ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 vs GPT-4.1 mini

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 comes out ahead, 67 to 59 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17

    Released Jun 17, 2025

    67/100
    • ECI133.8
    • Price$0.12 / $0.48
    • Context1.05M
  2. OpenAI

    GPT-4.1 mini

    Released Apr 14, 2025

    59/100
    • ECI134.9
    • Price$0.40 / $1.60
    • Context1.05M
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is our pick

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is the better all-round choice, scoring 67/100 against GPT-4.1 mini (59). It leads on price and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGPT-4.1 miniCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT-4.1 mini 134.9 · Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 133.8
  • Lowest priceGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 $0.21 · GPT-4.1 mini $0.70 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 1,048,576 · GPT-4.1 mini 1,047,576 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · GPT-4.1 mini: Text, Images, PDFs
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17GPT-4.1 mini
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%5758
Price25%7955
Inputs & features15%9070
Context window10%6161
Overall100%67/10059/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 vs GPT-4.1 mini specifications side by side
SpecificationGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17GoogleGPT-4.1 miniOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)133.8134.9 (best)
ECI rank#132 of 165#129 of 165 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions—65.9%
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics—6.7%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics—44.7%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions—12.7%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.12 (best)$0.40
Output$0.48 (best)$1.60
Cached input—$0.10
Blended (3:1)$0.21 (best)$0.70
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 2 providersOfficial OpenAI API
Limits
Context window1,048,576 tokens (best)1,047,576 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens (best)32,768 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsYesYes
AudioYesNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model ID—gpt-4.1-mini
API providers228 (best)
ReleasedJun 17, 2025Apr 14, 2025
Knowledge cutoffJan 2025Apr 2024
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17$2.16
  • GPT-4.1 mini$7.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 or GPT-4.1 mini?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is the better all-round choice, scoring 67/100 against GPT-4.1 mini (59). It leads on price and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 or GPT-4.1 mini?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is cheaper at $0.12 input / $0.48 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). GPT-4.1 mini costs $0.40 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.21 per million tokens for Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 versus $0.70 for GPT-4.1 mini (3.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GPT-4.1 mini scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-4.1 mini 134.9 (#129 of 165) and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 133.8 (#132 of 165). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (131.1–136.4 vs 130.1–136.1), so treat the gap as small.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 and GPT-4.1 mini yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT-4.1 mini leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Their context windows are effectively the same size: Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 1,048,576 and GPT-4.1 mini 1,047,576 tokens. Maximum output per response: Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 up to 65,536, GPT-4.1 mini up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; GPT-4.1 mini accepts text, images and PDFs. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 and GPT-4.1 mini are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is the newest, released Jun 17, 2025. GPT-4.1 mini came out Apr 14, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 Jan 2025, GPT-4.1 mini Apr 2024.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.