GPT-5.5 (Medium) vs GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium)
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.5 (Medium) by OpenAI or GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) by OpenAI? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-24.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GPT-5.5 (Medium) scores 3.7 points higher (33.8 vs 30.1) but costs 4.7× as much to run the benchmark ($2095 vs $447; flagship vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-5.5 (Medium) when you need intelligence above 30.1, and GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) when 30.1 is enough.
| Metric | GPT-5.5 (Medium) | GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 33.8 | 30.1 | −10.9% GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) is 10.9% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $2,095.12 | $446.53 | −78.7% GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) is 78.7% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 9.73s | 5.85s | −39.9% GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) is 39.9% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $5.00 / $30.0 | $2.00 / $12.0 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) vs GPT-5.5 (Medium): 10.9% less intelligence, 78.7% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 39.9% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-5.5 (Medium) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
- GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Medium) scores 47.80 for $361.
GPT-5.5 (Medium)GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium)Today's Pareto frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-5-medium/gpt-5-6-terra-medium · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-5-medium/gpt-5-6-terra-medium?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill