GPT · Fast / Budget · 1,050K context window

GPT 5.6 Luna pricing for rag pipeline

$0.003000 per call at 6,000 input / 1,500 output tokens.

Per call

$0.003000

10K calls/mo

$30

Cache savings

90% off input

Batch savings

50% off all

Calculate your GPT 5.6 Luna costs

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

Configure your usage

6,000
100100K
1,500
5050K
10,000
1001M

Estimated cost

Monthly cost
$30
10,000 calls/month
Cost per call$0.003000
Daily cost$1
Input rate$0.20/MTok
Output rate$1.20/MTok
Analyze your real spend

Quick start

Call GPT 5.6 Luna with the OpenAI Python SDK:

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI()
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-5.6-luna",
    max_tokens=1500,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your prompt here"}]
)
# Cost: ~$0.003000 per call at standard rates
# Input:  $0.20/MTok
# Output: $1.20/MTok

How GPT 5.6 Luna compares on cost

Per-call cost for all models scoring 50+ on rag pipeline benchmarks. Hover for details.

Cheapest viable option: Gemini 3 Flash at $0.007500/call (-150% less, 82/100 quality).

What drives rag pipeline cost

Retrieval-augmented calls are dominated by the retrieved passages, not the question. Retrieving eight chunks instead of three roughly triples input cost for an answer that is often no better, so retrieval tuning is cost tuning. The system prompt and instructions are identical on every call, which makes cache reads the first thing to enable.

For GPT 5.6 Luna specifically, that means output tokens cost 6.0x more than input, at $1.20 vs $0.20 per MTok. At this use case’s 6,000/1,500 token split, output accounts for 60% of the $0.003000 per-call cost.

Complete GPT 5.6 Luna pricing breakdown

Standard token rates

Direction$/MTokTokens per call
Input$0.206,000
Output$1.201,500

Prompt caching: 90% off input tokens

Caching drops input cost from $0.20 to $0.02/MTok. For repeated system prompts, that saves $0.001080 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$0.003000$30$19.2$10.8
50,000 calls$0.003000$150$96$54
100,000 calls$0.003000$300$192$108
500,000 calls$0.003000$1,500$960$540
1,000,000 calls$0.003000$3,000$1,920$1,080

GPT 5.6 Luna quality benchmarks for rag pipeline

GPT 5.6 Luna is a solid pick for rag pipeline

Scores 85/100 (rank #4 of 20). Good balance of quality and cost for rag pipeline.

Top-ranked: GPT 5.6 Terra (92/100) at $0.0300/call

Performance across all task types

GPT 5.6 Luna scores by task type. RAG Pipeline highlighted.

Classification91Extraction89Q&A *85Summarization84Code Generation70Code Review68Reasoning63Creative Writing58
Task typeConfidence scoreRank out of 20
Classification91/100#1
Extraction89/100#2
Q&A(current page)85/100#4
Summarization84/100#4
Code Generation70/100#6
Code Review68/100#6
Reasoning63/100#6
Creative Writing58/100#7

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 rag pipeline

12 models score 80+ on rag pipeline benchmarks, sorted by input rate. Cheapest: Gemini 3 Flash (-150% less, 82/100 quality).

ModelProviderInput $/MTokOutput $/MTokQualityPer callvs GPT
Gemini 3 FlashGemini$0.50$3.0082/100$0.007500150% more
Claude Haiku 4.5Claude$1.00$5.0086/100$0.0135350% more
Gemini 3.5 FlashGemini$1.50$9.0084/100$0.0225650% more
Claude Sonnet 5Claude$2.00$10.0089/100$0.0270800% more
GPT 5.6 TerraGPT$2.00$12.0092/100$0.0300900% more
Gemini 3.1 ProGemini$2.00$12.0087/100$0.0300900% more
GPT 5.4GPT$2.50$15.0091/100$0.03751150% more
Claude Sonnet 4.6Claude$3.00$15.0088/100$0.04051250% more
GPT 5.6 SolGPT$4.00$20.0091/100$0.05401700% more
Claude Opus 4.8Claude$5.00$25.0085/100$0.06752150% more
GPT 5.5GPT$5.00$30.0090/100$0.07502400% more
Claude Fable 5Claude$10.00$50.0088/100$0.13504400% more

About GPT 5.6 Luna

Provider

GPT

Tier

Fast / Budget

Context

1,050K tokens

Released

Jul 2026

Other models from GPT

ModelTierInput $/MTokOutput $/MTokContext
GPT 5.5Flagship$5.00$30.001,050K
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

You can compare GPT 5.6 Luna 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 5.6 Luna cost for rag pipeline per API call?

A typical rag pipeline call using GPT 5.6 Luna costs about $0.003000 per call. This estimate uses 6,000 input tokens and 1,500 output tokens at standard rates. Standard rates are $0.20 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens.

Is GPT 5.6 Luna the best model for rag pipeline?

GPT 5.6 Luna scores 85 out of 100 on rag pipeline benchmarks overall. It ranks #4 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 rag pipeline with good quality?

The most affordable model for rag pipeline above 80/100 quality is Gemini 3 Flash. It comes from Gemini at $0.50 per million input tokens. Output costs $3.00 per million tokens with a quality score of 82/100. Switching from GPT 5.6 Luna to Gemini 3 Flash saves about -150% per API call.

How can I reduce my GPT 5.6 Luna costs for rag pipeline?

Three strategies lower GPT 5.6 Luna 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 $0.003000 to about $0.000150 per call.

How does GPT 5.6 Luna pricing compare to other GPT models?

GPT has 4 other models alongside GPT 5.6 Luna today: GPT 5.5 at $5.00/$30.00 per million tokens (flagship), 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). The right choice depends on whether your rag pipeline workload prioritizes quality, cost, or speed.

What context window does GPT 5.6 Luna support?

GPT 5.6 Luna 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 rag pipeline, typical calls use 6,000 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.