GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Perplexity Sonar Pro
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
GPT-3.5 Turbo
OpenAIBudget model for simple tasks. Being phased out but still widely used.
| Input | $0.500/M |
| Output | $1.50/M |
| Context | 16K tokens |
| Best For | Simple chatbots, basic text generation |
| Benchmark | 40/100 |
Perplexity Sonar Pro
PerplexityPerplexity's search-optimized model. Built for real-time web search with cited answers.
| Input | $3.00/M |
| Output | $15.00/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Research, fact-checking, current events analysis |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | GPT-3.5 Turbo | Perplexity Sonar Pro | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.06 | $0.55 | GPT-3.5 Turbo saves $0.49 (89%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.48 | $4.05 | GPT-3.5 Turbo saves $3.57 (88%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $2.38 | $20.25 | GPT-3.5 Turbo saves $17.88 (88%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.13 | $0.90 | GPT-3.5 Turbo saves $0.77 (86%) |
Verdict
GPT-3.5 Turbo wins on both price and performance — $0.500/M input with a benchmark score of N/A/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
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