AI API Pricing October 2026: Complete Guide to All 34 Models
34 models. 10 providers. Prices from $0.075/M to $180/M. Q4 is here — and the biggest pricing shifts of the year are imminent.
October 2026 marks the start of Q4 — historically the most volatile quarter for AI API pricing. The 34-model market has been stable since the Claude 4 deprecation in June, but that calm is about to end. OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic traditionally make their biggest announcements in Q4, and this year is shaping up to be no different.
This guide covers every AI API model's current pricing, the post-deprecation landscape, and exactly what to watch as Q4 unfolds.
⚠️ Deprecation Watch: June 15, 2026
Claude 4 Opus ($15/$75) and Claude Sonnet 4 ($3/$15) are being retired on June 15, 2026. If you're still using these models, migrate now to Claude Opus 4.7/4.8 ($5/$25) or Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($3/$15). DeepSeek V3 is also deprecated in favor of V4 Flash. These models are listed below for reference but will be removed in November.
Complete Pricing: All 34 Models
Every major AI API model ranked by input price. All prices per 1 million tokens. Deprecated models marked with ⚠️.
Budget Tier — Under $0.60/1M Input
Rock-bottom prices for everyday tasks. Chatbots, classifiers, content tools — start here.
| Model | Provider | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 2.0 Flash Lite | $0.075 | $0.30 | 1M | |
| GPT-oss 20B | OpenAI | $0.08 | $0.35 | 128K |
| Llama 3.1 8B | Meta (Together.ai) | $0.10 | $0.10 | 128K |
| Gemini 2.0 Flash | $0.10 | $0.40 | 1M | |
| Llama 4 Scout | Meta (Together.ai) | $0.11 | $0.34 | 10M |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | DeepSeek | $0.14 | $0.28 | 1M |
| GPT-4o mini | OpenAI | $0.15 | $0.60 | 128K |
| GPT-oss 120B | OpenAI | $0.15 | $0.60 | 128K |
| Mistral Small 4 | Mistral | $0.15 | $0.60 | 128K |
| Llama 4 Maverick | Meta (Together.ai) | $0.20 | $0.60 | 10M |
| GPT-5 mini | OpenAI | $0.25 | $2.00 | 272K |
| DeepSeek V3 ⚠️ | DeepSeek | $0.27 | $1.10 | 128K |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | DeepSeek | $0.44 | $0.87 | 1M |
| Mistral Large 3 | Mistral | $0.50 | $1.50 | 128K |
| Command R | Cohere | $0.50 | $1.50 | 128K |
Mid Tier — $0.50–$3.00/1M Input
The sweet spot for production workloads. Strong reasoning at reasonable prices.
| Model | Provider | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3.1 70B | Meta (Together.ai) | $0.88 | $0.88 | 128K |
| Kimi K2.6 | Moonshot | $0.90 | $3.75 | 256K |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | Anthropic | $1.00 | $5.00 | 200K |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | $1.25 | $10.00 | 1M | |
| GPT-5 | OpenAI | $1.25 | $10.00 | 272K |
| GPT-5.3 Codex | OpenAI | $1.75 | $14.00 | 400K |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro | $2.00 | $12.00 | 1M | |
| Jamba 1.5 Large | AI21 | $2.00 | $8.00 | 256K |
| GPT-4o | OpenAI | $2.50 | $10.00 | 128K |
| Command R+ | Cohere | $2.50 | $10.00 | 128K |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Anthropic | $3.00 | $15.00 | 1M |
| Claude Sonnet 4 ⚠️ | Anthropic | $3.00 | $15.00 | 200K |
Premium Tier — $5.00+/1M Input
For complex reasoning, code generation, and high-stakes tasks where quality is non-negotiable.
| Model | Provider | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 4.8 | Anthropic | $5.00 | $25.00 | 1M |
| Claude Opus 4.7 | Anthropic | $5.00 | $25.00 | 1M |
| GPT-5.5 | OpenAI | $5.00 | $30.00 | 1M |
| Claude 4 Opus ⚠️ | Anthropic | $15.00 | $75.00 | 200K |
| Grok 4.3 | xAI | $1.25 | $2.50 | 1M |
| Grok Build 0.1 | xAI | $0.30 | $0.50 | 256K |
| GPT-5.5 Pro | OpenAI | $30.00 | $180.00 | 1M |
October 2026: Q4 Pricing Trends
1. The Calm Before the Storm
Four months after the Claude 4 deprecation, the market is in its most stable state of the year. But don't be fooled — Q4 is historically when the biggest pricing shifts happen. In 2025, OpenAI dropped GPT-5 prices by 40% in November. Expect similar moves this year.
2. xAI Rebrands and Reprices
The biggest recent change: xAI rebranded Grok 3 to Grok 4.3 ($1.25/$2.50) and Grok 3 Mini to Grok Build 0.1 ($0.30/$0.50) — both with massive price cuts. Grok 4.3 is now 96% cheaper than the old Grok 3 ($30/$150). This makes xAI a legitimate option for the first time.
3. Budget Tier Unchanged
The sub-$0.15/M tier remains identical to September. Gemini 2.0 Flash Lite ($0.075/M) still holds the cheapest spot. The 133,000-tokens-per-penny threshold set in July remains unbroken. Gemini 3.0 Flash (expected Q4) could be the model that finally breaks it.
4. Mid-Tier Is the Sweet Spot
Nothing has changed in the $1–3/M range, and that's a good thing. Claude Haiku 4.5 ($1/M) handles 90% of tasks. Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($3/M, 1M context) remains the top code model. GPT-5 ($1.25/M) is the best agent/tool-use model. This tier is where most production workloads should live.
