GPT-5.5 vs Grok 4.3

GPT-5.5 and Grok 4.3 are both current production-tier models. Grok 4.3 is meaningfully cheaper at $1.25 / $2.5 per 1M. GPT-5.5 has a 1.1M context window — about 4× the 256k of Grok 4.3. GPT-5.5 leads on coding, long-context retrieval, instruction following.

Specs side by side

Metric
OpenAI
GPT-5.5
xAI
Grok 4.3
Input price (per 1M)$5$1.25
Output price (per 1M)$30$2.5
Context window1.1M tokens256k tokens
Speed tierbalancedbalanced
Open weightsNoNo
EU regionYesNo
Free tierNoNo
Prompt cachingYesYes
Vision inputYesYes
Extended thinkingYesYes

When to choose each

OpenAI

Choose GPT-5.5 if…

  • You need 1.1M context (4× more than Grok 4.3)
  • EU data residency is required
  • HIPAA eligibility is required
  • You need realtime speech-to-speech
  • Coding is central to your workload
  • Long-context retrieval is central to your workload
xAI

Choose Grok 4.3 if…

  • Cost is a priority ($1.25 / $2.5 per 1M vs $5 / $30 per 1M)

Benchmark delta

GPT-5.5 leads on

  • Coding
  • Long-context retrieval
  • Instruction following
  • Multilingual
  • Vision
  • Tool use

Grok 4.3 leads on

Grok 4.3 has no meaningful benchmark lead in this pair.

FAQ — GPT-5.5 vs Grok 4.3

GPT-5.5 vs Grok 4.3 — which is better?

GPT-5.5 and Grok 4.3 are both current production-tier models. Grok 4.3 is meaningfully cheaper at $1.25 / $2.5 per 1M. GPT-5.5 has a 1.1M context window — about 4× the 256k of Grok 4.3. GPT-5.5 leads on coding, long-context retrieval, instruction following. The right pick depends on your use case — see "When to choose each" above for a data-driven decision.

How does GPT-5.5 pricing compare to Grok 4.3?

GPT-5.5 costs $5 / $30 per 1M vs Grok 4.3 at $1.25 / $2.5 per 1M. Grok 4.3 is cheaper on output tokens by roughly 1100%. Both support prompt caching, which reduces effective cost by 80-90% on repeat system prompts.

Does GPT-5.5 or Grok 4.3 have the bigger context window?

GPT-5.5 has a 1.1M-token context window — 4× the 256k context of Grok 4.3. Enough for entire codebases, books, or multi-document RAG.

Is there a free tier for GPT-5.5 or Grok 4.3?

GPT-5.5: no — Paid-only — no free API tier; available via ChatGPT Plus/Pro. Grok 4.3: no — X Premium / SuperGrok includes Grok web chat; API is paid.

Which is better for coding — GPT-5.5 or Grok 4.3?

GPT-5.5 leads on coding benchmarks (GPT-5.5: 95/100, Grok 4.3: 91/100). For production coding agents also weigh tool-use performance — GPT-5.5 scores 94, Grok 4.3 scores 90.