US artificial intelligence company OpenAI has launched an aggressive price reduction campaign for its latest GPT-5.6 model lineup, cutting prices by up to 80% to compete with rapidly advancing and more affordable Chinese AI alternatives.

On Thursday, July 31st, 2026, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced via social media platform X that the developer pricing for the lightweight GPT-5.6 Luna model would drop by 80%, reducing application programming interface (API) costs to US$0.20 per million input tokens and US$1.20 per million output tokens. API fees are charges developers pay to integrate AI capabilities into their applications.

Additionally, OpenAI lowered prices for its mid-tier GPT-5.6 Terra model by 20%, setting costs at US$2 per million input tokens and US$12 per million output tokens. The company also introduced a “fast mode” for its flagship GPT-5.6 Sol model, which it claims can boost performance speed by up to 2.5 times.

Research firm Artificial Analysis ranked GPT-5.6 Luna as the most attractive option in intelligence-per-dollar terms following these cuts, surpassing Chinese competitors like Zhipu AI’s GLM-5.2 and MiniMax’s M3.

This pricing strategy underscores the mounting pressure on Western technology giants as open-weight and accessible Chinese AI models gain traction among international developers through competitive pricing and rapid capability improvements.

Sources

  • South China Morning Post World, "OpenAI blinks in face-off with Chinese rivals, drops pricing for some models up to 80%", July 31, 2026, by Richard Chen: link