28 August 2026
OpenAI price cuts boosted token usage multiples in two months
First reported
TLDR AI ran this on .
- OpenAI reduced prices for Luna and Terra tokens between July and August, causing Luna usage to jump 13.8 times and Terra usage to rise 5.6 times.
- Most of the usage increase came from people switching from competing AI services rather than existing OpenAI customers using more.
- About one-third of customers who started using the discounted tokens continued paying for them after prices returned to normal levels.
How it was covered
TLDR AITLDR editorial team
OpenAI's price cuts between July and August increased Luna token usage 13.8x and Terra usage 5.6x, with gains primarily coming from competitors rather than internal cannibalization, and nearly a third of discount users continuing after prices returned to normal.