# Decision 3.0 vs OpenAI Decisions API

> OpenAI Decisions scores 71.5 (BB) to Decision 3.0's 63.1 (B) for decision models. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/decision-3-vs-openai-decisions-api
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/decision-3-vs-openai-decisions-api.md (~2,750 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/decision-3-vs-openai-decisions-api.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/decision-3-vs-openai-decisions-api.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-12

OpenAI Decisions API scores 71.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Decision 3.0's 63.1 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Decision 3.0 leads on reliability, payments & pricing and maintenance & community. Both do decision models.

- Decision 3.0: grade B, 63.1/100, rank #413 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/decision-3.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/decision-3.json
- OpenAI Decisions API: grade BB, 71.5/100, rank #123 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-decisions-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-decisions-api.json
- Best decision models for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/decision-models/index.md
- All 105 decisions comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/decision-models/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Decision 3.0 (B)

Good for: Self-hosted typed decisions over screenshots, documents and short video as well as text, where open weights matter.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 58 against 53
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 30
- Maintenance & community, 82 against 77

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Open source

Watch for: Released on 10 October 2026, with five tagged releases of each model by 11 October

### OpenAI Decisions API (BB)

Good for: High-volume yes or no checks, routing among fixed options and rubric scoring over text and images, for teams already on an OpenAI key.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 89 against 70
- Agent ergonomics, 87 against 72
- Security & auth, 83 against 56
- Transparency & trust, 83 against 45

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install

Watch for: Public beta released on 6 October 2026. The guide expects general availability in the coming weeks and gives no date


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Decision 3.0 | OpenAI Decisions API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 58 | 53 | Decision 3.0 +5 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 89 | OpenAI Decisions API +19 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 87 | OpenAI Decisions API +15 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 56 | 83 | OpenAI Decisions API +27 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 30 | Decision 3.0 +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 77 | Decision 3.0 +5 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 45 | 83 | OpenAI Decisions API +38 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **63.1 · B** | **71.5 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Decision 3.0 | OpenAI Decisions API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | vLLM Semantic Router Team | OpenAI |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.openai.com/v1/decisions` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | None | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Pay per use |
| Price for decision models | free | $0.10 per 1M tokens |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 for the weights and the bundled runtime, built on Apache-2.0 Qwen3.5 and Qwen3.8 bases | Proprietary service under OpenAI's services agreement. The official SDKs are Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-06 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | none | 32k stars |

## Verdicts

**Decision 3.0.** Open Apache-2.0 decision models that read images and video as well as text and answer several typed questions in one call, with a probability per option and tagged Hub releases. They are two days old, need a GPU and `trust_remote_code`, drop Vela's set and span types, and publish no calibration figures.

**OpenAI Decisions API.** Typed predicate, choice and score answers with probabilities, up to 200 questions a call, at $0.10 per million input tokens with no output charge. It is a public beta released on 6 October 2026, with one model alias, no dated snapshot, no Batch route and no SLA found.

## Before you call either

### Decision 3.0

1. Pin a tag or commit with `revision=` when loading from the Hub. Each model had five tagged releases on 10 and 11 October
2. Send images and videos to `d3_server.py` as base64 data URLs only. The server refuses paths and http URLs with 422
3. Set `DECISION_API_KEY` before binding the bundled server beyond 127.0.0.1. It is open otherwise
4. Turn on `permutation_average=True` when routing must not depend on option order. It is off by default
5. Expect one request at a time from the bundled server. Use the router's model runtime for queued serving

### OpenAI Decisions API

1. Put independent questions about one input in a single `questions` array. Send a separate request when a question depends on an earlier answer
2. Check each answer's `type` before reading it. A question can come back as `refusal` while the others in the same request are answered
3. Encode images as base64 data URLs. Hosted URLs and `file_id` inputs are rejected
4. Give a `choice` question a fallback value such as `other`, and set thresholds from your own labelled examples
5. Use Python SDK 3.26.0 or JavaScript 7.30.0 or later, and follow `Retry-After` on 429 and 503

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Decision 3.0 or OpenAI Decisions API?

OpenAI Decisions API scores 71.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Decision 3.0's 63.1 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Decision 3.0 leads on reliability, payments & pricing and maintenance & community.

### Which is cheaper for decision models, Decision 3.0 or OpenAI Decisions API?

Decision 3.0, at free against $0.10 per 1M tokens for OpenAI Decisions API. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.

### Do Decision 3.0 and OpenAI Decisions API need an API key?

Decision 3.0 needs no key. OpenAI Decisions API needs an API key.

### Can an agent call Decision 3.0 and OpenAI Decisions API without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Decision 3.0. OpenAI Decisions API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.openai.com/v1/decisions.

### Are Decision 3.0 and OpenAI Decisions API open source?

Decision 3.0 is open source (Apache-2.0 for the weights and the bundled runtime, built on Apache-2.0 Qwen3.5 and Qwen3.8 bases). No open-source release is listed for OpenAI Decisions API.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/decision-3-vs-openai-decisions-api.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/decision-3-vs-openai-decisions-api.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "decision-3", "b": "openai-decisions-api"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare decision-3 openai-decisions-api`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/decision-3.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-decisions-api.json

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