5. Open Source Awaits Llama 5
Meta's Llama 4 Scout ($0.11/M, 10M context) still dominates the open-source long-context space. No Llama 5 announcement yet — expect something in late Q4 or Q1 2027. Together.ai's managed hosting continues to make open-source zero-ops.
Best Deals by Use Case
| Use Case | Best Model | Why |
|---|---|---|
| High-volume chatbot | Gemini 2.0 Flash Lite | Cheapest at $0.075/M, handles most chat tasks |
| Quality chatbot | Claude Haiku 4.5 | $1/M with Anthropic's quality |
| Code generation | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Best code quality at $3/M, 1M context |
| Document analysis | Gemini 2.5 Pro | 1M context at $1.25/M |
| Classification / extraction | GPT-4o mini | $0.15/M, fast, reliable structured output |
| RAG / retrieval | DeepSeek V4 Flash | $0.14/M with 1M context |
| Content writing | GPT-5 mini | $0.25/M, strong writing at budget price |
| Complex reasoning | Claude Opus 4.7 | Best reasoning quality at $5/M |
| Agent / multi-step | GPT-5 | $1.25/M, strong tool use, 272K context |
| Long documents (10M+) | Llama 4 Scout | Only model with 10M context at $0.11/M |
| Budget all-around | DeepSeek V4 Pro | $0.44/M with 1M context — best value pick |
What $100/Month Gets You in October 2026
Assuming 1,000 tokens per request with a 50/50 input/output split:
| Tier | Model | Requests for $100 | Daily Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | Gemini 2.0 Flash Lite | ~571,000 | ~19,000/day |
| Budget | DeepSeek V4 Flash | ~476,000 | ~15,900/day |
| Budget | Llama 4 Scout | ~434,000 | ~14,500/day |
| Mid | Claude Haiku 4.5 | ~62,500 | ~2,100/day |
| Mid | GPT-5 | ~30,800 | ~1,030/day |
| Mid | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | ~22,200 | ~740/day |
| Premium | Claude Opus 4.7 | ~8,000 | ~267/day |
| Premium | GPT-5.5 | ~7,700 | ~257/day |
The range: 19,000 requests/day to 257 requests/day for the same $100 budget. Model selection is the single biggest cost lever you have.
Provider Comparison at a Glance
| Provider | Models | Cheapest | Most Expensive | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | 9 | $0.08/M | $180/M | Widest range, agents |
| Anthropic | 6 | $1.00/M | $75/M | Code, reasoning |
| 4 | $0.075/M | $12/M | Budget, long context | |
| DeepSeek | 3 | $0.14/M | $1.10/M | Budget all-around |
| Meta (Together.ai) | 4 | $0.10/M | $0.88/M | Open source, 10M context |
| Mistral | 2 | $0.15/M | $1.50/M | European compliance |
| Cohere | 2 | $0.50/M | $10/M | RAG, enterprise search |
| Moonshot | 1 | $0.90/M | $3.75/M | Long context (256K) |
| xAI | 2 | $10.00/M | $25/M | Real-time data |
| AI21 | 1 | $2.00/M | $8/M | Long context (256K) |
What to Watch in Q4 2026
⚠️ Q4 Is the Big One
Historically, Q4 is when OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic make their biggest announcements. If you're planning a major AI integration, consider locking in current pricing with committed-use discounts before potential disruption.
- OpenAI GPT-6 — The traditional Q4 launch window. A new generation could reset the entire pricing curve. If GPT-6 arrives, expect GPT-5 prices to drop.
- Google Gemini 3.0 Flash — Gemini 2.0 Flash Lite has held the budget crown for months. A successor could push below $0.05/M and break the 133K-tokens-per-penny threshold.
- DeepSeek V5 — V4 Pro at $0.44/M is already aggressive. V5 could disrupt the mid-tier and pressure Anthropic/OpenAI to respond.
- xAI pricing strategy — Grok 4.3 at $1.25/$2.50 is a 96% drop from the old $30/$150. Further cuts could make xAI the budget leader.
- Meta Llama 5 — Llama 4 Scout's 10M context was a breakthrough. Llama 5 could push context further or improve quality to compete with mid-tier models.
- Anthropic Claude 5 — The Claude 4 family is mature. A new generation could arrive in late 2026, potentially reshuffling the premium tier.
💡 Cost Optimization Tip
If you're still using GPT-4o ($2.50/M) for general tasks, switching to Claude Haiku 4.5 ($1/M) saves 60% with comparable quality. For classification/extraction, GPT-4o mini ($0.15/M) is 17x cheaper than GPT-4o. Use our Cost Optimizer to find savings in your current setup.
Migration Guide: Deprecated Models
Three models are being retired. Here's what to switch to:
| Retiring | Switch To | Price Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude 4 Opus ($15/$75) | Claude Opus 4.7 ($5/$25) | 67% cheaper | Same quality, larger context (1M vs 200K) |
| Claude Sonnet 4 ($3/$15) | Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($3/$15) | Same price | Better quality, 5x larger context (1M vs 200K) |
| DeepSeek V3 ($0.27/$1.10) | DeepSeek V4 Flash ($0.14/$0.28) | 48% cheaper | Faster, larger context (1M vs 128K) |
Methodology
All pricing data comes from official provider pricing pages, verified as of June 1, 2026. We track 34 models across 10 providers: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, Mistral, Cohere, Meta (via Together.ai), Moonshot, xAI, and AI21. Three models are marked as deprecated and will be removed in November 2026.
Prices are per 1 million tokens unless otherwise noted. Context window sizes reflect the maximum supported. Some providers offer batch pricing or committed-use discounts not reflected here.
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