AI Model Overview

OpenAI GPT-6 Astra — what it is, when to use it and what to use instead

Active

No. GPT-6 Astra is active at OpenAI and has no announced end date.

gpt-6-astra last verified

Summary

GPT-6 Astra is OpenAI's top-tier model, at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens with a 1.05M-token context window and 128K max output. OpenAI lists it as its most capable model and aims it at complete end-to-end workloads.

Astra sits above the GPT-5.6 line and is the model the OpenAI model pages point to when they steer users off older generations such as GPT-5, GPT-5.2 and chat-latest, although the deprecation page names GPT-5.6 Sol as the formal replacement for GPT-5. Its knowledge cutoff of 30 April 2026 is the newest of the OpenAI models in this dataset.

It accepts text and image input and returns text, across the Chat Completions, Responses and Batch endpoints. Reasoning effort runs from low to max; it adds the max level that the GPT-5.4 and GPT-5.5 lines do not have, and unlike them it does not accept none. Prompts above 272K input tokens are charged at a premium rate, so the full 1.05M-token window is not priced like the first 272K.

No deprecation has been announced.

Modality
  • Text
  • Vision
Use case
  • Chat
  • Coding
  • Reasoning
  • Agents & tool use
  • Long context
  • Web search
Tier
  • Frontier
Access
  • Hosted API

Specifications

Input price
$10.00 / M tokens
Output price
$50.00 / M tokens
Price band
Flagship
Context window
1.1M tokens
Max output
128K tokens
Input
Text, image
Output
Text
Knowledge cutoff
April 2026
Tool use
Yes
Structured output
Yes
Weights licence
not published
Model maker
OpenAI

“unknown” means the figure has not been published, or we have not verified it yet — never that the answer is no. “not published” under the weights licence means this model is not offered with downloadable weights. The price band is ours: it bands the blended price (three parts input to one part output) as budget (≤ $0.50), standard (≤ $3), premium (≤ $12) or flagship.

Lifecycle

OpenAI has not announced a deprecation or shutdown date for this model. That is a statement about what has been published, not a guarantee — providers typically announce a shutdown months ahead, and this page updates when they do.

  1. Released
  2. Deprecated not announced
  3. Retired not announced

Use it for

  • Run end-to-end agent workflows that combine reasoning, tool calls, computer use and document creation in one session.
  • Take on tasks where GPT-5.6 Sol at high reasoning effort still fails your evaluations.
  • Work with inputs that need a recent knowledge cutoff, currently April 2026.

Avoid it when

  • Cost per call is a constraint; GPT-5.6 Sol covers most flagship work at $4 / $20 against $10 / $50 here.
  • Your prompts routinely exceed 272K input tokens, where premium pricing applies on top of the base rate.
  • You need audio or video input; GPT-6 Astra accepts text and images only.
  • You run high-volume, well-defined tasks; GPT-5.6 Luna handles those at $0.2 / $1.2.

Alternatives to consider

  • GPT-5.6 Sol Curated

    OpenAI Active

    The tier below at $4 / $20 with the same 1.05M-token window, and OpenAI's named replacement for the retiring GPT-5 line.

    $4.00 in · $20.00 out / M tokens 1.1M context

  • GPT-5.5 Pro Curated

    OpenAI Active

    A slower, higher-compute option at $30 / $180 for problems where a single better answer is worth minutes of latency.

    $30.00 in · $180.00 out / M tokens 1.1M context

  • Claude Opus 5 Curated

    Anthropic Active

    Anthropic's top general tier at $5 / $25, half the input price, with a 1M-token context window.

    $5.00 in · $25.00 out / M tokens 1M context

  • Gemini 3.8 Flash Curated

    Google (Gemini) Active

    Google's most intelligent Flash model at $0.75 / $3.75, aimed at long-horizon agentic work, with audio, video and PDF input that GPT-6 Astra does not accept.

    $0.75 in · $3.75 out / M tokens 1M context

  • GPT-5 pro Derived

    Microsoft Azure AI Foundry Active

    Alternative from Microsoft Azure AI Foundry, same tier (frontier), similar price; shares chat, coding, reasoning, agents, long-context and search.

    $15.00 in · $120.00 out / M tokens 400K context

Curated suggestions were picked by a reviewer, with the reason written by hand. Derived suggestions are ranked from the data — shared tags, the same tier and a comparable price band — not from benchmark scores. Check the capability fit yourself: we track lifecycle, price and specifications.

Sources

Verified against the source on . Dataset snapshot . Providers can change a date without notice — the link above is always the final word.

About this profile

The specifications and dates above are facts from OpenAI, with the sources listed. The summary, the use-for and avoid-when lists and the curated alternatives are our assessment: editorial profile reviewed on by llm-researcher.

Common questions

What is GPT-6 Astra for?
GPT-6 Astra is OpenAI's top-tier model, at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens with a 1.05M-token context window and 128K max output. OpenAI lists it as its most capable model and aims it at complete end-to-end workloads.
What does GPT-6 Astra cost?
$10.00 per million input tokens and $50.00 per million output tokens, as last verified on 2026-09-10.
What is the context window of GPT-6 Astra?
1.1M tokens.
Is GPT-6 Astra deprecated?
No. GPT-6 Astra is active at OpenAI and has no announced end date.
What should I use instead of GPT-6 Astra?
OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol — The tier below at $4 / $20 with the same 1.05M-token window, and OpenAI's named replacement for the retiring GPT-5 line. OpenAI GPT-5.5 Pro — A slower, higher-compute option at $30 / $180 for problems where a single better answer is worth minutes of latency. Anthropic Claude Opus 5 — Anthropic's top general tier at $5 / $25, half the input price, with a 1M-token context window.

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