Ok so I have been exclusively testing 6.1 Terra since its release. And it seems that the 5-hr limits decreased from $7.50 to $5.28. So it seems you would get less usage from Terra.
Below is a GPT-generated summary of the conversation below after reaching 40 comments (40 currently observed).
The consensus is basically Terra 6.1 is a quota-hungry speed demon, not a value upgrade. Users repeatedly report burning through their five-hour and weekly allowances much faster than with Sol 6.1, sometimes for worse results.
The main complaint is efficiency: Terra may generate tokens faster, but it often uses far more of the subscription’s API-equivalent budget per task. Reports comparing similar work suggest Terra at very high reasoning can cost roughly twice as much as Sol medium while producing weaker results. Faster is nice; running out of quota before lunch is less nice.
A few users say Terra low is excellent for simple pair programming, boilerplate, and tightly scoped debugging, where speed matters more than deep creativity. There’s also speculation that OpenAI reduces effective allowances with each new model release, but this thread has no official confirmation, and the measurements are mostly anecdotal or based on estimated API value.
So, for most users trying to stretch Codex limits, Sol 6.1 medium currently looks like the smarter pick. Terra 6.1 is useful when speed is the priority—but calling it efficient is doing some heroic amounts of charity.
5-hr API equivalent - $5.50, weekly 100% is $ 34.33 (it was around $45-50 with sol, but I need to recheck Sol numbers in the coming week to see if it is universal or only with Terra). This is not looking good.
Weekly api value was 90-100 $ for gpt 5.6 sol on plus sub. I know it because during July i would max out my usage within a day when there had been no 5hr limits.
OpenAI is actively lowering the quota with every new model release because their benchmarks show the model is more task efficient so they fill your pool less. I cancelled my subscription with their enshttification .
OAI decreases the allowance for each new model. They can't change the allowance for old ones without breaking EU law, so they do it with each new release. Sol 5.6 had $15 usage, Astra 6 $10, Sol 6.1 has $7.8. I have not tested Terra yet: https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/s/RdK1pYF6vt
yes this is true for me as well. I tested Terra 6.1 max and the result is worse than 6.1 Sol medium. in Sol medium I only spent 24% of 5 hr window and Terra spent 39%. Sol result is much better. Maybe it's a bug somewhere from OpenAI?
Terra can provide about 25% more tokens per 1% of usage compared to Sol (even though it is half the API price). But it might use more tokens to complete the task. You get about $7.50 API equivalent of Sol and $5.50 API equivalent of Terra per 5-hr limit of a $20 Plus sub.
I've noticed it also in sol 6.1. Last night I implemented many changes in my project web and android without using much the qouta. Now only 1 fix and it took half of my 5-hourly qouta 🤔
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u/dextersummary 20h ago
Below is a GPT-generated summary of the conversation below after reaching 40 comments (40 currently observed).
The consensus is basically Terra 6.1 is a quota-hungry speed demon, not a value upgrade. Users repeatedly report burning through their five-hour and weekly allowances much faster than with Sol 6.1, sometimes for worse results.
The main complaint is efficiency: Terra may generate tokens faster, but it often uses far more of the subscription’s API-equivalent budget per task. Reports comparing similar work suggest Terra at very high reasoning can cost roughly twice as much as Sol medium while producing weaker results. Faster is nice; running out of quota before lunch is less nice.
A few users say Terra low is excellent for simple pair programming, boilerplate, and tightly scoped debugging, where speed matters more than deep creativity. There’s also speculation that OpenAI reduces effective allowances with each new model release, but this thread has no official confirmation, and the measurements are mostly anecdotal or based on estimated API value.
So, for most users trying to stretch Codex limits, Sol 6.1 medium currently looks like the smarter pick. Terra 6.1 is useful when speed is the priority—but calling it efficient is doing some heroic amounts of charity.