GPT-3.5 Turbo vs GPT-4o-mini

API pricing, context window and capabilities for GPT-3.5 Turbo and GPT-4o-mini, side by side. Prices are the cheapest listed serving route per 1M tokens, from LiteLLM and OpenRouter.

Verdict

computed from the published numbers

GPT-4o-mini wins on price, on intelligence and on context window. Benchmark data is unavailable for one or both models.

Price
GPT-4o-mini
Terminal-Bench
Not called
Intelligence
GPT-4o-mini
Context window
GPT-4o-mini

Key takeaways

who wins on what, from the published numbers

GPT-3.5 Turbo wins

No clear edge on the tracked metrics.

GPT-4o-mini wins

  • Cheaper input ($0.50 vs $0.15 /1M)
  • Cheaper output ($1.50 vs $0.60 /1M)
  • Larger context window (16K vs 131K)
  • Higher max output (4K vs 16K)
  • More serving providers (4 vs 6)
  • Supports vision
  • Supports structured output
Cheaper overall
GPT-4o-mini
$0.15 + $0.60 /1M
Larger context
GPT-4o-mini
131K
More providers
GPT-4o-mini
6 providers

Pricing & specs

cheapest listed route · per 1M tokens
On-demand listed rates, OpenRouter routed quotes and Vercel reseller quotes. Enterprise commitments can be materially lower.
GPT-3.5 TurboGPT-4o-mini
Input $/1M$0.50via OpenAI $0.15via OpenAI best
Output $/1M$1.50via OpenAI $0.60via OpenAI best
Context window16K 131K best
Max output4K 16K best
Serving providers4 6 best
DateFirst listed Sep 2023 Released Jul 18, 2024

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores, side by side
GPT-3.5 TurboGPT-4o-mini
Intelligence5.5 6.7 best
Terminal-BenchNot available 6%
GPQA Diamond30% 43% best
Output speedNot available 120 t/s
Latency (TTFT)Not available 0.84s

Cost calculator

choose a serving route for each side
Input tokens / month
Output tokens / month
GPT-3.5 Turbo
via Azure
$4.00
GPT-4o-mini
via Gmi
$1.35

Capabilities

feature support, side by side
FeatureGPT-3.5 TurboGPT-4o-mini
Vision—✓
Tool use✓✓
Reasoning——
Audio——
Prompt caching✓✓
Structured output—✓
Web search——

Related comparisons

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper, GPT-3.5 Turbo or GPT-4o-mini?
GPT-4o-mini is cheaper for input ($0.50 vs $0.15 per 1M tokens) from OpenAI. GPT-4o-mini is cheaper for output ($1.50 vs $0.60 per 1M tokens) from OpenAI.
What is the context window difference between GPT-3.5 Turbo and GPT-4o-mini?
GPT-3.5 Turbo has a 16K-token context window and GPT-4o-mini has 131K tokens, so GPT-4o-mini can take a larger prompt.
How do GPT-3.5 Turbo and GPT-4o-mini compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked benchmarks, GPT-4o-mini leads on intelligence.
Listed prices from LiteLLM, OpenRouter and Vercel · last checked Oct 14, 2026

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