OpenAI and Anthropic Cut AI Prices: Same Smarts, Half the Cost
Businesses pay less for the same AI work — savings that could reach your bills too.
Both OpenAI and Anthropic just released new AI models that aren't about groundbreaking new capabilities — they're about efficiency. Anthropic announced Opus 5.5, the latest version of its main mass-market workhorse model for coding and complex knowledge work. OpenAI announced GPT-6 Sol and Luna, the latest versions of its middle-of-the-road and smaller models, focused on efficiency and speed.
The real story is cost. Opus 5.5's input and output tokens are $4 and $20 per million — 20% less than Opus 5. Cache reads are $0.20 per million tokens, 60% less. It also generates output more than 30% faster. Anthropic claims savings closer to 40% for typical workloads at default settings, since Opus 5.5 also uses fewer tokens. GPT-6 Sol and Luna cost half as much to use as their predecessors: Sol is $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens; Luna is $0.10 and $0.50.
Both companies are targeting enterprise customers and racing to compete with open-weight models, as organizations explore using model routers to rely less on pricey frontier models.
- Anthropic's Opus 5.5 costs up to 40% less on typical work and runs 30% faster than the model it replaces
- OpenAI's new Sol and Luna models cost about half as much as the previous versions — Luna is the cheap, quick option
- Neither release is a big intelligence jump; both companies are competing on price because businesses started using cheaper alternatives
Why It Matters
Cheaper AI means lower costs for apps and services you use, and slower price hikes on subscriptions.