Last refreshed 2026-06-01. Next refresh: weekly.
Why use GPT-3.5 Turbo (Instruct) on Azure OpenAI?
Azure OpenAI offers GPT-3.5 Turbo (Instruct) with pay-as-you-go pricing at $1.50/1M input tokens. Azure OpenAI Service hosts OpenAI's GPT-4o, GPT-4, GPT-3.5, and embedding models on Microsoft Azure with enterprise SLAs.
Compare GPT-3.5 Turbo (Instruct) across 5 providers to find the best fit for your use caseSetup recipe
Python + curlpip install openaiexport AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=...import os
from openai import AzureOpenAI
client = AzureOpenAI(
azure_endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT"], # e.g. https://{resource}.openai.azure.comgpt-3.5-turbo-instructRequest example
import os
from openai import AzureOpenAI
client = AzureOpenAI(
azure_endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT"], # e.g. https://{resource}.openai.azure.com
api_key=os.environ["AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY"],
api_version="2024-02-01"
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct", # your deployment name
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)Gotchas
- gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct is your Azure deployment name, not the underlying model name. Deployment names are set when you deploy a model in Azure AI Foundry / Azure OpenAI Studio.
- The examples expect AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY; rename it only if your application config maps the new variable.
Compare GPT-3.5 Turbo (Instruct) Across Providers
| Provider | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) |
|---|---|---|
| Azure OpenAI | $1.50 | $2.00 |
| OpenAI API | $1.50 | $2.00 |
| Salesforce Einstein Generative AI | — | — |
| OpenRouter | $1.50 | $2.00 |
| Vercel AI Gateway | $1.50 | $2.00 |
Pricing
| Type | Price (per 1M) |
|---|---|
| Input tokens | $1.50 |
| Output tokens | $2.00 |
Capabilities
About GPT-3.5 Turbo (Instruct)
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct by OpenAI is designed to excel in precise instruction following and task completion, focusing on accuracy and clarity over conversational abilities. It offers key enhancements like efficient instruction adherence, reduced hallucination, and lower toxicity compared to previous models. Compatible with legacy completion endpoints, it retains the speed and affordability of the standard GPT-3.5 Turbo model while using a 4K context window and training data up to September 2021. Not specifically built for chat, it still supports diverse tasks like question answering, text completion, and code generation, aiming to enhance AI usability with safer and more accurate interactions.