The original deep-thinker that excels at hard reasoning problems, now overshadowed by newer o-series models but still formidable for complex STEM work.
88
Coding
52
Writing
85
Research
0
Images
8
Value
75
Long Context
Use this when
Solving complex reasoning tasks where accuracy matters more than response time, such as competitive programming, advanced mathematics, and rigorous scientific analysis.
Skip this if
You need fast turnaround, are doing routine writing or summarization, or have a tight budget — the cost-to-value ratio is poor for anything a standard flagship model can handle.
Pricing
$7.50/1M in
$30.00/1M out
↓50%since May 2026
Context
200k tokens
Speed
Deliberate
At $15 input / $60 output per 1M tokens, a single complex back-and-forth session can cost dollars. o1-mini is available at a fraction of the price for lighter reasoning tasks. OpenAI has since released o3 and o3-mini, which largely supersede o1 for most reasoning use cases.
Exceptional multi-step logical reasoning that outperforms GPT-4o on AIME, GPQA, and similar benchmarks
Strong at catching its own errors through internal deliberation before responding
200K context window handles large codebases, legal documents, and lengthy research papers
Reliable performance on PhD-level science and competition-math problems
Weaknesses
Extremely expensive at $60/1M output tokens — roughly 10x the cost of GPT-4o mini for similar tasks it can handle
Deliberate reasoning makes it noticeably slow, often taking 15–60 seconds per response
No image generation, audio, or tool-use capabilities; purely text-in, text-out
Real-world use cases
What people actually use OpenAI: o1 for.
Debugging a subtle concurrency bug in a 2,000-line Rust codebase by reasoning through execution order
Solving a 5-part graduate-level thermodynamics problem with full derivation steps
Analyzing a 150-page legal contract to identify contradictory clauses and liability risks
Price History
OpenAI: o1 pricing over time
↓50% since May 9
88 data points · tracked daily since May 9, 2026
Ready to try it?
Start using OpenAI: o1
Solving complex reasoning tasks where accuracy matters more than response time, such as competitive programming, advanced mathematics, and rigorous scientific analysis.. Start free — no card required.
OpenAI's latest agentic flagship for coding, research, computer-use workflows, and long multi-step knowledge work.
Verdict
Best OpenAI flagship for agentic coding, research, and computer-use work.
Quality score
94%
Pricing
$2.50/1M in
$15.00/1M out
Speed
Balanced
Best for agentic coding, computer-use workflows, and complex research tasks
Context
1M tokens
Ranked from public benchmark and pricing data verified April 26, 2026: SWE-Bench Pro 58.6%, Terminal-Bench 2.0 82.7%, $5/$30 per 1M tokens, 1M API context.
AgenticCodingComputer useLong contextPremium
Best for
Agentic coding, computer-use workflows, and complex research tasks
The flagship of OpenAI's GPT-5.6 family — its most capable reasoning and agentic-coding model, with an 'ultra' mode that spawns sub-agents for long autonomous workflows.
Verdict
Best OpenAI flagship — leads terminal coding and agentic browsing.
Quality score
96%
Pricing
$2.50/1M in
$15.00/1M out
Speed
Deliberate
Best for frontier agentic coding, deep research, and hardest reasoning tasks
Context
1.1M tokens
First frontier model family to clear a customer-by-customer US government review: limited preview June 26, full public release July 9, 2026. Pricing $5/$30 ($10/$45 above 272K context). Knowledge cutoff Feb 16, 2026.
AgenticReasoningFlagshipSub-agentsPremium
Best for
Frontier agentic coding, deep research, and hardest reasoning tasks
The balanced mid-tier of the GPT-5.6 family — GPT-5.5-class capability at a fraction of the price, built for production workloads at scale.
Verdict
Best OpenAI value — near-flagship capability at 60% off.
Quality score
93%
Pricing
$1.00/1M in
$6.00/1M out
Speed
Balanced
Best for high-volume production and enterprise workloads
Context
1.1M tokens
Launched at $2.50/$15, cut to $2/$12 on July 30, 2026. Long-context above 272K: $4/$18. Part of the government-reviewed GPT-5.6 family, fully public July 9, 2026.
OpenAI: o1 (OpenAI) is now indexed. The original deep-thinker that excels at hard reasoning problems, now overshadowed by newer o-series models but still formidable for complex STEM work.
OpenAI: o1 is best for solving complex reasoning tasks where accuracy matters more than response time, such as competitive programming, advanced mathematics, and rigorous scientific analysis.. It is a strong fit when that workflow matters more than the tradeoffs around premium pricing and deliberate speed.
When should I avoid OpenAI: o1?
You need fast turnaround, are doing routine writing or summarization, or have a tight budget — the cost-to-value ratio is poor for anything a standard flagship model can handle.
What is a cheaper alternative to OpenAI: o1?
Mistral: Mistral Nemo is the lower-cost option to compare first when you want a similar workflow fit with less token spend.
What is a faster alternative to OpenAI: o1?
GPT-5.5 is the better pick when response time matters more than maximum depth or premium quality.
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