# OpenAI Decisions API vs pplx-decider

> OpenAI Decisions scores 71.5 (BB) to pplx-decider's 62.9 (B) for decision models. pplx-decider is cheaper for decision models, $0 against $0.10 per 1M tokens. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-decisions-api-vs-pplx-decider
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-decisions-api-vs-pplx-decider.md (~2,600 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-decisions-api-vs-pplx-decider.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-decisions-api-vs-pplx-decider.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: 2026-10-09

OpenAI Decisions API scores 71.5 (BB) on agent readiness against pplx-decider's 62.9 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. pplx-decider leads on reliability. Both do decision models. pplx-decider is cheaper for decision models, $0 against $0.10 per 1M tokens.

- OpenAI Decisions API: grade BB, 71.5/100, rank #124 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-decisions-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-decisions-api.json
- pplx-decider: grade B, 62.9/100, rank #417 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pplx-decider.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/pplx-decider.json
- Best decision models for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/decision-models/index.md
- All 66 decisions comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/decision-models/index.md

## Which one, for what

### 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:
- Agent ergonomics, 87 against 76
- Security & auth, 83 against 61
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 25
- Maintenance & community, 77 against 62
- Transparency & trust, 83 against 52

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

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

### pplx-decider (B)

Good for: High-volume classification, routing and rubric scoring over text and images where a team wants a low hosted price and the option to run the same weights itself.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 61 against 53

Also in its favour:
- Cheaper for decision models, $0 against $0.10 per 1M tokens

Watch for: The Decisions API was released in October 2026, so its incident record is days long, and Perplexity's FAQ says it gives no uptime guarantee


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | OpenAI Decisions API | pplx-decider | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 53 | 61 | pplx-decider +8 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 89 | 90 | pplx-decider +1 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 76 | OpenAI Decisions API +11 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 83 | 61 | OpenAI Decisions API +22 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 25 | OpenAI Decisions API +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 62 | OpenAI Decisions API +15 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 52 | OpenAI Decisions API +31 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **71.5 · BB** | **62.9 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | OpenAI Decisions API | pplx-decider |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | OpenAI | Perplexity |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.openai.com/v1/decisions` | `https://api.perplexity.ai/v1/decisions` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| Price for decision models | $0.10 per 1M tokens | free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under OpenAI's services agreement. The official SDKs are Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 for the published weights. The hosted Decisions API is a proprietary service |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-05 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 32k stars | none |

## Verdicts

**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.

**pplx-decider.** The hosted Decisions API has an OpenAPI description, typed questions, documented limits and a published price of $0.02 per million input tokens, and the v1.1 weights are public under Apache-2.0. The API is days old, the official Python SDK has no method for it, and the governing terms and privacy notice could not be read on 9 October 2026.

## Before you call either

### 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

### pplx-decider

1. Send `Authorization: Bearer`. A key in `x-api-key` returns 401 on this endpoint.
2. Set `model` on every request. A missing or unknown model returns 400, and the guide shows a `-latest` name rejected.
3. Resize images to 2,048 tiles of 32 by 32 pixels or fewer before sending. Larger images end in a 504 after about a minute.
4. Check the HTTP status before parsing an error. 404 and 405 have empty bodies, 504 can be HTML, and `error.code` changes type.
5. For the weights, use the repository's `autojev` code. The card says default causal inference does not reproduce the evaluated setup.

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, OpenAI Decisions API or pplx-decider?

OpenAI Decisions API scores 71.5 (BB) on agent readiness against pplx-decider's 62.9 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. pplx-decider leads on reliability.

### Which is cheaper for decision models, OpenAI Decisions API or pplx-decider?

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

### Do OpenAI Decisions API and pplx-decider need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call OpenAI Decisions API and pplx-decider without installing anything?

Yes. OpenAI Decisions API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.openai.com/v1/decisions and pplx-decider at https://api.perplexity.ai/v1/decisions.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with OpenAI Decisions API or pplx-decider

- [Celeris-1 Decision vs OpenAI Decisions API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/celeris-1-decision-vs-openai-decisions-api.md)
- [Celeris-1 Decision vs pplx-decider](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/celeris-1-decision-vs-pplx-decider.md)
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- [Decider vs OpenAI Decisions API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/decider-vs-openai-decisions-api.md)
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- [Liquid d1 vs OpenAI Decisions API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/liquid-d1-vs-openai-decisions-api.md)
- [Liquid d1 vs pplx-decider](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/liquid-d1-vs-pplx-decider.md)
- [OpenAI Decisions API vs Strands Decider 2B](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-decisions-api-vs-strands-decider.md)
- [OpenAI Decisions API vs Jev](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-decisions-api-vs-typesafe-jev.md)
- [OpenAI Decisions API vs Vela 2.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-decisions-api-vs-vela.md)
- [pplx-decider vs Strands Decider 2B](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pplx-decider-vs-strands-decider.md)
- [pplx-decider vs Jev](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pplx-decider-vs-typesafe-jev.md)
- [pplx-decider vs Vela 2.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pplx-decider-vs-vela.md)