GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k vs GPT-5.6 Terra Pro
| Signal | GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k | Delta | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 50 | -50 | |
Pricing | 96 | +2 | |
Context window size | 67 | -29 | |
Recency | 0 | -100 | |
Output Capacity | 60 | -25 | |
Benchmarks | 0 | -88 | |
| Overall Result | 1 wins | of 6 | 5 wins |
Score History
40
current score
GPT-5.6 Terra Pro
right now
89
current score
GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Terra Pro
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Terra Pro saves you $100.00/month
That's $1200.00/year compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 40 | 89 | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
| Rank | #361 | #36 | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
| Quality Rank | #361 | #36 | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
| Adoption Rank | #361 | #36 | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
| Parameters | -- | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 16K | 1050K | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
| Pricing | $3.00/$4.00/M | $1.00/$6.00/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 50 | 100 | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
| Pricing | 96 | 94 | GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k |
| Context window size | 67 | 96 | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
| Recency | 0 | 100 | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
| Output Capacity | 60 | 85 | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
| Benchmarks | -- | 88 | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
Our score (0-100) is driven by benchmark performance (90%) from Arena Elo ratings, MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations. Capabilities and context window serve as tiebreakers (10%). Learn more about our methodology.
Scores 40/100 (rank #361), placing it in the top -24% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 89/100 (rank #36), placing it in the top 88% of all 290 models tracked.
GPT-5.6 Terra Pro has a 49-point advantage, which typically translates to noticeably stronger performance on complex reasoning, code generation, and multi-step tasks.
Choose GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k when you need:
- High-volume production workloads where API costs must be minimized
Choose GPT-5.6 Terra Pro when you need:
- Processing long documents or large codebases (1050K token context)
- Multimodal workflows that require image understanding
- Step-by-step reasoning and chain-of-thought problem solving
Both models are priced similarly, so the decision comes down to quality and features rather than cost.
Both models have comparable response speeds. For most applications, the latency difference is negligible.
When latency matters most: Interactive chatbots, IDE code completion, real-time translation, and user-facing applications where response time directly impacts experience. For batch processing, background summarization, or offline analysis, latency is less critical.
Code generation & review
Based on overall model capabilities and architecture for coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Suitable for user-facing chat with competitive response times. GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (1050K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($4.00/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (89/100) correlates with better nuance, coherence, and style in long-form content
Image understanding & OCR
Supports vision input - can analyze screenshots, diagrams, photos, and scanned documents directly
GPT-5.6 Terra Pro clearly outperforms GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k with a significant 49-point lead. For most general use cases, GPT-5.6 Terra Pro is the stronger choice. However, GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k may still excel in niche scenarios.
By Use Case
Best for Quality
GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k
0% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by OpenAI
- Choose for Quality - Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
- Choose for Cost - 0% lower pricing; better value at scale
- Choose for Reliability - Higher uptime and faster response speeds
- Choose for Prototyping - Stronger community support and better developer experience
- Choose for Production - Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
| Capability | GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input)differs | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Mode | ||
| Reasoningdiffers | ||
| Web Searchdiffers | ||
| Image Output |
GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Terra Pro
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Terra Pro saves you $1.20/month
That's 12% cheaper than GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k at 1,000 tokens/request and 100 requests/day.
Assumes 60% input / 40% output token ratio per request. Actual costs may vary based on your usage pattern.
| Parameter | GPT-3.5 Turbo 16k | GPT-5.6 Terra Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 16K | 1.1M |
| Max Output Tokens | 4,096 | 128,000 |
| Open Source | No | No |
| Created | Aug 28, 2023 | Jul 9, 2026 |