GPT 5.6 Terra
GPT 5.6 Terra is the balanced model of the GPT-5.6 family, built for everyday production work with performance comparable to the previous generation at a lower price, stronger agentic coding, biology, and cybersecurity results, and a context window of 1.1M tokens. Your use is subject to OpenAI's Terms & Privacy Policies.
import { streamText } from 'ai'
const result = streamText({ model: 'openai/gpt-5.6-terra', prompt: 'Why is the sky blue?'})Playground
Try out GPT 5.6 Terra by OpenAI. Usage is billed to your team at API rates. Free users (those who haven't made a payment) get $5 of credits every 30 days.
GPT 5.6 Terra
GPT 5.6 Terra
Providers
Route requests across multiple providers. Copy a provider slug to set your preference. Visit the docs for more info. Using a provider means you agree to their terms, listed under Legal.
| Provider |
|---|
| 1.1M | 128K | 2.0s | 77tps | $2.50/M$2/M +4 more | $15/M$12/M +4 more | Read:$0.25/M$0.2/M+2 more Write:$3.13/M$2.5/M+2 more | $10/K + input costs | +4 | 07/09/2026 | |||||
| 1.1M | 128K | 3.8s | 78tps | $2.50/M+1 more | $15/M+1 more | Read: $0.25/M+1 more Write: $3.13/M+1 more | $14/K + input costs | +3 | 07/09/2026 | |||||
| 272K | 272K | $2.75/M$2.20/M +1 more | $16.50/M$13.20/M +1 more | Read: $0.28/M$0.22/M+1 more Write: $3.44/M$2.75/M+1 more | $10/K + input costs | +3 | 07/09/2026 |
P50 throughput on live AI Gateway traffic, in tokens per second (TPS). Visit the docs for more info.
P50 time to first token (TTFT) on live AI Gateway traffic, in milliseconds. View the docs for more info.
Direct request success rate on AI Gateway and per-provider. Visit the docs for more info.
More models by OpenAI
| Model |
|---|
| 1.1M | 1.6s | 145tps | $1/M$0.20/M +1 more | $6/M$1.20/M +1 more | Read: $0.1/M$0.02/M+1 more Write: $1.25/M$0.25/M+1 more | $10/K + input costs | +4 |   | 07/09/2026 | ||||
| 1.1M | 2.7s | 95tps | $5/M+1 more | $30/M+1 more | Read: $0.5/M+1 more Write: $6.25/M+1 more | $10/K + input costs | +4 | | 07/09/2026 | ||||
| 400K | 0.5s | 138tps | $0.20/M | $1.25/M | Read:$0.02/M Write:— | $10/K + input costs | +4 | | 03/17/2026 | ||||
| 400K | 5.4s | 147tps | $0.05/M | $0.40/M | Read:$0.01/M Write:— | $14/K + input costs | +3 | | 08/07/2025 | ||||
| 400K | 2.8s | 163tps | $0.25/M | $2/M | Read:$0.03/M Write:— | $14/K + input costs | +3 | | 08/07/2025 | ||||
| 131K | 0.2s | 481tps | $0.35/M | $0.75/M | Read:$0.25/M Write:— | — |   +5 | 08/05/2025 |
About GPT 5.6 Terra
GPT 5.6 Terra became available on AI Gateway on July 9, 2026 as the balanced model of the GPT-5.6 family, alongside GPT-5.6 Sol and GPT-5.6 Luna. All three GPT-5.6 models handle agentic work across coding, biology, and cybersecurity better than the previous generation, and all three use fewer tokens to reach an answer.
OpenAI describes GPT 5.6 Terra as the GPT-5.6 model that balances intelligence and cost, and it maps to the mini tier of earlier GPT-5 families. Performance compares to the previous generation at a lower price, so GPT 5.6 Terra is a practical default for everyday production traffic: application features, internal tooling, support automation, and the routine steps of a longer agent run.
GPT 5.6 Terra accepts text and image input and returns text, with a context window of 1.1M tokens and up to 272K tokens of output per request. Reasoning tokens, streaming, function calling, and structured outputs are supported, and the Responses API adds web search, file search, code interpreter, computer use, and MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools.
Set the model to openai/gpt-5.6-terra in the AI SDK, the Chat Completions API, the Responses API, or another supported API format, from TypeScript or Python. AI Gateway routing rules can rewrite an existing model slug to openai/gpt-5.6-terra when you want to move traffic without touching application code. List pricing is $2 per million input tokens and $12 per million output tokens, with cached input at $0.2. Upstream list prices came down after launch, and AI Gateway mirrors provider pricing with no markup and adds no platform fee on inference, including for Bring Your Own Key requests.
What To Consider When Choosing a Provider
- Configuration: GPT 5.6 Terra corresponds to the mini tier of earlier GPT-5 families, and OpenAI designed it for workloads that balance intelligence and cost. Performance compares to the previous generation at a lower price, which makes GPT 5.6 Terra a straightforward swap for teams already running a mid-tier GPT-5.x model in production.
- Configuration: Capability limits still apply. Benchmark your hardest prompts against GPT-5.6 Sol before assuming the balanced tier covers them, and check GPT-5.6 Luna for the high-volume tail where cost dominates. Pricing splits into short-context and long-context rates, so measure your real prompt sizes rather than an average.
- Zero Data Retention: AI Gateway supports Zero Data Retention for this model via direct gateway requests (BYOK is not included). To configure this, check the documentation.
- Authentication: AI Gateway authenticates requests using an API key or OIDC token. You do not need to manage provider credentials directly.
When to Use GPT 5.6 Terra
Best for
- Everyday Production Traffic: Application features and internal tooling that run continuously at predictable cost
- Mid-Tier Agent Steps: Routine planning, retrieval, and tool calls inside a longer agent run
- Balanced Coding Work: Day-to-day development help, code review, and bug diagnosis
- Long-Context Reading: Document sets and repositories that fit inside the context window without flagship pricing
- Drop-In Tier Upgrade: A direct replacement for a mid-tier GPT-5.x model already in production
Consider alternatives when
- Hardest Agentic Tasks: GPT-5.6 Sol is the flagship and the most capable model in the family
- High-Volume Cost Control: GPT-5.6 Luna carries the lowest price in the GPT-5.6 family
- Autonomous Coding Agents: GPT-5.x codex variants target sandboxed software engineering directly
- Voice and Audio Input: The gpt-realtime family handles live speech, since GPT-5.6 models read text and images only
Conclusion
GPT 5.6 Terra is the tier most GPT-5.6 traffic belongs on: comparable performance to the previous generation at a lower price, with the family's agentic gains in coding, biology, and cybersecurity. Escalate to GPT-5.6 Sol for the hardest requests and drop to GPT-5.6 Luna where volume decides the budget.