openai-python
The official Python library for the OpenAI API
The Lens
This is the official SDK. It's the library that turns API calls into clean Python code. Instead of writing raw HTTP requests, you call `client.chat.completions.create` and get structured responses back.
What's free: The library itself is free. MIT license (technically Apache 2.0). Install with `pip install openai` and you're coding in 30 seconds. The library costs nothing.
The SDK is well-designed. Typed responses, async support, streaming, function calling, vision. Every API feature is available with clean Python interfaces. Actively maintained, usually updated within days of new API features launching.
The catch: the library is free but OpenAI's API is not. GPT-4o runs $2.50-10/million tokens depending on the model. A chatbot handling 1,000 conversations/day could cost $50-500/mo easily. And this SDK only works with OpenAI's API. If you want to switch providers later, you need to refactor. Consider using the OpenAI-compatible API format that many providers support, or a framework like LangChain that abstracts the provider.
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Free vs Self-Hosted vs Paid
fully free### What's Free The Python library. 100% free, Apache 2.0 license, no restrictions.
### What Costs Money (OpenAI API) This is a client library for a paid API. The real costs are the API calls: - **GPT-4o**: $2.50/1M input tokens, $10/1M output tokens - **GPT-4o-mini**: $0.15/1M input, $0.60/1M output - **Embeddings (text-embedding-3-small)**: $0.02/1M tokens - **DALL-E 3**: $0.04-0.12/image - **Whisper**: $0.006/minute of audio
### Realistic Monthly Costs - **Side project** (100 API calls/day, GPT-4o-mini): ~$5-15/mo - **Production app** (10,000 calls/day, GPT-4o): ~$200-800/mo - **Heavy usage** (100K+ calls/day): $2,000+/mo -- talk to OpenAI sales
### The Provider Lock-in Question This SDK only talks to OpenAI. If costs spike or you want to use Claude/Gemini/Llama, you'll need to refactor. Mitigation: many providers offer OpenAI-compatible endpoints, so the SDK works with minimal changes. Or use LangChain/LiteLLM for provider abstraction from day one.
### Free Tier OpenAI gives new accounts $5-18 in free credits (varies). After that, it's pay-as-you-go.
Library is free. OpenAI API is pay-per-use starting at $0.15/1M tokens. Budget $5-800/mo depending on usage.
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License: Apache License 2.0
Use freely. Patent grant included.
Commercial use: ✓ Yes
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