Ultrafast tier opens to all API users for GPT-6.1 Sol, and to Pro $500 users in Codex

Archive entry: this covers an event from October 8, 2026, and we published it on November 8, 2026. The details come from sources dated at the time and may have changed since.

On October 8, 2026, OpenAI made the Ultrafast tier available for GPT-6.1 Sol to all API users, as recorded in the OpenAI API changelog. It was offered in the Responses API, subject to rate limits, and in Codex and ChatGPT Work on the Pro $500 plan and eligible Enterprise and Edu plans.

What changed

• In the Responses API, Ultrafast was selected by setting service_tier to ultrafast.
• It supported global processing plus US and EU data residency.
• Pricing for GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast was $12 per 1M input tokens, $0.60 per 1M cached input tokens and $60 per 1M output tokens.
• In Codex and ChatGPT Work, GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast was available on Pro $500 and eligible Enterprise and Edu plans, and off by default for Enterprise. Data residency there covered the US and Europe (EEA and Switzerland).

What it meant for builders

By comparison, GPT-6 Astra Ultrafast, available since September 29, supported only global processing and US residency, not the EU. GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast therefore gave developers in the EU an Ultrafast option with local data residency, priced at six times GPT-6.1 Sol's standard price.

Other sources

OpenAI also described the Codex and ChatGPT Work availability in its ChatGPT and Codex changelog and listed rates on its API pricing page.

Sources

• OpenAI API changelog: Ultrafast for GPT-6.1 Sol (OpenAI, October 8, 2026, official)
• ChatGPT & Codex changelog: GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast in Codex and ChatGPT Work (OpenAI, October 8, 2026, official)
• Pricing | OpenAI API (OpenAI, official)

Written with AI assistance, strictly from the sources listed above. Before it went live, automated checks verified its dates, sources and every language edition.