OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct
Analysis Summary
OpenAI's GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct is a completion-style model from 2023, designed for instruction-following in a non-chat format. It has no benchmark data, a 4K token context window, no tool use, no function calling, and no vision support. At $1.50/1M input and $2.00/1M output, it is priced above many current-generation models that offer substantially more capability.
For businesses, this model is a legacy artefact. The completion-only format, tiny context window, and absence of modern capabilities make it unsuitable for any current workflow. It was useful for fine-tuning and prompt-completion tasks in 2023, but those use cases are now better served by instruction-tuned chat models with larger contexts and tool support.
There is no scenario where a new business deployment should choose this model. Teams with legacy integrations using it should migrate to a current OpenAI model or a cost-effective alternative from another provider.
Assessed June 6, 2026
Editorial notes
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct is a legacy completion-only model with no benchmark data, a 4K context window, and no tool use or vision support, making it unsuitable for modern business workflows.
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Performance Profile
How OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct compares
Its 4K-token context window is larger than 21% of the models we list. At $1.50 per million input tokens it is cheaper than 18% of comparable models.
About OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct
This model is a variant of GPT-3.5 Turbo tuned for instructional prompts and omitting chat-related optimizations. Training data: up to Sep 2021.
Architecture Detail
| Instruct Type | chatml |
How does OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct stack up?
Compare side-by-side with other legacy models.
Model Information
Pricing
| Token Type | Cost per 1M tokens | Cost per 1K tokens |
|---|---|---|
| Input | $1.50 | $0.001500 |
| Output | $2.00 | $0.002000 |
Live Performance
Live endpoint metrics, refreshed every 30 minutes.
External Resources
Frequently asked questions about OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct
How much does OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct cost?
OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct costs $1.50 per million input tokens and $2.00 per million output tokens.
What is the context window of OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct?
OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct has a context window of 4,095 tokens (4K).
Who created OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct?
OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct is developed by OpenAI and was released on September 28, 2023.
