GPT-5.5 (High) vs GPT-6.1 Terra (Non-reasoning)
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.5 (High) by OpenAI or GPT-6.1 Terra (Non-reasoning) by OpenAI? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-27.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GPT-5.5 (High) scores 3.5 points higher (37.0 vs 33.5) but costs 21× as much to run the benchmark ($3181 vs $154; flagship vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-5.5 (High) when you need intelligence above 33.5, and GPT-6.1 Terra (Non-reasoning) when 33.5 is enough.
| Metric | GPT-5.5 (High) | GPT-6.1 Terra (Non-reasoning) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 37.0 | 33.5 | −9.5% GPT-6.1 Terra (Non-re… is 9.5% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $3,181.05 | $153.58 | −95.2% GPT-6.1 Terra (Non-re… is 95.2% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 35.54s | 6.76s | −81.0% GPT-6.1 Terra (Non-re… is 81.0% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $5.00 / $30.0 | $1.00 / $5.00 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-6.1 Terra (Non-reasoning) vs GPT-5.5 (High): 9.5% less intelligence, 95.2% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 81.0% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-5.5 (High) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Kimi K3.1 Pro scores 55.10 for $3117.
- GPT-6.1 Terra (Non-reasoning) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6 Luna (Max) scores 38.10 for $122.
GPT-5.5 (High)GPT-6.1 Terra (Non-reasoning)Today's Pareto frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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