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HomeOpenAIAll changesWeb Search price cut 60%
OpenAIPricing change · Price decrease · Mar 23 → Apr 1, 2026

OpenAI API slashes web search tool price 60% to $10 per 1k calls

Verified Apr 2, 2026AI & Machine LearningDirection: down
The changeWeb Search price — price decrease.
Before · Mar 23$25.00
After · Apr 1$10.00
−60%
1 change2 capturesMar 23, 2026 → Apr 1, 2026

What happened

Between the Mar 23, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026 captures of OpenAI's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: Web search tool price decreased from $25.00 to $10.00 per 1k calls, a 60% reduction. Search content tokens remain free. Pulse files it as a pricing change (price decrease) with a downward direction. Pulse's latest capture (Oct 5, 2026) lists gpt-image-2.5-flare at $2 per 1M cached image input tokens + $30 per 1M image output tokens, gpt-6.1-sol at $0.2 per 1M cached input tokens (long context) + $2 per 1M input tokens (short context), gpt-6-luna at $0.25 per 1M cache write tokens (long context) + $0.2 per 1M input tokens (long context), gpt-5.6-sol at $30 per 1M output tokens (long context) + $8 per 1M input tokens (long context) and gpt-6-astra at $20 per 1M input tokens (long context) + $1 per 1M cached input tokens (short context).

It lands 9 days after OpenAI's previous change, "Openai API triples GPT-5 mini pricing, launches budget nano tier" (Mar 24, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "Openai API launches GPT-5.4 at $2.50/M tokens, adds Containers tool" (Apr 6, 2026), "Openai API adds Sora-2-pro HD video tier at $0.70/second" (Mar 18, 2026) and "Openai API launches GPT-5.4, adds 10% data residency surcharge" (Mar 11, 2026). OpenAI has been tracked since 2023-11-14.

In the same window Microsoft, Anthropic, Metabase and X also changed their AI & Machine Learning pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.

  • Web Search · Price−60%
    $25.00$10.00

Values as written on OpenAI's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.

Evidence

The two captures Pulse compared

Full-page captures of OpenAI's pricing page (openai.com) from Mar 23, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026; the change is marked around the middle of the page, where web search price reads $25.00 and then $10.00.

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The two full-page captures with this change marked up are free with an account.

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OpenAI, the last 90 days

Full history
  1. Aug 31, 2026packagingOpenai API Business: new $100/mo Premium seat tier + 200-employee cap
  2. May 11, 2026increaseOpenai API raises GPT-Realtime-2 text output 50%, adds translate
  3. Apr 27, 2026decreaseOpenai API cuts image output pricing, launches GPT-image-2
  4. Apr 2, 2026decreaseOpenAI API slashes web search tool price 60% to $10 per 1k calls · this change
  5. Mar 24, 2026packagingOpenai API triples GPT-5 mini pricing, launches budget nano tier
  6. Apr 6, 2026packagingOpenai API launches GPT-5.4 at $2.50/M tokens, adds Containers tool
  7. Mar 18, 2026improvedOpenai API adds Sora-2-pro HD video tier at $0.70/second
  8. Mar 11, 2026packagingOpenai API launches GPT-5.4, adds 10% data residency surcharge
  9. Feb 18, 2026increaseOpenai API shifts Containers to per-session billing starting March 31
  10. Jan 12, 2026packagingOpenai API Implements 40% Price Increase for GPT-5.2 Output and Input Tokens, Renames GPT-5 to GPT-5.2

Across AI & Machine Learning in the same window

All AI & Machine Learning changes
  1. MicrosoftApr 3Microsoft Copilot adds 4K Clipchamp export, AI image tools to Premium plan
  2. AnthropicMar 16Anthropic API simplifies pricing, removes volume-based tiers
  3. MetabaseFeb 23Metabase reveals Advanced Transforms add-on at $250/mo for 72K runs
  4. XFeb 18X adds real-time voice AI, drops structured outputs from API

Questions about this change

Did OpenAI raise prices in April 2026?

No — prices went down. Between Mar 23, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026 OpenAI's pricing page showed 1 price cut: Web Search: $25.00 → $10.00 (−60%).

What changed on OpenAI's pricing page between Mar 23, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026?

Web Search price: $25.00 → $10.00 (−60%). Pulse compared the captures it took on Mar 23, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.

How often does OpenAI change its pricing?

Pulse recorded 5 other pricing-page changes for OpenAI in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Openai API triples GPT-5 mini pricing, launches budget nano tier" on Mar 24, 2026; OpenAI has been tracked since 2023-11-14.