Braintrust vs OpenAI Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Braintrust | OpenAI | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $249/mo | $8/mo |
| Number of plans | 3 | 4 |
| Free plan | ||
| Free trial | — | — |
| Pricing model | usage-based | flat-rate |
Starter
- Platform fee
- Topics
- Processed data
- Scores
- Users
- Projects
- Playgrounds
- Experiments
- Datasets
- Human review scores
- Saved table views
- Custom columns
- Custom trace views
- Included data retention
- OAuth sign-in
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- SOC 2 Type II compliance
- Community support
Pro
- Platform fee
- Topics
- Processed data
- Scores
- Users
- Projects
- Playgrounds
- Experiments
- Datasets
- Human review scores
- Playground annotations
- Saved table views
- Custom columns
- Custom trace views
- Custom charts
- Environments
- Included data retention
- OAuth sign-in
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- SOC 2 Type II compliance
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Data processing agreement (DPA)
- Community support
- Priority support
Enterprise
- Platform fee
- Topics
- Processed data
- Scores
- Users
- Projects
- Playgrounds
- Experiments
- Datasets
- Human review scores
- Loop agent
- Playground annotations
- Saved table views
- Custom columns
- Custom trace views
- Custom charts
- Environments
- Included data retention
- Custom policies
- S3 data export
- OAuth sign-in
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- SOC 2 Type II compliance
- SAML single sign-on (SSO)
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Data processing agreement (DPA)
- Business associate agreement (BAA)
- Uptime service level agreement (SLA)
- Community support
- Priority support
- Shared Slack channel
- Guaranteed service level agreements (SLAs)
Free
- Limited access to GPT-5.5 Instant
- Limited messages and uploads
- Limited and slower image generation
- Limited deep research
- Limited memory and context
- Limited Codex access
Go
- More access to GPT-5.5 Instant
- More messages
- More uploads
- More image creation
- Longer memory
Plus
- Advanced reasoning with GPT-5.5 Thinking
- More complex and accurate image creation
- Expanded deep research and agent mode
- Expanded memory and context
- Projects, tasks, and custom GPTs
- Expanded Codex usage
- Early access to new features
Pro
- 5x or 20x more usage
- Pro reasoning with GPT-5.5 Pro
- Maximum Codex tasks
- Unlimited GPT-5.3 and file uploads
- Unlimited and faster image creation
- Maximum deep research and agent mode
- Maximum memory and context
- Expanded projects, tasks, and custom GPTs
- Research preview of new features
Braintrust vs OpenAI FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- OpenAI is the cheaper option, starting at $8/mo vs $249/mo for Braintrust.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. Braintrust uses usage-based pricing, while OpenAI goes with flat-rate. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Braintrust: At $249/mo, they're priced accessibly for mid-stage AI teams but not trying to be the cheapest eval tool in the room — they're positioning against the 'build it yourself' crowd and tools like LangSmith or Weights & Biases. The startup discount (6–12 months free on Pro) signals they're actively trying to land early-stage AI companies before competitors do. OpenAI: Plus at $20 is now the de facto industry benchmark — it's what Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini Advanced both price-match against. Pro at $100 is a premium signal, positioning OpenAI as the high-end option for serious users willing to pay for best-in-class model access, while the Go tier is an interesting move to compete downmarket against free-tier alternatives.
Still deciding? See the best Braintrust alternatives or the best OpenAI alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
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