Realtime text output rose 50%, to $24 per 1M
GPT-Realtime-2 text output went from $16 to $24 per 1M tokens; audio and image rates held steady and two realtime models were added. This is not a text-model rate, so it does not move the top point.
What changed
- Price increase, May 11, 2026
- Before: $16.00 per 1M text output tokens (GPT-realtime-1.5)
- After: $24.00 per 1M text output tokens (GPT-Realtime-2)
- Existing customers: Not stated.
Cheaper alternatives to OpenAI API
At 12M tokens a month on its top model, OpenAI API costs $200/mo. 1 LLM API costs less:
- Gemini API: $40/mo (Pay-as-you-go Standard paid tier, text only, list prices as of 2026-10-17), covers 85% of OpenAI API; missing or partial: OpenAI-compatible endpoint (partly), Managed fine-tuning, Dedicated model endpoints
OpenAI API alternatives: 3 LLM APIs compared, at every size.
Sources
Every price and change for OpenAI API: OpenAI API.