OpenAI vs xAI (Grok) Pricing
OpenAI is cheaper than xAI (Grok) at the entry level: gpt-oss-20b costs $0.140 per 1M output tokens against $0.500 for Grok 3 Mini — 3.6× the price. On current flagships, OpenAI's Daybreak Red costs $75.00/1M output against $6.00/1M for xAI (Grok)'s Grok 4.7. Prices are USD, current as of September 28, 2026.
Per-million-token pricing for OpenAI and xAI (Grok), with side-by-side flagship models, cheapest tiers, and context windows. Pricing data syncs weekly from a continuously-updated model catalog — last updated September 28, 2026.
Who wins on what
Cheapest input tokens
$0.03/1MOpenAI
gpt-oss-20b — $0.03/1M input
Cheapest output tokens
$0.14/1MOpenAI
gpt-oss-20b — $0.14/1M output
Longest context window
2.0MOpenAI
gpt-5.4 (>272K context length) — 2.0M input tokens
Lowest average output cost
$3.58/1MxAI (Grok)
Provider-wide average across 43 models
Largest model catalog
133 modelsOpenAI
More options to match cost vs capability
Cheapest cached input
$0.01/1MOpenAI
GPT-6 Luna — $0.01/1M cached read
Most reasoning models
17 modelsOpenAI
Models with dedicated reasoning / thinking support
Most vision models
18 modelsOpenAI
Models that accept image input
Side-by-side
OpenAI
Full OpenAI pricing →Cheapest input
$0.030
gpt-oss-20b
Cheapest output
$0.140
gpt-oss-20b
Longest context
2.0M
gpt-5.4 (>272K context length)
Avg output / 1M
$30.98
Across catalog
Cheapest cached input
$0.010
GPT-6 Luna
Batch discount
17–50% off output
58 models with published batch rates
| Model | In/1M | Out/1M | Ctx |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-6 Sol VisionReasoningToolsCache Batch −50% | $2.00 | $10.00 | 1.1M |
| GPT-6 Luna VisionReasoningToolsCache Batch −50% | $0.100 | $0.500 | 1.1M |
| GPT-6 Astra VisionReasoningToolsCache Batch −50% | $10.00 | $50.00 | 1.1M |
| Daybreak Red VisionReasoningToolsCache | $12.50 | $75.00 | 400K |
| Daybreak Blue VisionReasoningToolsCache | $4.00 | $20.00 | 1.1M |
| gpt-oss-20b | $0.030 | $0.140 | 131K |
xAI (Grok)
Full xAI (Grok) pricing →Cheapest input
$0.200
Grok 4 Fast
Cheapest output
$0.500
Grok 3 Mini
Longest context
2.0M
Grok 4 Fast
Avg output / 1M
$3.58
Across catalog
Cheapest cached input
$0.200
Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)
Batch discount
20% off output
10 models with published batch rates
| Model | In/1M | Out/1M | Ctx |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grok 4.7 VisionReasoningToolsCache | $2.00 | $6.00 | 500K |
| Grok 4.6 VisionReasoningToolsCache | $2.00 | $6.00 | 500K |
| Grok 4.5 VisionReasoningToolsCache | $2.00 | $6.00 | 500K |
| Grok 4.3 VisionReasoningToolsCache Batch −20% | $1.25 | $2.50 | 1.0M |
| Grok Build 0.1 VisionReasoningToolsCache | $1.00 | $2.00 | 256K |
| Grok 3 Mini | $0.300 | $0.500 | 131K |
All prices in USD per 1 million tokens. Showing top 6 models per provider, sorted by output cost.
Batch badges mark models with a published asynchronous batch rate. A model without one is billed at its standard rate — our catalog does not carry batch rates for every model, so an absent badge is not evidence that no batch tier exists.
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenAI or xAI (Grok) cheaper?
OpenAI has the cheaper entry point at $0.14/1M output (gpt-oss-20b — $0.14/1M output). Provider-wide, OpenAI averages $30.98/1M output against $3.58/1M for xAI (Grok). Which is cheaper for you depends on which model tier your workload actually needs.
How much do OpenAI and xAI (Grok) cost per 1M tokens?
OpenAI starts at $0.140 per 1M output tokens (gpt-oss-20b), with its current flagship Daybreak Red at $75.00. xAI (Grok) starts at $0.500 (Grok 3 Mini), with Grok 4.7 at $6.00. Input tokens cost less than output on both.
Which has the larger context window, OpenAI or xAI (Grok)?
OpenAI — gpt-5.4 (>272K context length) — 2.0M input tokens. For comparison, OpenAI's largest is 2.0M tokens (gpt-5.4 (>272K context length)) and xAI (Grok)'s is 2.0M tokens (Grok 4 Fast).
Which has more reasoning models, OpenAI or xAI (Grok)?
OpenAI lists 17 reasoning models and xAI (Grok) lists 7. Reasoning models bill their internal thinking as output tokens, so a reasoning call costs several times a standard completion of the same visible length — compare them on total tokens billed, not headline rate.
Do OpenAI and xAI (Grok) offer batch discounts?
Both publish discounted rates for asynchronous batch jobs: OpenAI on 58 models in this catalog and xAI (Grok) on 10, at 17–50% and 20% off output tokens respectively. Batch trades real-time responses for a lower rate, so it fits backfills, evaluations and bulk enrichment rather than anything user-facing.
Should I switch from OpenAI to xAI (Grok) to save money?
Only if the cheaper model still meets your quality bar. Token price is one input; the ones that decide your bill are prompt size, response length, retries and how much conversation history you resend each turn. Model the switch against your real traffic before committing. Prices here are current as of September 28, 2026.
Related comparisons
Run the numbers for your workload.
Calcaas multiplies per-token costs by your real usage patterns — inputs, outputs, retries, and conversation history — across both providers in one model.