One agent session
1M input tokens and 100K output tokens, no caching.
- Input1M x $1.50 = $1.50
- Output0.1M x $2 = $0.20
$1.70per session
OpenAI - Closed weights
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct pricing and specs
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct is a closed-weights model from OpenAI that costs $1.50 per 1M input tokens and $2 per 1M output tokens on the first-party API, with a 4K-token context window.
Last verified from developers.openai.com. All sources
- Input / 1M
- $1.50
- Output / 1M
- $2
- Context
- 4K tokens
- Weights
- Closed
Pricing per 1M tokens
| Item | Price / 1M tokens |
|---|---|
| Input | $1.50 |
| Output | $2 |
Note: Legacy completions-style model. No Batch price listed. release date blank: no launch entry in the API changelog. Not found in the Vercel AI Gateway model list.
Specs
- Context window
- 4,096 tokens
- Max output
- 4,096 tokens
- Provider
- OpenAI
- API model id
gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct- Weights
- Closed weights
What GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct costs in practice
Worked from the standard list rates above, with the math shown so you can swap in your own token counts.
A chat app
10,000 requests a day at 2K input and 500 output tokens each.
- Input20M x $1.50 = $30.00
- Output5M x $2 = $10.00
$40.00per day
$1,200.00 per 30-day month
Compare with
| Model | Input / 1M | Output / 1M |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct (this page) | $1.50 | $2 |
| GPT-5 MiniOpenAI | $0.25 | $2 |
| Grok Build 0.1xAI | $1 | $2 |
| Qwen3.5-35B-A3BAlibaba Cloud (Qwen) | $0.25 | $2 |
| Seed 2.0 LiteByteDance Seed | $0.25 | $2 |
| GPT-4.1 MiniOpenAI | $0.40 | $1.60 |
| GPT-3.5 TurboOpenAI | $0.50 | $1.50 |
| GPT-5.4 nanoOpenAI | $0.20 | $1.25 |
| GPT-5.6 LunaOpenAI | $0.20 | $1.20 |
| GPT-4o MiniOpenAI | $0.15 | $0.60 |
Related reading
- Codex CLI 0.163: Instant Steering Is Now the DefaultCodex CLI 0.163.0 makes mid-response steering the default and adds searchable /config and a leader key. What changed and what to check before upgrading.
- Tool Calling Under the Hood: Claude Messages vs OpenAI ResponsesHow tool calling works on the wire: JSON schema tools, parallel calls, tool_choice, strict mode and streaming deltas in Claude Messages vs OpenAI Responses.
- Codex 'gpt-5.5 Model Is Not Supported' Error: The FixCodex says gpt-5.5 is not supported with a ChatGPT account because OpenAI retired it from ChatGPT sign-in on October 14. The fix and what still works.
- Codex CLI Background Daemon: How to Turn It OffCodex CLI starts a persistent, self-updating background daemon since 0.157.0. What it does, why it hit Hacker News and the reported workaround to turn it off.
- Codex CLI 0.162: Managed Worktrees and Pinned TasksCodex CLI 0.162 lets the agent create and list its own Git worktrees, adds pinned tasks and custom provider capability overrides. What to change this week.
- ChatGPT Free vs Go vs Plus After GPT-6: Which Model You GetFree and Go ($8) both get GPT-6 Luna in Chat. Plus ($20) is the cheapest plan with GPT-6 Sol and full Codex. What each ChatGPT plan buys now.
FAQ
How much does GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct cost per million tokens?
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct costs $1.50 per 1M input tokens and $2 per 1M output tokens on OpenAI's first-party API, per developers.openai.com on October 17, 2026.
What is GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct's context window?
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct has a 4,096-token context window and returns up to 4,096 output tokens per response.
Are GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct's weights open?
No. GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct is a closed-weights model. You call it through OpenAI's API as gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct.
Sources
Last verified from developers.openai.com.
Newsletter
Get model price changes as they ship
One email per week. New model releases, price cuts and what they mean for your bill.