GPT · Flagship · 1,050K context window

GPT 5.5 pricing for pdf summarization

$0.1200 per call at 15,000 input / 1,500 output tokens.

Per call

$0.1200

10K calls/mo

$1,200

Cache savings

90% off input

Batch savings

50% off all

Calculate your GPT 5.5 costs

Adjust token counts, volume, and discount toggles to model your pdf summarization spend. Prices verified daily against provider pricing pages.

Configure your usage

15,000
100100K
1,500
5050K
10,000
1001M

Estimated cost

Monthly cost
$1,200
10,000 calls/month
Cost per call$0.12
Daily cost$40
Input rate$5.00/MTok
Output rate$30.00/MTok
Analyze your real spend

Quick start

Call GPT 5.5 with the OpenAI Python SDK:

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI()
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-5.5",
    max_tokens=1500,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your prompt here"}]
)
# Cost: ~$0.1200 per call at standard rates
# Input:  $5.00/MTok
# Output: $30.00/MTok

How GPT 5.5 compares on cost

Per-call cost for all models scoring 50+ on pdf summarization benchmarks. Hover for details.

Cheapest viable option: GPT 5.6 Luna at $0.004800/call (96% less, 84/100 quality).

What drives pdf summarization cost

PDFs are the worst case for input cost: extracted text carries page furniture, headers, and footnotes that inflate token counts well past what the content warrants. Cleaning the extraction before sending it often cuts more cost than changing models. Long PDFs also routinely cross long-context pricing thresholds, so chunking is both a quality and a cost decision.

For GPT 5.5 specifically, that means output tokens cost 6.0x more than input, at $30.00 vs $5.00 per MTok. At this use case’s 15,000/1,500 token split, output accounts for 38% of the $0.1200 per-call cost.

Complete GPT 5.5 pricing breakdown

Standard token rates

Direction$/MTokTokens per call
Input$5.0015,000
Output$30.001,500

Prompt caching: 90% off input tokens

Caching drops input cost from $5.00 to $0.50/MTok. For repeated system prompts, that saves $0.0675 per call.

Batch API: 50% off all tokens

Submit requests asynchronously and receive 50% off all token costs. This works best for offline pipelines where latency requirements are flexible.

Monthly cost projections

Monthly volumeCost per callStandard monthlyCached monthlyYou save with caching
10,000 calls$0.1200$1,200$525$675
50,000 calls$0.1200$6,000$2,625$3,375
100,000 calls$0.1200$12,000$5,250$6,750
500,000 calls$0.1200$60,000$26,250$33,750
1,000,000 calls$0.1200$120,000$52,500$67,500

GPT 5.5 quality benchmarks for pdf summarization

GPT 5.5 is a solid pick for pdf summarization

Scores 89/100 (rank #3 of 20). Good balance of quality and cost for pdf summarization.

Top-ranked: GPT 5.6 Terra (92/100) at $0.0480/call

Performance across all task types

GPT 5.5 scores by task type. PDF Summarization highlighted.

Reasoning95Code Generation91Creative Writing91Code Review90Q&A90Summarization *89Extraction87Classification85
Task typeConfidence scoreRank out of 20
Reasoning95/100#2
Code Generation91/100#3
Creative Writing91/100#2
Code Review90/100#3
Q&A90/100#2
Summarization(current page)89/100#3
Extraction87/100#4
Classification85/100#3

Confidence scores are a third-party benchmark snapshot from week 29 of 2026. This snapshot is 8 weeks old, so treat the scores as directional and validate against your own evals.

Alternative models for pdf summarization

12 models score 80+ on pdf summarization benchmarks, sorted by input rate. Cheapest: GPT 5.6 Luna (96% less, 84/100 quality).

