An outdated model that's been lapped by cheaper, more capable competitors on every meaningful dimension.
42
Coding
52
Writing
38
Research
0
Images
30
Value
28
Long Context
Use this when
Legacy integrations or applications that need slightly longer documents processed without upgrading to a modern model.
Skip this if
You're starting a new project — cheaper, faster, and smarter alternatives like GPT-4o mini or Claude Haiku 3.5 make this model obsolete.
Pricing
$3.00/1M in
$4.00/1M out
→0%since May 2026
Context
16k tokens
Speed
Fast
OpenAI has been gradually deprecating older GPT-3.5 variants. Availability may be limited or sunset in the future. At $3/$4 per million tokens, this is dramatically overpriced relative to its capability in 2024-2025.
16K context window handles medium-length documents and multi-turn conversations
Fast inference with low latency compared to flagship models
Well-documented and widely supported across third-party tooling and frameworks
Lower cost than GPT-4 class models for simple, high-volume tasks
Weaknesses
Significantly weaker reasoning and instruction-following than GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet 4, or Gemini 1.5 Pro — all available at similar or lower prices
At $3/$4 per million tokens, it offers poor value: GPT-4o mini outperforms it at a fraction of the cost
16K context is now considered small; competitors offer 128K–1M+ token windows as standard
Real-world use cases
What people actually use GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k for.
Summarizing a 10,000-word document in a legacy pipeline already built around GPT-3.5
Multi-turn customer support chatbot for low-complexity queries in an existing integration
Batch processing simple text classification tasks in a cost-sensitive environment migrating away from GPT-4
How GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k compares
The nearest models people weigh against it, and what actually separates them.
vs GPT-4.1 Mini — Against GPT-4.1 Mini (OpenAI), GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k costs about 71% more per token, gives up 63.9x on context and answers slower. GPT-4.1 Mini is the one to check first if the price difference matters more than the ceiling.
vs GPT-4.1 Nano — Against GPT-4.1 Nano (OpenAI), GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k costs about 93% more per token, gives up 63.9x on context and answers slower. GPT-4.1 Nano is the one to check first if the price difference matters more than the ceiling.
vs GPT-5 Mini — Against GPT-5 Mini (OpenAI), GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k costs about 68% more per token, gives up 24.4x on context and answers slower. GPT-5 Mini is the one to check first if the price difference matters more than the ceiling.
Price History
GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k pricing over time
→0% since May 30
90 data points · tracked daily since May 30, 2026
Ready to try it?
Start using GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k
Legacy integrations or applications that need slightly longer documents processed without upgrading to a modern model.. Start free — no card required.
GPT-4.1 Mini is OpenAI's cost-optimized small model from the GPT-4.1 family, designed to deliver strong instruction-following and coding performance at a fraction of flagship pricing. It targets high-volume, latency-sensitive applications where cost efficiency matters more than peak capability.
Verdict
The go-to budget workhorse for high-volume OpenAI API users who need GPT-4.1 quality at GPT-3.5 prices.
Quality score
65%
Pricing
$0.40/1M in
$1.60/1M out
Speed
Very fast
5/5 speed
Context
1.0M tokens
Pricing shown is $0.40 input / $1.60 output per 1M tokens. Cached input tokens are significantly cheaper. The 1M token context window is a standout feature at this price tier — few competitors match it. Supersedes GPT-4o as the recommended default for cost-conscious applications.
BudgetFastLong ContextOpenAIProduction
Best for
High-volume production workloads that need reliable GPT-4-class instruction following without flagship pricing.
GPT-4.1 Nano is OpenAI's smallest and most cost-efficient model in the GPT-4.1 family, designed for high-throughput, latency-sensitive tasks at near-commodity pricing. It offers a 1M token context window at just $0.10/1M input tokens, making it one of the cheapest large-context models available.
Verdict
The best pick for budget-conscious, high-volume workloads that don't demand frontier intelligence.
Quality score
54%
Pricing
$0.10/1M in
$0.40/1M out
Speed
Very fast
5/5 speed
Context
1.0M tokens
Pricing is $0.10/1M input and $0.40/1M output tokens. Officially supersedes GPT-4o in OpenAI's lineup for lightweight use cases. Context window of ~1.047M tokens is one of the largest available at this price tier.
BudgetFastLong ContextHigh VolumeOpenAI
Best for
High-volume production workloads like classification, extraction, summarization, and simple Q&A where cost and speed matter more than frontier reasoning.
GPT-5 Mini is OpenAI's budget-tier distillation of GPT-5, designed for high-volume, cost-sensitive tasks that don't require full flagship reasoning depth. It supersedes GPT-4o with improved instruction following and a massively expanded 400K context window at a fraction of the cost.
Verdict
The new budget default for OpenAI API users: faster, cheaper, and smarter than GPT-4o with a context window that punches well above its price tier.
Quality score
66%
Pricing
$0.25/1M in
$2.00/1M out
Speed
Very fast
5/5 speed
Context
400k tokens
Output cost of $2/1M tokens is higher than some competing budget models (Gemini Flash at ~$0.60/1M output). At scale, output-heavy tasks may erode cost advantages — monitor token ratios carefully. Supersedes GPT-4o, which may be deprecated on a rolling basis.
BudgetFastLong ContextHigh VolumeOpenAI
Best for
High-volume production workloads — chatbots, summarization pipelines, and document Q&A — where cost efficiency matters more than peak reasoning.
Pricing moves, ranking shifts, and capability updates.
New ModelMar 27, 2026
OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k — added to UseRightAI
OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k (OpenAI) is now indexed. An outdated model that's been lapped by cheaper, more capable competitors on every meaningful dimension.
GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k costs $3 per million input tokens and $4 per million output tokens on the API. A month of 10M input and 2M output tokens runs about $38.00 at list price, before any batch or caching discounts.
What is GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k best for?
GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k is best for legacy integrations or applications that need slightly longer documents processed without upgrading to a modern model.. It is a strong fit when that workflow matters more than the tradeoffs around balanced pricing and fast speed.
When should I avoid GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k?
You're starting a new project — cheaper, faster, and smarter alternatives like GPT-4o mini or Claude Haiku 3.5 make this model obsolete.
What is a cheaper alternative to GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k?
GPT-4.1 Mini (OpenAI) at $0.40/1M/1M input against GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k's $3.00/1M/1M — roughly 71% less per token all in. The go-to budget workhorse for high-volume OpenAI API users who need GPT-4.1 quality at GPT-3.5 prices. Compare it first if GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k's pricing is the thing stopping you.
What is a faster alternative to GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k?
GPT-4.1 Nano — very fast against GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k's fast, with 1.0M tokens of context. Worth the swap when response time is what your users notice rather than the last few points of reasoning depth.
Newsletter
Get notified when GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k pricing changes
We track pricing daily. When this model drops or spikes, you'll know first.
No spam. Useful updates only. Affiliate disclosures always clearly labeled.