices","summary":"OpenAI launched **GPT-6.1 Sol**, an upgrade to **GPT-6 Sol**, claiming it nearly matches **GPT-6 Astra** in agentic coding, document analysis, and multi-step business workflows at **one-fifth of Astra’s** input and output token prices. The model costs **$0.10 per million cached input tokens**—95% cheaper than standard input pricing and 50% cheaper than **GPT-6 Sol’s** cached input rate. It also delivers **substantial improvements** over **GPT-6 Sol** on benchmarks like **DeepSWE v1.1**, **GDP.pdf**, and **AutomationBench**, often at lower cost per task.\n\nOpenAI highlights **GPT-6.1 Sol’s** gains in factual accuracy, reducing errors from **11.4%** to **7.7%** on difficult prompts. It also shows better alignment with user intent and safety constraints, though **GPT-6 Astra** still leads in scientific workflows. The model is now available in **ChatGPT Work and Codex** for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu users, as well as via the OpenAI API as **gpt-6.1-sol**. A faster variant, **GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast**, is coming soon.","keyPoints":["GPT-6.1 Sol matches GPT-6 Astra’s performance in coding and workflows at one-fifth the cost","Cached input pricing drops to $0.10 per million tokens, 95% cheaper than standard rates","Available now in ChatGPT Work/Codex and OpenAI API, with Ultrafast variant arriving soon"],"whyItMatters":"A cheaper, capable model for developers and businesses could accelerate adoption of agentic AI in coding and workflow automation.","category":{"slug":"models","name":"Generative AI & Models","url":"https://digestai.news/category/models"},"entities":{"companies":["OpenAI"],"models":["GPT-6.1 Sol","GPT-6 Sol","GPT-6 Astra","Opus 5.5"],"people":[]},"firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T17:14:27Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T19:34:14Z","sourceCount":6,"hasPrimarySource":true,"sources":[{"outlet":"openai.com","title":"OpenAI releases GPT-6.1 Sol, saying it nearly matches Astra on agentic coding and professional work at one-fifth of Astra's standard prices, in Work and Codex","url":"https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-6-1-sol","publishedAt":"2026-09-22T18:00:00Z","type":"primary","primary":true,"lead":true},{"outlet":"AWS Machine Learning Blog","title":"Bring near-Astra intelligence to everyday work with GPT-6.1 Sol on Amazon Bedrock","url":"https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/machine-learning/bring-near-astra-intelligence-to-everyday-work-with-gpt-6-1-sol-on-amazon-bedrock","publishedAt":"2026-09-29T19:34:14Z","type":"primary","primary":true,"lead":false},{"outlet":"TechCrunch AI","title":"OpenAI launches GPT-6.1 Sol, says it nearly matches GPT-6 Astra and costs less","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/29/openai-launches-gpt-6-1-sol-says-it-nearly-matches-gpt-6-astra-and-costs-less","publishedAt":"2026-09-29T17:15:00Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":false},{"outlet":"The Decoder","title":"GPT-6.1 Sol comes close to Astra at a fifth of the price","url":"https://the-decoder.com/gpt-6-1-sol-comes-close-to-astra-at-a-fifth-of-the-price","publishedAt":"2026-09-29T17:14:27Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":false},{"outlet":"digit.in","title":"OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol with Astra level AI launched: What’s new, pricing, availability and more","url":"https://digit.in/news/general/openai-gpt-6-1-sol-with-astra-level-ai-launched-whats-new-pricing-availability-and-more.html","publishedAt":"2026-09-29T10:52:00Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":false},{"outlet":"hackernoon.com","title":"156 Real-World Examples of How to Use GPT-6 Luna and Sol","url":"https://hackernoon.com/156-real-world-examples-of-how-to-use-gpt-6-luna-and-sol","publishedAt":"2026-09-28T16:59:00Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":false}],"sourceNotes":null,"discussions":[{"site":"Hacker News","url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49896586","points":243}],"thread":{"title":"OpenAI GPT-6 Astra Safety Controversy","url":"https://digestai.news/thread/openai-to-preview-gpt-6-cyber-model-and-cybersecurity-tools","storyCount":4},"cite":{"text":"Digest AI, \"OpenAI introduces GPT-6.1 Sol for coding and workflows at lower prices\", 29 September 2026, https://digestai.news/story/openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-as-cheaper-alternative-to-astra","publisher":"Digest AI","title":"OpenAI introduces GPT-6.1 Sol for coding and workflows at lower prices","datePublished":"2026-09-29T17:14:27Z","url":"https://digestai.news/story/openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-as-cheaper-alternative-to-astra"},"generatedBy":"Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record.","license":"Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse"}