ModelProviderInput $/MTokOutput $/MTokQualityPer callvs GPT
GPT 5.6 LunaGPT$0.20$1.2084/100$0.00480096% cheaper
Gemini 3 FlashGemini$0.50$3.0083/100$0.012090% cheaper
Claude Haiku 4.5Claude$1.00$5.0082/100$0.022581% cheaper
Gemini 3.5 FlashGemini$1.50$9.0085/100$0.036070% cheaper
Claude Sonnet 5Claude$2.00$10.0091/100$0.045063% cheaper
GPT 5.6 TerraGPT$2.00$12.0092/100$0.048060% cheaper
Gemini 3.1 ProGemini$2.00$12.0087/100$0.048060% cheaper
GPT 5.4GPT$2.50$15.0091/100$0.060050% cheaper
Claude Sonnet 4.6Claude$3.00$15.0090/100$0.067544% cheaper
GPT 5.6 SolGPT$4.00$20.0090/100$0.090025% cheaper
Claude Opus 4.8Claude$5.00$25.0088/100$0.11256% cheaper
Claude Fable 5Claude$10.00$50.0090/100$0.225087% more

About GPT 5.5

Provider

GPT

Tier

Flagship

Context

1,050K tokens

Released

Mar 2026

Other models from GPT

ModelTierInput $/MTokOutput $/MTokContext
GPT 5.4Mid-tier$2.50$15.001,050K
GPT 5.6 SolFlagship$4.00$20.001,050K
GPT 5.6 TerraMid-tier$2.00$12.001,050K
GPT 5.6 LunaFast / Budget$0.20$1.201,050K

You can compare GPT 5.5 head-to-head against any other model on our model comparison pages, or track how pricing has changed over time on the pricing history tracker.

Frequently asked questions

How much does GPT 5.5 cost for pdf summarization per API call?

A typical pdf summarization call using GPT 5.5 costs about $0.1200 per call. This estimate uses 15,000 input tokens and 1,500 output tokens at standard rates. Standard rates are $5.00 per million input tokens and $30.00 per million output tokens.

Is GPT 5.5 the best model for pdf summarization?

GPT 5.5 scores 89 out of 100 on pdf summarization benchmarks overall. It ranks #3 across all 20 models in our cross-provider registry. The highest-ranked model for this task is GPT 5.6 Terra from GPT. That model scores 92/100 on this task type. Confidence scores are a third-party benchmark snapshot from week 29 of 2026. This snapshot is 8 weeks old, so treat the scores as directional and validate against your own evals.

What is the cheapest model for pdf summarization with good quality?

The most affordable model for pdf summarization above 80/100 quality is GPT 5.6 Luna. It comes from GPT at $0.20 per million input tokens. Output costs $1.20 per million tokens with a quality score of 84/100. Switching from GPT 5.5 to GPT 5.6 Luna saves about 96% per API call.

How can I reduce my GPT 5.5 costs for pdf summarization?

Three strategies lower GPT 5.5 costs for this task type effectively. Prompt caching gives a 90% discount on input tokens when reusing system prompts. The batch API gives 50% off all tokens for asynchronous processing workloads. Prompt optimization reduces token counts through more concise instructions and context windows. Combining caching with batching brings your cost from $0.1200 to about $0.006000 per call.

How does GPT 5.5 pricing compare to other GPT models?

GPT has 4 other models alongside GPT 5.5 today: GPT 5.4 at $2.50/$15.00 per million tokens (mid-tier), GPT 5.6 Sol at $4.00/$20.00 per million tokens (flagship), GPT 5.6 Terra at $2.00/$12.00 per million tokens (mid-tier), GPT 5.6 Luna at $0.20/$1.20 per million tokens (fast / budget). The right choice depends on whether your pdf summarization workload prioritizes quality, cost, or speed.

What context window does GPT 5.5 support?

GPT 5.5 supports a context window of 1,050K tokens per API call. This sets the maximum combined length of your input prompt and generated response. For pdf summarization, typical calls use 15,000 input and 1,500 output tokens. That is well within this limit, leaving room for longer prompts or multi-turn conversations.

Track what you spend on AI

This calculator estimates costs based on published rates only. Connect your API usage to see where your money goes and which models drive your spend.