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Comparison · 3 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GPT-4.1 nano vs GPT-5 Nano vs Gemma 3 27B IT

GPT-5 Nano comes out ahead, 70 to 63 and 60 on our weighted score, though Gemma 3 27B IT is 20% cheaper per token.

  1. OpenAI

    GPT-4.1 nano

    Released Apr 14, 2025Deprecated

    63/100
    • ECI129.6
    • Price$0.10 / $0.40
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove GPT-4.1 nano
  2. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT-5 Nano

    Released Aug 7, 2025

    70/100
    • ECI139.4
    • Price$0.05 / $0.40
    • Context400K
    Full specs Remove GPT-5 Nano

  3. Google

    Gemma 3 27B IT

    Released Mar 12, 2025

    60/100
    • ECI130.0
    • Price$0.08 / $0.20
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Gemma 3 27B IT
01 — Verdict

GPT-5 Nano is our pick

GPT-5 Nano is the better all-round choice, scoring 70/100 against GPT-4.1 nano (63) and Gemma 3 27B IT (60). It leads on capability and inputs & features. GPT-4.1 nano wins on context window. Gemma 3 27B IT wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGPT-5 NanoCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5 Nano 139.4 · Gemma 3 27B IT 130.0 · GPT-4.1 nano 129.6
  • Lowest priceGemma 3 27B ITGemma 3 27B IT $0.11 · GPT-5 Nano $0.138 · GPT-4.1 nano $0.175 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-4.1 nanoGPT-4.1 nano 1,047,576 · GPT-5 Nano 400,000 · Gemma 3 27B IT 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsGPT-4.1 nano: Text, Images · GPT-5 Nano: Text, Images · Gemma 3 27B IT: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingGemma 3 27B ITPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGPT-4.1 nanoGPT-5 NanoGemma 3 27B IT
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%526553
Price25%869195
Inputs & features15%607050
Context window10%614424
Overall100%63/10070/10060/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

GPT-4.1 nano vs GPT-5 Nano vs Gemma 3 27B IT specifications side by side
SpecificationGPT-4.1 nanoOpenAIGPT-5 NanoOpenAIGemma 3 27B ITGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)129.6139.4 (best)130.0
ECI rank#127 of 148#102 of 148 (best)#125 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions48.9%69.4% (best)47.7%
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics—20.0%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics28.9%81.1% (best)22.5%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions6.0%11.7% (best)—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.10$0.05 (best)$0.08
Output$0.40$0.40$0.20 (best)
Cached input$0.025$0.005 (best)—
Blended (3:1)$0.175$0.138$0.11 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial OpenAI APIOfficial OpenAI APIMedian of 9 providers
Limits
Context window1,047,576 tokens (best)400,000 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens128,000 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYesYes
ImagesYesYesYes
PDFsNoNoNo
AudioNoNoNo
VideoNoNoNo
ReasoningNoYesminimal · low · medium · highNo
Tool callingYesYesYes
Structured outputYesYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietaryOpen
API model IDgpt-4.1-nanogpt-5-nano—
API providers2021 (best)10
ReleasedApr 14, 2025Aug 7, 2025Mar 12, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2024May 30, 2024Aug 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 nano$1.80
  • GPT-5 Nano$1.30
  • Gemma 3 27B IT$1.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GPT-4.1 nano, GPT-5 Nano or Gemma 3 27B IT?

GPT-5 Nano is the better all-round choice, scoring 70/100 against GPT-4.1 nano (63) and Gemma 3 27B IT (60). It leads on capability and inputs & features. GPT-4.1 nano wins on context window. Gemma 3 27B IT wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 nano, GPT-5 Nano or Gemma 3 27B IT?

Gemma 3 27B IT is cheaper at $0.08 input / $0.20 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers). GPT-5 Nano costs $0.05 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price); GPT-4.1 nano costs $0.10 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.11 per million tokens for Gemma 3 27B IT versus $0.138 for GPT-5 Nano (1.3× as much) and $0.175 for GPT-4.1 nano (1.6× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GPT-5 Nano scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5 Nano 139.4 (#102 of 148), Gemma 3 27B IT 130.0 (#125 of 148) and GPT-4.1 nano 129.6 (#127 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (134.9–141.7 vs 124.1–132.2), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-5 Nano 69.4%, GPT-4.1 nano 48.9%, Gemma 3 27B IT 47.7%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GPT-5 Nano 81.1%, GPT-4.1 nano 28.9%, Gemma 3 27B IT 22.5%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-4.1 nano, GPT-5 Nano and Gemma 3 27B IT yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT-5 Nano leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

GPT-4.1 nano has the largest context window at 1,047,576 tokens, against 400,000 for GPT-5 Nano and 131,072 for Gemma 3 27B IT. Maximum output per response: GPT-4.1 nano up to 32,768, GPT-5 Nano up to 128,000, Gemma 3 27B IT up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GPT-4.1 nano accepts text and images; GPT-5 Nano accepts text and images; Gemma 3 27B IT accepts text and images. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Gemma 3 27B IT publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-4.1 nano and GPT-5 Nano is proprietary.

Which is newer?

GPT-5 Nano is the newest, released Aug 7, 2025. GPT-4.1 nano came out Apr 14, 2025; Gemma 3 27B IT came out Mar 12, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-4.1 nano Apr 2024, GPT-5 Nano May 30, 2024, Gemma 3 27B IT Aug 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

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