ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GPT-4.1 mini vs GPT-5 Mini

GPT-5 Mini comes out ahead, 65 to 60 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. OpenAI

    GPT-4.1 mini

    Released Apr 14, 2025

    60/100
    • ECI135.0
    • Price$0.40 / $1.60
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove GPT-4.1 mini
  2. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT-5 Mini

    Released Aug 7, 2025

    65/100
    • ECI145.5
    • Price$0.25 / $2.00
    • Context400K
    Full specs Remove GPT-5 Mini

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GPT-5 Mini is our pick

GPT-5 Mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 65/100 against GPT-4.1 mini (60). It leads on capability. GPT-4.1 mini wins on context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGPT-5 MiniCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5 Mini 145.5 · GPT-4.1 mini 135.0
  • Lowest priceGPT-5 MiniGPT-5 Mini $0.688 · GPT-4.1 mini $0.70 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini 1,047,576 · GPT-5 Mini 400,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini: Text, Images, PDFs · GPT-5 Mini: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGPT-4.1 miniGPT-5 Mini
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%5972
Price25%5758
Inputs & features15%7070
Context window10%6144
Overall100%60/10065/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

GPT-4.1 mini vs GPT-5 Mini specifications side by side
SpecificationGPT-4.1 miniOpenAIGPT-5 MiniOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)135.0145.5 (best)
ECI rank#115 of 148#77 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions65.9%75.0% (best)
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics6.7%46.7% (best)
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics44.7%86.7% (best)
SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues—64.7%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions12.7%21.6% (best)
Price per million tokens
Input$0.40$0.25 (best)
Output$1.60 (best)$2.00
Cached input$0.10$0.025 (best)
Blended (3:1)$0.70$0.688 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial OpenAI APIOfficial OpenAI API
Limits
Context window1,047,576 tokens (best)400,000 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens128,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsYesNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYesminimal · low · medium · high
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDgpt-4.1-minigpt-5-mini
API providers24 (best)23
ReleasedApr 14, 2025Aug 7, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2024May 30, 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.

  • GPT-4.1 mini$7.20
  • GPT-5 Mini$6.50
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GPT-4.1 mini or GPT-5 Mini?

GPT-5 Mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 65/100 against GPT-4.1 mini (60). It leads on capability. GPT-4.1 mini wins on context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 mini or GPT-5 Mini?

GPT-5 Mini is cheaper at $0.25 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). 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 $0.688 per million tokens for GPT-5 Mini versus $0.70 for GPT-4.1 mini (1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GPT-5 Mini scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5 Mini 145.5 (#77 of 148) and GPT-4.1 mini 135.0 (#115 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (143.6–147.0 vs 131.2–136.6), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-5 Mini 75.0%, GPT-4.1 mini 65.9%; FrontierMath Tiers 1–3 — GPT-5 Mini 46.7%, GPT-4.1 mini 6.7%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GPT-5 Mini 86.7%, GPT-4.1 mini 44.7%; SimpleQA Verified — GPT-5 Mini 21.6%, GPT-4.1 mini 12.7%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-4.1 mini yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT-5 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?

GPT-4.1 mini has the largest context window at 1,047,576 tokens, against 400,000 for GPT-5 Mini. Maximum output per response: GPT-4.1 mini up to 32,768, GPT-5 Mini up to 128,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GPT-4.1 mini accepts text, images and PDFs; GPT-5 Mini accepts text and images. GPT-4.1 mini handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. GPT-4.1 mini and GPT-5 Mini are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

GPT-5 Mini is the newest, released Aug 7, 2025. GPT-4.1 mini came out Apr 14, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-4.1 mini Apr 2024, GPT-5 Mini May 30, 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

Related comparisons