Choose AionLabs: Aion-1.0 if…
No advantage on the data we track — pick it for provider preference or output quality on your own prompts.
AionLabs: Aion-1.0 vs OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra comes out ahead on the data we track: 10 advantages and none for AionLabs: Aion-1.0.
Key numbers
| Spec | AionLabs: Aion-1.0 | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Aion Labs | OpenAI |
| Input price (per 1M tokens) | $4.00 | $2.00 |
| Output price (per 1M tokens) | $8.00 | $12.00 |
| Blended price (3:1 input/output) | $5.00 | $4.50 |
| Cheaper than … of all models we track | 10% | 12% |
| Context window | 131K tokens (~197 pages) | 1.1M tokens (~1,575 pages) |
| Larger context than … of all models | 23% | 92% |
| Max output per response | 33K tokens (~24,600 words) | 128K tokens (~96,000 words) |
| Input types | text | file, image, text |
| Output types | text | text |
| Free variant | No | No |
| Listed since | 2025-02-04 | 2026-07-09 |
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What it costs for real workloads
Monthly cost at list price for five common workloads. Token counts per unit are stated so you can scale them to your own traffic. A workload that does not fit a model's context window is marked rather than priced.
| Workload (per month) | AionLabs: Aion-1.0 | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer-support chatbot 50,000 conversations — each a 6-turn conversation (1,500 in / 400 out tokens) | $460 | $390 | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra saves $70.00 |
| RAG search over documents 20,000 questions — each a question answered from ~8 retrieved passages (6,000 in / 500 out tokens) | $560 | $360 | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra saves $200 |
| Coding / tool-using agent 2,000 tasks — each a multi-step task with tool calls and file context (60,000 in / 6,000 out tokens) | $576 | $384 | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra saves $192 |
| Batch summarisation 10,000 documents — each a 6,000-word report summarised to a page (8,000 in / 600 out tokens) | $368 | $232 | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra saves $136 |
| Long-document analysis 500 documents — each a 150-page contract or codebase read in one pass (100,000 in / 2,000 out tokens) | $208 | $112 | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra saves $96.00 |
Capabilities side by side
| Capability | AionLabs: Aion-1.0 | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra | What it lets you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tool / function calling | — | ✓ Yes | call your APIs and run agent loops |
| Structured output (JSON schema) | — | ✓ Yes | return JSON that validates against your schema |
| Reasoning / thinking mode | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | spend extra tokens thinking before answering hard problems |
| Image input | — | ✓ Yes | read screenshots, charts and scanned pages |
| Audio input | — | — | take speech or audio directly |
| File / PDF input | — | ✓ Yes | accept documents without your own parsing step |
| Image output | — | — | generate images, not just text |
| Built-in web search | — | ✓ Yes | answer from live web results |
| Seed (reproducible sampling) | — | ✓ Yes | repeat a generation for tests and evals |
| Log-probabilities | — | — | read token confidence for classification and scoring |
From each model's published parameters and input/output types. “—” means not advertised, not proven absent.
Price history
- AionLabs: Aion-1.0: price unchanged since we started tracking it on 2026-03-10.
- OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra: input price raised 50% ($1.00 → $2.00/1M), output price raised 50% ($6.00 → $12.00/1M) on 2026-08-18.
| Date | Model | Input / 1M | Output / 1M |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-18 | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra | $2.00 | $12.00 |
Which should you choose?
Choose OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra if…
- cost matters at scale — it is 10% cheaper on a typical 3:1 input/output mix ($390 vs $460 a month for 50,000 support chats)
- you need to fit long inputs in one request — 1.1M tokens is roughly 1,575 pages, against 197
- you need tool / function calling — to call your APIs and run agent loops; AionLabs: Aion-1.0 does not advertise it
- you need structured output (JSON schema) — to return JSON that validates against your schema; AionLabs: Aion-1.0 does not advertise it
- you need image input — to read screenshots, charts and scanned pages; AionLabs: Aion-1.0 does not advertise it
- you need file / PDF input — to accept documents without your own parsing step; AionLabs: Aion-1.0 does not advertise it
- you need built-in web search — to answer from live web results; AionLabs: Aion-1.0 does not advertise it
- you need seed (reproducible sampling) — to repeat a generation for tests and evals; AionLabs: Aion-1.0 does not advertise it
- you generate long outputs in one go — up to 128K tokens (about 96,000 words) per response
- you want the newer model — released 2026-07-09, 17 months after the other
Frequently asked questions
Is AionLabs: Aion-1.0 better than OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra?
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra comes out ahead on the data we track: 10 advantages and none for AionLabs: Aion-1.0.
Which is cheaper, AionLabs: Aion-1.0 or OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra?
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra is cheaper: $4.50 vs $5.00 per 1M tokens at a typical 3:1 input/output mix, 10% less. For 50,000 support conversations a month that is $390 against $460.
How much do AionLabs: Aion-1.0 and OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra cost per million tokens?
AionLabs: Aion-1.0 costs $4.00 per 1M input tokens and $8.00 per 1M output tokens; OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra costs $2.00 input and $12.00 output. Output tokens are billed separately, so long answers shift the gap.
Which has the bigger context window, AionLabs: Aion-1.0 or OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra?
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra: 1.1M tokens, about 1,575 pages, against 131K (about 197 pages) for AionLabs: Aion-1.0.
Do AionLabs: Aion-1.0 and OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra support function calling and JSON output?
Tool calling — AionLabs: Aion-1.0: not advertised, OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra: yes. JSON-schema structured output — AionLabs: Aion-1.0: not advertised, OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra: yes.
Can AionLabs: Aion-1.0 or OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra read images?
Only OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra accepts image input; AionLabs: Aion-1.0 is text-only for input.
Is AionLabs: Aion-1.0 or OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra free to use?
No free variant is listed for either; both are pay-per-token.
What is the maximum output length of AionLabs: Aion-1.0 and OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra?
AionLabs: Aion-1.0 can write up to 33K tokens (about 24,600 words) per response; OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra up to 128K (about 96,000 words).
When were AionLabs: Aion-1.0 and OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra released?
AionLabs: Aion-1.0 was listed on 2025-02-04; OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra on 2026-07-09.
Has the price of AionLabs: Aion-1.0 or OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra changed?
AionLabs: Aion-1.0: price unchanged since we started tracking it on 2026-03-10. OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra: input price raised 50% ($1.00 → $2.00/1M), output price raised 50% ($6.00 → $12.00/1M) on 2026-08-18.
About the two models
AionLabs: Aion-1.0
Aion-1.0 is a multi-model system designed for high performance across various tasks, including reasoning and coding. It is built on DeepSeek-R1, augmented with additional models and techniques such as Tree of Thoughts (ToT) and Mixture of Experts (MoE). It is Aion Lab's most powerful reasoning model.
Full AionLabs: Aion-1.0 specs →OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra
GPT-5.6 Terra is a balanced model in OpenAI's GPT-5.6 series, positioned between the flagship Sol tier and the cost-efficient Luna tier. It is suited for everyday coding, reasoning, and agentic...
Full OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Terra specs →