GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Yi-Lightning
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 |
Yi-Lightning
01.ai01.ai's cost-effective model. Competitive Chinese-English bilingual model at very low prices.
| Input | $0.150/M |
| Output | $0.600/M |
| Context | 16K tokens |
| Best For | Chinese-English translation, cost-sensitive applications |
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 | Yi-Lightning | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.06 | $0.02 | Yi-Lightning saves $0.04 (63%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.48 | $0.17 | Yi-Lightning saves $0.30 (64%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $2.38 | $0.86 | Yi-Lightning saves $1.51 (64%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.13 | $0.04 | Yi-Lightning saves $0.08 (67%) |
Verdict
Yi-Lightning wins on both price and performance — $0.150/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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