From the Uplink Switch LLC family: this post first appeared on RelaySwitch (relayswitch.io). Prices quoted are the live catalog figures at publication; the original page re-reads them at render.
GPT-5.5's price here next to OpenAI's list, read live, then the three-minute path to a key: an email, a top-up by card or crypto, one base URL. No identity documents, no subscription.
A GPT-5.5 API key costs what OpenAI charges per token, plus whatever the place you got the key from adds. OpenAI's own models page lists the price, and the gateways that rank for this phrase quote it with their fee on top. The table below is the price here, read from the live catalog as this page renders, next to OpenAI's list. After it: how to get the key in three minutes with an email and a top-up, no identity documents.
GPT-5.5 here today
$1.80 in, $9.00 out per million tokens, against OpenAI's list of $5.00 and $30.00 (64% under on input). Nothing added on the top-up.
GPT-5.5 API pricing per million tokens
| Model | Input | Cached | Output | Developer list in / out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-5.5 | $1.80 (64% under) | $0.16 | $9.00 (70% under) | $5.00 / $30.00 |
| GPT-6 Astra | $3.00 (70% under) | $0.30 | $15.00 (70% under) | $10.00 / $50.00 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | $0.60 (70% under) | $0.06 | $3.00 (70% under) | $2.00 / $10.00 |
| GPT-5.6 Sol | $1.20 (70% under) | $0.12 | $3.00 (85% under) | $4.00 / $20.00 |
| GPT-6 Luna | $0.0625 (37% under) | $0.0125 | $0.20 (60% under) | $0.10 / $0.50 |
USD per million tokens, read at render; OpenAI's list where the catalog has it. The GPT price hub has every GPT id.
Two worked shapes, at today's price for GPT-5.5 and its neighbours:
| Model | A 20k-token document, 1k out | Same at list |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-5.5 | $0.0450 | $0.1300 |
| GPT-6 Astra | $0.0750 | $0.2500 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | $0.0150 | $0.0500 |
| GPT-5.6 Sol | $0.0270 | $0.1000 |
| GPT-6 Luna | $0.0014 | $0.0025 |
20,000 tokens in and 1,000 out, uncached. Cached input is cheaper where the model supports it.
How to get a GPT-5.5 API key without KYC
- Open an account with an email address. No identity documents, no phone number, no OpenAI account.
- Top up from $10: card, Apple Pay, PayPal, or USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, SOL. The balance is USD and does not expire.
- Create a key in the console and set a monthly spend limit if you want one.
- Point the SDK at the base URL and use
gpt-5.5as the model id.
Base URL https://api.relayswitch.io/v1, your key (it starts with sk-relay-), the model id. Nothing else changes.
python
1from openai import OpenAI
2
3client = OpenAI(base_url="https://api.relayswitch.io/v1", api_key="sk-relay-...")
4reply = client.chat.completions.create(
5 model="gpt-5.5",
6 messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Say hello in five words."}],
7)
8print(reply.choices[0].message.content)
bash
1curl https://api.relayswitch.io/v1/chat/completions \
2 -H "Authorization: Bearer $RELAYSWITCH_KEY" \
3 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
4 -d '{"model": "gpt-5.5", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]}'
What the key does and does not change
The request and response shape is OpenAI's: messages, tools, response_format, streaming, the usage block. What changes is the base URL and who bills you. The model answers under OpenAI's usage policy here as anywhere.
One balance pays for every model on the key, so a GPT-5.5 app can fall back to a Claude, Gemini or DeepSeek id by changing one string. The OpenRouter alternatives page compares this against the other places to get one key for many models.
"GPT-5.5 free": what the search actually turns up
Trial credits on new accounts, proxies that pool keys, and tutorials that put a browser SDK in front of the model with the viewer paying. None is a free GPT-5.5 API key, and the proxies put your prompts through someone else's account. A $10 top-up here is the honest floor; the per-request figures above say how far it goes.
Questions
Is there a free GPT-5.5 API key?
No. OpenAI bills GPT-5.5 per token, and so does every gateway that resells it. The videos that promise a free key route you to a trial credit or a proxy. Here the smallest way in is a $10 top-up, with no subscription and no expiry on the balance.
How much does the GPT-5.5 API cost?
On this key $1.80 in and $9.00 out per million tokens today, against OpenAI's list of $5.00 and $30.00; cached input $0.16. The figures are read from the catalog at render and are what you are billed.
Do I need an OpenAI account to get a GPT-5.5 API key?
Not here. The account is an email address and a prepaid top-up; the GPT ids answer the OpenAI chat format at https://api.relayswitch.io/v1, so the OpenAI SDK works unchanged with the base URL and key swapped.
Does GPT-5.5 here support tools, JSON mode and streaming?
Yes: the request and response shapes are the OpenAI ones, including tool calls, response_format and streamed chunks. The docs list the fields the gateway passes through.
Can I pay for the GPT-5.5 API with crypto?
Yes: USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, SOL to the same prepaid balance a card produces, with nothing added on the top-up and no identity check.
Originally published at https://relayswitch.io/blog/gpt-5-5-api-key.
Top comments (0)