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OpenAI vs Dolphin
OpenAI is the most widely adopted closed-model API. Dolphin serves uncensored open models on a new decentralized network at very low prices.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
OpenAI vs Dolphin: key differences
OpenAI spans GPT-6 Astra at $10 in and $50 out down to GPT-6 Luna at $0.10 in and $0.50 out, with 1.05M context, hosted tools, caching and Batch, and is also sold through Azure and Bedrock. Dolphin launched its API in October 2026 with one hosted model, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, at $0.01 in and $0.07 out, served on idle consumer GPUs. It publishes no speed, context or SLA, and signup needs a crypto wallet and Telegram.
OpenAI is the default for quality, tooling and enterprise purchasing. Dolphin fits cheap background calls where tail latency matters little, and products that need models without vendor-imposed refusals, which is the point of Dolphin's fine-tunes.
What OpenAI and Dolphin do
OpenAI
OpenAI runs the most widely adopted closed-model API. Its October 2026 lineup has GPT-6 Astra at the top for computer use, coding and long agentic runs, priced at $10 in and $50 out per million tokens. Below it sit GPT-6.1 Sol, the default for coding, research and computer use at $2 in and $10 out, and GPT-6 Luna for high-volume jobs at $0.10 in and $0.50 out. All three carry a 1.05M token context window with up to 128K output.
Example models: GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Luna
Full OpenAI profile
Dolphin
Dolphin began in 2023 as Eric Hartford's series of open-source, uncensored fine-tunes, trained to drop the refusals and baked-in guidelines of their base models so that the developer sets the rules through the system prompt. Current releases include Dolphin Llama 3.1 8B and Dolphin Mistral 24B Venice Edition, built with Venice, and the project publishes nearly 100 models on Hugging Face. It also runs a chat app, a Telegram bot and a synthetic data service that generates answers to commonly refused prompts.
Example models: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Dolphin Mistral 24B
Full Dolphin profileShould you choose OpenAI or Dolphin?
OpenAI vs Dolphin at a glance
| Attribute | OpenAI |  Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed, plus open gpt-oss | Open weights, uncensored fine-tunes |
| Flagship models | GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Luna | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Dolphin Mistral 24B |
| Speed | Fast mode; Ultrafast on GPT-6 Astra | Unknown |
| Price | $0.10–$10 in, $0.50–$50 out per 1M | $0.01 in, $0.07 out (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash) |
| Customization | N/A | Own uncensored fine-tunes |
| Deployment | API, Azure OpenAI, Bedrock | Decentralized serverless API |
| Long context | 1.05M; 2x input past 272K | Unknown |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between OpenAI and Dolphin?
OpenAI is the most widely adopted closed-model API. Dolphin serves uncensored open models on a new decentralized network at very low prices.
When should I choose OpenAI over Dolphin?
Frontier quality and long agent runs; Hosted tools and the Agents SDK; Enterprise buying through Azure or Bedrock.
When should I choose Dolphin over OpenAI?
Very cheap DeepSeek V4.1 Flash calls; Models without vendor-imposed refusals; Latency-tolerant background jobs.
Is OpenAI or Dolphin cheaper?
OpenAI: $0.10–$10 in, $0.50–$50 out per 1M. Dolphin: $0.01 in, $0.07 out (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash). The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Related comparisons
Running long-horizon agents?
If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious. Our inference stack treats a long-horizon trace as the primary workload, so speed, cost, and accuracy hold up deep into the trace.