GPT-4o-mini vs GPT-5 Mini

API pricing, context window and capabilities for GPT-4o-mini and GPT-5 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 and on Terminal-Bench. GPT-5 Mini wins on intelligence and on context window.

Price
GPT-4o-mini
Terminal-Bench
GPT-4o-mini
Intelligence
GPT-5 Mini
Context window
GPT-5 Mini

Key takeaways

who wins on what, from the published numbers

GPT-4o-mini wins

  • Cheaper input ($0.15 vs $0.25 /1M)
  • Cheaper output ($0.60 vs $1.20 /1M)

GPT-5 Mini wins

  • Larger context window (131K vs 1M)
  • Higher max output (16K vs 128K)
  • More serving providers (6 vs 9)
  • Has reasoning mode
  • Has web search
Cheaper overall
GPT-4o-mini
$0.15 + $0.60 /1M
Larger context
GPT-5 Mini
1M
More providers
GPT-5 Mini
9 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-4o-miniGPT-5 Mini
Input $/1M$0.15via OpenAI best$0.25via Databricks
Output $/1M$0.60via OpenAI best$1.20via Snowflake
Context window131K 1M best
Max output16K 128K best
Serving providers6 9 best
DateReleased Jul 18, 2024 Released Aug 7, 2025

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores, side by side
GPT-4o-miniGPT-5 Mini
Intelligence6.7 16.8 best
Terminal-Bench6% best4%
GPQA Diamond43% 83% best
Output speed120 t/s 155 t/s best
Latency (TTFT)0.84s best49.51s

Cost calculator

choose a serving route for each side
Input tokens / month
Output tokens / month
GPT-4o-mini
via Gmi
$1.35
GPT-5 Mini
via Databricks
$3.25

Capabilities

feature support, side by side
FeatureGPT-4o-miniGPT-5 Mini
Vision✓✓
Tool use✓✓
Reasoning—✓
Audio——
Prompt caching✓✓
Structured output✓✓
Web search—✓

Related comparisons

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper, GPT-4o-mini or GPT-5 Mini?
GPT-4o-mini is cheaper for input ($0.15 vs $0.25 per 1M tokens) from OpenAI. GPT-4o-mini is cheaper for output ($0.60 vs $1.20 per 1M tokens) from OpenAI.
What is the context window difference between GPT-4o-mini and GPT-5 Mini?
GPT-4o-mini has a 131K-token context window and GPT-5 Mini has 1M tokens, so GPT-5 Mini can take a larger prompt.
How do GPT-4o-mini and GPT-5 Mini compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked benchmarks, GPT-4o-mini leads on Terminal-Bench, and GPT-5 Mini leads on intelligence.
Listed prices from LiteLLM, OpenRouter and Vercel · last checked Oct 14, 2026

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