OpenAI releases GPT-6.1 Terra for visual reasoning and computer use

OpenAI describes GPT-6.1 Terra as a fast, efficient model that combines detailed visual reasoning and precise computer use with clearer, more natural writing. It presents the model as a step up from GPT-5.6 Terra for communication and computer-based office work, such as drafting proposals, interpreting technical drawings, filling out forms and editing videos. Simon Willison notes that Terra sits in a middle position, much like Sonnet in Anthropic's lineup.

OpenAI's Ted Sanders said in a Hacker News comment that Terra is probably better than Astra and Sol at technical communication, similar on vision and computer use but much faster, and a bit weaker on most other tasks. He called it a midrange API option that is cheaper than Sol and considerably stronger than Luna, particularly for vision, computer use and communication. For subscribers, he said, it is not a major release, though it may stretch usage limits further.

Pricing is $1 per million input tokens and $5 per million output tokens, almost half the price of GPT-5.6 Terra and GPT-6.1 Sol and around ten times the price of GPT-6 Luna. Willison also compared pelican drawings across every reasoning level of the current OpenAI frontier lineup, and reported that one max-reasoning run cost 11.3161 cents and took 4 minutes and 11 seconds.

If your agent runs repetitive computer-use or vision tasks, Terra offers a cheaper option than Sol at $1 and $5 per million tokens, and it may be worth benchmarking against your current model. Sanders's comparison suggests it is faster than Sol on these tasks, but the claims are from OpenAI and a single informal test, so measure latency, accuracy and cost on your own workloads before changing defaults.