GPT-6.1 Terra vs LongCat-2.5
OpenAI · US | Meituan · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick GPT-6.1 Terra for $1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of gpt-6.1 sol and gpt-5.6 terra or terminal-bench 4.0 of 50.3% at maximum reasoning effort, versus 21.5% for gpt-5.6 terra (openai-reported). Pick LongCat-2.5 for native multimodal upgrade to longcat-2.0 - 1.6t total parameters, about 48b active per token or limited-time api price of $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens (cached input $0.006). On a tight budget at scale, LongCat-2.5 is the value pick.
GPT-6.1 Terra (OpenAI, US) and LongCat-2.5 (Meituan, China) line up two different AI ecosystems against each other — a comparison that is as much about cost philosophy and openness as raw capability. GPT-6.1 Terra is openAI's October 26, 2026 mid-tier model - a 1.05M-context, computer-use-capable GPT at $1/$5 per million tokens, half the price of its predecessor. LongCat-2.5 is meituan's November 2, 2026 natively multimodal successor to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T parameters and 1M context at $0.30/$1.20, with open weights planned but undated. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: LongCat-2.5 is about 3.3× cheaper on input ($0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens vs $1/$5 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
- ▸Context window: 1.05M tokens vs 1M tokens — within a few percent of each other, so treat this as a tie and test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Ecosystem: this is a US-vs-China matchup — they differ in pricing philosophy, data-residency options, and tooling ecosystems, not only benchmarks.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | GPT-6.1 Terra | LongCat-2.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI (US) | Meituan (China) |
| Released | October 26, 2026 | November 2, 2026 |
| Context window | 1.05M tokens (~1,575 pages) | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $1/$5 per 1M tokens | $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image, code | text, image, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
$1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-5.6 Terra
GPT-6.1 Terra
LongCat-2.5 is comparatively weak here — the $0.30/$1.20 rate is labeled limited-time, and Meituan says prices are subject to change
Terminal-Bench 4.0 of 50.3% at maximum reasoning effort, versus 21.5% for GPT-5.6 Terra (OpenAI-reported)
GPT-6.1 Terra
LongCat-2.5 is comparatively weak here — benchmarks are Meituan's own, and sources found no independent score at launch
1.05M-token context with up to 128K output tokens, plus image input and computer use via the Responses API
GPT-6.1 Terra
GPT-6.1 Terra lists 1.05M-token context with up to 128K output tokens, plus image input and computer use via the Responses API among its strengths; LongCat-2.5 does not.
Native multimodal upgrade to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T total parameters, about 48B active per token
LongCat-2.5
GPT-6.1 Terra is comparatively weak here — requests above 272K input tokens are billed at 2x input and 1.5x output for the whole request
Limited-time API price of $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens (cached input $0.006)
LongCat-2.5
At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens it undercuts GPT-6.1 Terra ($1/$5 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Meituan-reported Terminal-Bench v2.1 of 88.4, up from 70.8 for LongCat-2.0
LongCat-2.5
GPT-6.1 Terra is comparatively weak here — benchmark figures are vendor-reported; no SWE-bench Verified or MRCR numbers published
Lowest cost at scale
LongCat-2.5
At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ LongCat-2.5
At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens it undercuts GPT-6.1 Terra, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ GPT-6.1 Terra
Larger 1.05M tokens window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is $1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of gpt-6.1 sol and gpt-5.6 terra
→ GPT-6.1 Terra
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is native multimodal upgrade to longcat-2.0 - 1.6t total parameters, about 48b active per token
→ LongCat-2.5
That is its strongest area.
An enterprise with regional data-residency rules
→ GPT-6.1 Terra or LongCat-2.5
Origin (US vs China) affects where data is processed and which compliance regime applies — check the provider's terms for your region.
GPT-6.1 Terra: where it fits
OpenAI's October 26, 2026 mid-tier model - a 1.05M-context, computer-use-capable GPT at $1/$5 per million tokens, half the price of its predecessor. Released October 26, 2026 by OpenAI, it is built for $1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-5.6 Terra, terminal-Bench 4.0 of 50.3% at maximum reasoning effort, versus 21.5% for GPT-5.6 Terra (OpenAI-reported), 1.05M-token context with up to 128K output tokens, plus image input and computer use via the Responses API, and error rate on OpenAI's hard-prompt set falls from 53.6% (GPT-5.6 Terra) to 16.7% at low effort and 4.3% at max effort.
Its trade-offs are real: openAI still positions Sol and Astra as the higher-capability choices for demanding coding problems, requests above 272K input tokens are billed at 2x input and 1.5x output for the whole request, closed weights and no fine-tuning support, and benchmark figures are vendor-reported; no SWE-bench Verified or MRCR numbers published. At $1 in / $5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
LongCat-2.5: where it fits
Meituan's November 2, 2026 natively multimodal successor to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T parameters and 1M context at $0.30/$1.20, with open weights planned but undated. Released November 2, 2026 by Meituan, it is built for native multimodal upgrade to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T total parameters, about 48B active per token, limited-time API price of $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens (cached input $0.006), meituan-reported Terminal-Bench v2.1 of 88.4, up from 70.8 for LongCat-2.0, and openAI- and Anthropic-compatible API endpoints with a 1M-token context window.
Its trade-offs: aPI-only for now - GitHub and Hugging Face releases are planned but undated, and the license is unconfirmed (LongCat-2.0 is MIT), the $0.30/$1.20 rate is labeled limited-time, and Meituan says prices are subject to change, and benchmarks are Meituan's own, and sources found no independent score at launch. At $0.3 in / $1.2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
This is less "which is smarter" and more "which ecosystem fits." GPT-6.1 Terra (US) and LongCat-2.5 (China) differ on pricing philosophy, data-residency, and tooling as much as on raw scores. LongCat-2.5 is the cheaper option, which matters at volume. The pragmatic move is to run one real task through both and judge the outputs against your own constraints — including where your data is allowed to be processed.
Want both GPT-6.1 Terra and LongCat-2.5 without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is GPT-6.1 Terra or LongCat-2.5 better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, GPT-6.1 Terra leans toward $1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of gpt-6.1 sol and gpt-5.6 terra while LongCat-2.5 leans toward native multimodal upgrade to longcat-2.0 - 1.6t total parameters, about 48b active per token, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-6.1 Terra or LongCat-2.5?
LongCat-2.5 is cheaper — $1/$5 per 1M tokens vs $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens, roughly 3.3× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Effectively neither — 1.05M tokens vs 1M tokens is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both GPT-6.1 Terra and LongCat-2.5 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-6.1 Terra, LongCat-2.5 and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, GPT-6.1 Terra or LongCat-2.5?
LongCat-2.5 — released November 2, 2026, about 7 days after GPT-6.1 Terra.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.