Cheaper overall
Gemini 4 Argon
80% lower blended rate
Bigger context window
GPT-6 Astra
1,050,000 vs 1,048,576 tokens
Cheaper cached input
Gemini 4 Argon
$0.10 vs $1.00, 90% less
Where each one wins
Gemini 4 Argon
- Cheaper input tokens $2.00 vs $10.00, 80% less
- Cheaper output tokens $10.00 vs $50.00, 80% less
- Cheaper cached input $0.10 vs $1.00, 90% less
- Cheaper on all four workloads
- Higher expert-exam performance (Humanity's Last Exam) 57.1 vs 54.7
- Higher scientific coding (SciCode) 61.8 vs 56.5
- Higher real-world task performance (GDPval) 56.2 vs 53.7
- Ahead on 1 more benchmark figure
GPT-6 Astra
- Larger context window 1,050,000 tokens
- Longer maximum output 128,000 tokens
- Higher overall intelligence (Intelligence Index) 52.7 vs 52.6
- Higher long-context reasoning (AA-LCR) 80.7 vs 79.7
- Higher physics research reasoning (CritPt) 31.7 vs 27.1
- Ahead on 1 more benchmark figure
- Offers Batch, Flex and Priority pricing not listed for Gemini 4 Argon
What four workloads cost
One run, and the same run a thousand times.
Gemini 4 Argon is cheaper on all four workloads, by much the same margin each time — about 6.5 times, from $0.0070 against $0.0350 on a chat turn to $0.8300 against $8.23 on a long document.
| Workload | Gemini 4 Argon | GPT-6 Astra | ×1,000 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat turn 1,000 in / 500 out | $0.0070 | $0.0350 | $7.00 / $35.00 | Gemini 4 Argon is 80% cheaper |
| RAG answer 10,000 in / 800 out | $0.0280 | $0.1400 | $28.00 / $140.00 | Gemini 4 Argon is 80% cheaper |
| Agent loop 32,000 in / 700 out × 20 calls | $0.2800 | $1.70 | $280.00 / $1,700.00 | Gemini 4 Argon is 84% cheaper |
| Long document 400,000 in / 3,000 out | $0.8300 | $8.23 | $830.00 / $8,225.00 | Gemini 4 Argon is 90% cheaper |
Price per 1M tokens
Above 272,000 input tokens the rates change, and the new rate applies to the whole request, not just the tokens past that point: GPT-6 Astra's input goes from $10.00 to $20.00. It does not change which of the two is cheaper.
| Context band | Price | Gemini 4 Argon | GPT-6 Astra | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prompts up to 272,000 tokens | Input | $2.00 | $10.00 | Gemini 4 Argon is 80% cheaper |
| Prompts up to 272,000 tokens | Cached input | $0.10 | $1.00 | Gemini 4 Argon is 90% cheaper |
| Prompts up to 272,000 tokens | Output | $10.00 | $50.00 | Gemini 4 Argon is 80% cheaper |
| Prompts over 272,000 tokens | Input | $2.00 | $20.00 | Gemini 4 Argon is 90% cheaper |
| Prompts over 272,000 tokens | Cached input | $0.10 | $2.00 | Gemini 4 Argon is 95% cheaper |
| Prompts over 272,000 tokens | Output | $10.00 | $75.00 | Gemini 4 Argon is 87% cheaper |
Blended: Gemini 4 Argon $4.00, GPT-6 Astra $20.00 per 1M — one rate at 3:1 input to output, for comparing two models at a glance.
Gemini 4 Argon priced by Perplexity, GPT-6 Astra by OpenAI. Standard tier, pay-as-you-go.
Other pricing tiers
Only GPT-6 Astra lists Batch, Flex and Priority, at up to 50% off its own standard rate; Gemini 4 Argon offers none of them.
Every tier either model sells is here, so this is the whole price sheet. A saving is measured against that model's own standard rate — how we read tiers.
| Tier | Gemini 4 Argon | GPT-6 Astra | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batch only on GPT-6 Astra | Not offered | $5.00 in / $25.00 out 50% off Standard | — |
| Flex only on GPT-6 Astra | Not offered | $5.00 in / $25.00 out 50% off Standard | — |
| Priority only on GPT-6 Astra | Not offered | $20.00 in / $100.00 out | — |
Benchmarks
They share 8 figures: Gemini 4 Argon leads on 4, GPT-6 Astra on 4. The widest gap is 29.7 points, on answer reliability (Omniscience Non-Hallucination).
Overall intelligence
Intelligence Index — Overall intelligence across reasoning, knowledge & math evals
GPT-6 Astra ahead by 0.1
Expert-exam performance
Humanity's Last Exam — Expert-level questions across many academic domains
Gemini 4 Argon ahead by 2.4
Long-context reasoning
AA-LCR — Long-context reasoning across large inputs
GPT-6 Astra ahead by 1
Scientific coding
SciCode — Research-level scientific coding tasks
Gemini 4 Argon ahead by 5.3
Physics research reasoning
CritPt — Unpublished physics research reasoning problems
GPT-6 Astra ahead by 4.6
Real-world task performance
GDPval — Economically valuable, real-world knowledge work
Gemini 4 Argon ahead by 2.5
Factual accuracy
Omniscience Accuracy — Breadth of factual knowledge across domains
GPT-6 Astra ahead by 12.7
Answer reliability
Omniscience Non-Hallucination — How reliably the model avoids fabricated answers
Gemini 4 Argon ahead by 29.7
Each figure is that model's best published run, with the effort level named beside it — where these scores come from.
Specifications
GPT-6 Astra holds 1,424 more input tokens in one request. Gemini 4 Argon also takes audio and video. Only GPT-6 Astra lists web search.
| Specification | Gemini 4 Argon | GPT-6 Astra |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,050,000 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Takes in | Text, audio, image, video, file | Text, image, file |
| Puts out | Text | Text |
| Knowledge cutoff | 31 Mar 2026 | 30 Apr 2026 |
| Released | 13 Oct 2026 | 3 Sep 2026 |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Sold by | Perplexity | OpenAI, Perplexity |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Web search | Not listed | Yes |
| Prompt caching | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | Yes |
| Computer use | Yes | Yes |
| Open weights | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
FAQs
- Is Gemini 4 Argon cheaper than GPT-6 Astra?
- Yes. A 1,000-token prompt with a 500-token reply costs $0.0070 on Gemini 4 Argon and $0.0350 on GPT-6 Astra, and the same model is cheaper on every workload on this page.
- How much do Gemini 4 Argon and GPT-6 Astra cost per 1M tokens?
- Gemini 4 Argon costs $2.00 for input and $10.00 for output. GPT-6 Astra costs $10.00 and $50.00. Standard pay-as-you-go rates, as of 17 Oct 2026.
- Which is better, Gemini 4 Argon or GPT-6 Astra?
- On published benchmarks, GPT-6 Astra. It leads on 4 of the 8 figures both models report, including overall intelligence (Intelligence Index), where it scores 52.7 against 52.6.
- Does Gemini 4 Argon or GPT-6 Astra offer batch pricing?
- GPT-6 Astra only. Its batch input costs $5.00, 50% off its standard rate, and Gemini 4 Argon lists no batch tier at all.
- Does Gemini 4 Argon or GPT-6 Astra have a bigger context window?
- GPT-6 Astra, at 1,050,000 tokens against 1,048,576. That is 1,424 more input tokens in a single request.