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OpenAI’s API pricing is generally considered relatively high—for instance, the latest o3 and o4-mini APIs are significantly more expensive than comparable offerings from competing providers. Although these models deliver superior performance, their cost may present a barrier to widespread adoption among developers.
In response, OpenAI has introduced the Flex API option, which offers access to AI models at a more affordable rate. However, this cost-saving alternative comes with certain trade-offs, including slower response times and occasional resource unavailability.
For developers handling non-urgent tasks—such as processing structured data or managing asynchronous workloads—the Flex API presents a viable solution that can substantially reduce operational costs.
As for standard API pricing: the o3 model is priced at $10 per million input tokens and $40 per million output tokens. The o4-mini model shares the same pricing structure as o3-mini, at $1.10 per million input tokens and $4.40 per million output tokens.
By switching to the Flex API, developers pay only 50% of the standard rate. For example, the cost of using the o3 model drops to $20 per million output tokens. While still higher than some competing models, this represents a significant discount compared to the standard o3 pricing.
It is worth noting that not all developers have immediate access to the Flex API. Those with OpenAI API platform account levels between 1 and 3 must complete identity verification before gaining access to the o3 model. Additionally, access to model summarization and streaming API features across other models also requires verified identification.
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