The token usage costs for OpenAI's GPT-5.4 model are clearly delineated for input and output tokens. For general use, the input tokens are priced at $2.50 per million, while output tokens cost $15.00 per million. OpenAI also offers a reduced rate for cached input tokens, which are priced at $0.25 per million, providing a significant discount for repeated context. These prices can also be expressed per 1,000 tokens as $0.0025 for input and $0.0150 for output, with cached input at $0.00025 per 1,000 tokens.
GPT-5.4 features a substantial context window of 1,050,000 tokens, with a maximum output of 128,000 tokens, making it suitable for complex and long-context reasoning tasks. This model unifies OpenAI's Codex and GPT lines, enhancing its capabilities in areas such as coding, document understanding, and multimodal analysis. While the output token rate appears higher than some previous models, OpenAI indicates that GPT-5.4's improved token efficiency often results in fewer tokens needed to complete equivalent tasks, potentially lowering the effective cost per task for certain applications. This means that despite a higher nominal output price, the actual cost for a given task might be reduced due to the model's ability to achieve results with less verbosity.
For developers and technical professionals, understanding these costs is crucial for budgeting and optimizing applications built with GPT-5.4. For instance, an application performing extensive text generation or summarization would incur higher costs due to the output token pricing. In scenarios involving large-scale data processing or knowledge retrieval, where a substantial amount of input is provided, the input token cost becomes a primary consideration. For applications requiring efficient and scalable vector similarity search, integrating with a vector database like Zilliz Cloud can help manage and retrieve relevant context effectively, potentially reducing the number of tokens required for model input and thus contributing to cost efficiency. There are also specific pricing tiers and context length options available when accessing GPT-5.4 through platforms like Microsoft Foundry, with different rates for various input token context lengths.