OpenAI GPT Model Selection and API Guide
A practical OpenAI GPT guide to model selection, API key management, integration, usage and cost checks, common errors, and ChatGPT subscription differences.
What is OpenAI GPT?
The world's leading large language model series
The LLM That Defined the AI Era
OpenAI GPT is OpenAI's large language model series, from GPT-3 to the latest GPT-5 with thinking built in. ChatGPT has 200M+ global users.
Model Family (2026)
| Model | Input/M | Output/M | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-5.2 | $1.75 | $14.00 | Latest flagship |
| GPT-5 | $1.25 | $10.00 | All-round flagship |
| GPT-5 Mini | $0.25 | $2.00 | Cost-effective |
| GPT-5 Nano | $0.05 | $0.40 | Ultra-low cost |
| GPT-4o | $2.50 | $10.00 | Multimodal |
| GPT-4o-mini | $0.15 | $0.60 | Light multimodal |
| o3 | $10.00 | $40.00 | Advanced reasoning |
| o4-mini | $1.10 | $4.40 | Light reasoning |
Multimodal Capabilities
- •DALL-E 3: Text-to-image & editing
- •Sora: Text/image-to-video
- •Whisper: Speech-to-text (100+ languages)
- •TTS: Text-to-speech (6 voices)
- •GPT-4o Vision: Image understanding
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Usage & API Integration Guide
ChatGPT usage / API development
Step 1: Register Account
Sign up at chatgpt.com or platform.openai.com. Google, Apple ID, Microsoft, or email. Free tier includes basic GPT-5 access.
Step 2: Choose Plan (ChatGPT)
Free ($0), Go ($8/mo), Plus ($20/mo — reasoning + GPTs + Sora), Pro ($200/mo — unlimited + GPT-5.2 Pro).
Step 3: Get API Key (Developers)
Create at platform.openai.com/api-keys. Set billing (prepaid balance or monthly). Set usage limits. Key starts with sk-.
Step 4: Install SDK
Python: pip install openai. Node.js: npm install openai. Set OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable.
Step 5: Call Chat Completions
POST /v1/chat/completions. Choose model (gpt-5, gpt-4o, o3), set messages, temperature, max_tokens. Supports streaming.
Step 6: Advanced Features
Function Calling / Tool Use. Structured Outputs (strict: true). Vision (image input). Batch API (50% off). Prompt Caching (50-90% off).
OpenAI API Code Examples
Copy & paste (source: OpenAI official docs)
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI() # reads OPENAI_API_KEY
completion = client.chat.completions.create(
model="gpt-5",
messages=[
{"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant"},
{"role": "user", "content": "Write a quicksort in Python"}
],
temperature=0.7
)
print(completion.choices[0].message.content)
# Streaming
stream = client.chat.completions.create(
model="gpt-5",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Write an article about AI"}],
stream=True
)
for chunk in stream:
if chunk.choices[0].delta.content:
print(chunk.choices[0].delta.content, end="")Check Before You Act or Buy
Use the current listing, official documentation and actual account state
Confirm the Service Type
Distinguish a membership, API credits and software access before ordering.
Check Account Eligibility
Review the account region, current plan, sign-in method and applicable restrictions.
Review Current Terms
Confirm price, term, quota, delivery steps and available payment methods on the listing.
Confirm Support Scope
Use the listing, help center and order notes for the current support scope and hours.
Product Interfaces
ChatGPT, DALL-E, API Platform
ChatGPT
World's most popular AI assistant
DALL-E 3
Text-to-image generation
API Platform
Developer console & docs
Code Generation
GPT-5 full-stack code
GPTs Store
Custom AI assistants
Sora Video
AI video generation
Video Tutorials
Learn OpenAI GPT step by step
OpenAI API Complete Tutorial
ChatGPT Power User Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about OpenAI GPT
Need to Check the Current Listing?
Tutorials explain a general workflow. Use the current listing for price, stock, eligibility, delivery time and support scope.
Third-party product names identify relevant listings and do not imply authorization, endorsement or partnership.
Direct answer
Choose a GPT model according to task quality, latency, context and budget, and verify current model documentation and pricing. A ChatGPT subscription does not include OpenAI API credits.
Third-party product names and trademarks identify relevant listings and remain the property of their respective owners. Unless a listing expressly states otherwise, no authorization, endorsement or partnership is implied.