{"version":1,"type":"story","url":"https://digestai.news/story/openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-priced-one-fifth-of-gpt-6-astra","json":"https://digestai.news/story/openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-priced-one-fifth-of-gpt-6-astra.json","markdown":"https://digestai.news/story/openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-priced-one-fifth-of-gpt-6-astra.md","slug":"openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-priced-one-fifth-of-gpt-6-astra","headline":"OpenAI releases GPT-6.1 Sol, priced one-fifth of GPT-6 Astra","summary":"OpenAI announced the release of GPT‑6.1 Sol, an updated version of GPT‑6 Sol that aims to match the performance of GPT‑6 Astra in agentic coding and professional work. The company highlighted that the standard API text pricing for GPT‑6 Astra is $10 per 1 million tokens for input, $1 for cached input, and $50 for output, while GPT‑6.1 Sol is priced at $2 for input, $0.10 for cached input, and $10 for output. This makes Sol one‑fifth the cost of Astra for standard input and output without caching, though cached input is one‑tenth.\n\nThe article cautions that unit price alone does not determine total cost. It notes that factors such as error identification, rework, and decision‑making delays can affect overall expense. OpenAI recommends evaluating tasks based on four criteria—instruction vagueness, loss significance, task repetition, and verification time—to decide whether to use Sol, Astra, or Luna for routine work.\n\nThe release is positioned as a cost‑effective option for daily tasks while reserving the higher‑performance Astra for high‑stakes scenarios. Users are advised to review the official OpenAI terms and pricing pages before adopting the new model.","keyPoints":["OpenAI releases GPT‑6.1 Sol, priced one‑fifth of GPT‑6 Astra for standard input and output","GPT‑6.1 Sol costs $2 input, $0.10 cached input, $10 output per 1 million tokens","Total cost depends on error rates, rework, and decision‑making delays, not just unit price"],"whyItMatters":"The pricing structure gives businesses a cheaper alternative for routine AI tasks while still enabling access to higher‑performance models for critical work, potentially lowering overall AI spend.","category":{"slug":"models","name":"Generative AI & Models","url":"https://digestai.news/category/models"},"entities":{"companies":["OpenAI"],"models":["GPT-6.1 Sol","GPT-6 Astra","GPT-6 Sol","Luna"],"people":[]},"firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-02T03:56:00Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-02T03:56:00Z","sourceCount":1,"hasPrimarySource":false,"sources":[{"outlet":"note.com","title":"Is GPT-6.1 Sol an alternative to Astra? Employees should not choose based solely on 'one-fifth the price'","url":"https://note.com/purpleye/n/n62547bb8b757?hl=en","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T03:56:00Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":true}],"sourceNotes":null,"discussions":[],"thread":{"title":"Anthropic and OpenAI Battle for AI Market Dominance","url":"https://digestai.news/thread/claude-opus-5-5-costs-60-less-than-fable-5-1-for-writing-tasks","storyCount":8},"cite":{"text":"Digest AI, \"OpenAI releases GPT-6.1 Sol, priced one-fifth of GPT-6 Astra\", 2 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-priced-one-fifth-of-gpt-6-astra","publisher":"Digest AI","title":"OpenAI releases GPT-6.1 Sol, priced one-fifth of GPT-6 Astra","datePublished":"2026-10-02T03:56:00Z","url":"https://digestai.news/story/openai-releases-gpt-6-1-sol-priced-one-fifth-of-gpt-6-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"}