GPT-6.1 Terra halves API prices, targets everyday coding and computer use

OpenAI's GPT-6.1 Terra sets a new benchmark for price-to-performance in the mid-range model tier, cutting API costs to half those of GPT-5.6 Terra while gaining 6-13 points on intelligence benchmarks. The release positions Terra as the cost-efficient workhorse for agentic coding, visual reasoning, and computer use tasks, with immediate availability in GitHub Copilot and the Codex CLI. At $1/$5 per million input/output tokens, it undercuts Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 5.5 on price while competing directly for the same mid-tier workloads.

• GPT-6.1 Terra costs $1/$5 per million input/output tokens vs $2/$12 for GPT-5.6 Terra, with cached input at $0.05 per million tokens—a quarter of the previous rate.
• At max effort, GPT-6.1 Terra scores 6 points higher than GPT-5.6 Terra on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index at less than a third of the cost per task ($0.40 vs $1.40).
• OpenAI's Ted Sanders notes Terra outperforms the larger Astra model on technical communication and matches it on vision and computer use at a lower price, but trails on most other capabilities.
• GPT-6.1 Terra is generally available in GitHub Copilot across all paid tiers, with early testing showing it solved noticeably more terminal and C# coding tasks than GPT-5.6 Terra.
• Codex 0.165.0 added GPT-6.1 Terra to its model catalogs alongside a new built-in Google Cloud Vertex AI provider.

Bottom line If you use OpenAI or Copilot for coding or computer-use agents, test Terra against your current default—it's likely the new price-performance sweet spot for routine work.