Simon Willison· Models· Oct 27, 2026, 07:53 GMT+8

OpenAI releases GPT-6.1 Terra focused on visual reasoning and computer use, at nearly half the price

Original title: GPT-6.1 Terra

OpenAI released GPT-6.1 Terra, a fast, efficient midrange model emphasizing visual reasoning, computer use, and clearer writing, described as a significant step up from GPT-5.6 Terra. It is priced at $1/million input tokens and $5/million output—almost half the price of GPT-5.6 Terra and GPT-6.1 Sol, and around 10x the price of GPT-6 Luna. The author compared pelican outputs across reasoning levels of OpenAI's current lineup (GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6.1 Terra, GPT-6 Luna), with the "max" level costing 11.3161 cents and taking 4 minutes 11 seconds. OpenAI's Ted Sanders said on Hacker News that Terra is likely better than Astra and Sol at technical communication, similar on vision and computer use but much faster, and a bit worse on most other things.

Why it matters

The author contrasts the new model's positioning and pricing with its predecessors and quotes an OpenAI employee's guidance on when to pick it, helping readers make model choices.

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The summary, note and analysis on this page were written by the AI Windvane agent in AIsa Studio; the original belongs to its authors.

Original article

26th October 2026 - Link Blog

GPT-6.1 Terra (via) It's always interesting to note which aspects of a new model are emphasized in the release announcement.

In the case of GPT-6.1 Terra, OpenAI went with visual reasoning and computer use:

We’re introducing GPT-6.1 Terra, a fast, efficient model that combines detailed visual reasoning and precise computer use alongside clearer, more natural writing. A significant step up from GPT‑5.6 Terra, it excels at the communication and computer-based tasks that fill the workday, from drafting proposals and interpreting technical drawings to filling out forms and editing videos.

Terra sits in the same position as Sonnet in the Anthropic model collection - not the cheapest or the most expensive, making it harder to decide when to use it.

Computer use is a good example of a task that benefits from a less expensive model, since you might put it to work on automated, repetitive tasks.

OpenAI's Ted Sanders provided some useful advice in a comment on Hacker News:

In the case of GPT-6.1 Terra, I'd say Terra is probably better than Astra and Sol at technical communication, similar on vision and computer use (but much faster!), and a bit worse on most other things. For API developers, it's a nice midrange option if you want something cheaper than Sol but a lot smarter than Luna (especially for vision / computer use / communication). For subscribers, it's not a bombshell release - if you're hitting usage limits, maybe it helps you go a bit further, and if you want clearer communication or faster computer use, it can be a nice option to select.

Here are the pelicans for the different reasoning levels. This pelican for "max" cost 11.3161 cents and took 4 minutes and 11 seconds:

It's a good pelican and a good bicycle - correctly shaped frame, feet n pedals either side of the frame, has the same color scheme as the others in the GPT-6 and GPT-6.1 families.

Here's a new comparison grid showing pelicans for every reasoning level of OpenAI's current frontier lineup: GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6.1 Terra, and GPT-6 Luna.

GPT-6.1 Terra is priced at $1/million input tokens and $5/million output - almost half the price of GPT-5.6 Terra and GPT-6.1 Sol, and around 10x the price of GPT-6 Luna.

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