What is GPT-6 Astra?
GPT-6 Astra is OpenAI's most capable GPT-6 model, built for complex reasoning, coding, computer use, research and document creation. Use it for multi-step work such as fixing a bug across a codebase or building a slide deck from a template. It has the highest Standard token price of the GPT-6 models on OpenAI's API pricing page, and in ChatGPT it is offered on Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise.
What can you do with it?
OpenAI positions Astra for long tasks where the model has to plan, act and check its own work. In coding, you can give it a failing test and a repository and ask it to find the cause, change the code and rerun the tests, either in Codex or through the Responses API with tools such as hosted shell and apply_patch.
OpenAI also highlights computer use, such as filling in web forms, updating CRM records or running front-end checks on a site, and professional documents: Astra is trained to follow existing slide, document and spreadsheet templates. The benchmark results OpenAI publishes for these areas are vendor claims and have not been tested by AppFor.ai.
Try it on a small task
Suggested workflow: pick one real bug with a reproducible failing test in a small repository. Ask Astra at medium reasoning effort to explain the cause before changing anything, then let it apply the fix and run the tests.
Check three things in the result: whether the explanation matches the actual cause, whether the change stays inside the files it needed to touch, and how many output tokens the run used. Repeat the same task with GPT-6.1 Sol; OpenAI describes Sol as near-Astra performance at a lower cost, so compare cost per accepted fix, not price per token.
Pricing and access
In the API, the model ID is gpt-6-astra. Standard pricing is $10 per million input tokens, $1 for cached input, $12.50 for cache writes and $50 per million output tokens. Prompts above 272K input tokens are billed at twice the input and cache rates and 1.5 times the output rate for the whole request. Batch and Flex cost half of Standard, and Fast mode costs twice the applicable rate. OpenAI also lists Astra on Microsoft Azure and Amazon Bedrock.
In ChatGPT, OpenAI's announcement lists GPT-6 Astra for Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise users, and Pro, Business and Enterprise also get GPT-6 Astra Pro. Plus costs $20 a month and Pro starts at $100 a month with Pro reasoning powered by GPT-6 Astra. OpenAI says Astra usage counts against existing plan allowances, with credits for extra usage, and that Enterprise administrators must enable it for their workspace. Exact message limits per plan are not established from the pages we checked. In the API, Astra does not accept the none reasoning effort, and Fast mode for Astra does not support EU data residency.
What stands out
- 1.05M-token context window and 128K max output tokens
- Reasoning effort from low to max
- Responses API tools including computer use, hosted shell and MCP
- Fast and Ultrafast modes in the API
Before you choose
- Highest Standard token price among GPT-6 models in OpenAI's API pricing.
- Long prompts over 272K tokens raise the price of the whole request.
- No none reasoning effort; Fast mode lacks EU data residency.
Plans & pricing
Current pricing on developers.openai.com (opens in a new tab)Go to the source
Sources & further reading
Based on the official documentation below. Features and access can change; check the provider before making a decision.
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