ZMIME
Comparison · 3 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GPT-5.4 mini vs Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) vs Grok 4.3

Grok 4.3 comes out ahead, 56 to 53 and 49 on our weighted score.

  1. OpenAI

    GPT-5.4 mini

    Released Mar 17, 2026

    49/100
    • ECI148.8
    • Price$0.75 / $4.50
    • Context400K
  2. xAI

    Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)

    Released Mar 9, 2026

    53/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.25 / $2.50
    • Context1M
  3. Our pick

    xAI

    Grok 4.3

    Released Apr 17, 2026

    56/100
    • ECI149.2
    • Price$1.25 / $2.50
    • Context1M
01 — Verdict

Grok 4.3 is our pick

Grok 4.3 is the better all-round choice, scoring 56/100 against Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) (53) and GPT-5.4 mini (49). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) and Grok 4.3Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) $1.56 · Grok 4.3 $1.56 · GPT-5.4 mini $1.69 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) and Grok 4.3Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) 1,000,000 · Grok 4.3 1,000,000 · GPT-5.4 mini 400,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) and Grok 4.3GPT-5.4 mini: Text, Images · Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning): Text, Images, PDFs · Grok 4.3: Text, Images, PDFs
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGPT-5.4 miniGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)Grok 4.3
Price50%394141
Inputs & features30%707080
Context window20%446060
Overall100%49/10053/10056/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

GPT-5.4 mini vs Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) vs Grok 4.3 specifications side by side
SpecificationGPT-5.4 miniOpenAIGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)xAIGrok 4.3xAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)148.8—149.2 (best)
ECI rank#56 of 148—#55 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions86.9%—88.8% (best)
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics51.2% (best)—42.8%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics88.9%—93.3% (best)
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions29.4%—33.2% (best)
Price per million tokens
Input$0.75 (best)$1.25$1.25
Output$4.50$2.50 (best)$2.50 (best)
Cached input$0.075 (best)$0.20$0.20
Blended (3:1)$1.69$1.56 (best)$1.56 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateOver 200K: $2.50 / $5.00Over 200K: $2.50 / $5.00
Price sourceOfficial OpenAI APIOfficial xAI APIOfficial xAI API
Limits
Context window400,000 tokens1,000,000 tokens (best)1,000,000 tokens (best)
Max output128,000 tokens (best)30,000 tokens30,000 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYesYes
ImagesYesYesYes
PDFsNoYesYes
AudioNoNoNo
VideoNoNoNo
ReasoningYeslow · medium · high · xhighNoYeslow · medium · high
Tool callingYesYesYes
Structured outputYesYesYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietaryProprietary
API model IDgpt-5.4-minigrok-4.20-0309-non-reasoninggrok-4.3
API providers29 (best)1027
ReleasedMar 17, 2026Mar 9, 2026Apr 17, 2026
Knowledge cutoffAug 31, 2025——
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-5.4 mini$16.50
  • Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)$17.50
  • Grok 4.3$17.50
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GPT-5.4 mini, Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) or Grok 4.3?

Grok 4.3 is the better all-round choice, scoring 56/100 against Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) (53) and GPT-5.4 mini (49). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, GPT-5.4 mini, Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) or Grok 4.3?

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) is cheaper at $1.25 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (official xAI API price). Grok 4.3 costs $1.25 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (official xAI API price); GPT-5.4 mini costs $0.75 input / $4.50 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.56 per million tokens for Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) versus $1.56 for Grok 4.3 (1× as much) and $1.69 for GPT-5.4 mini (1.1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. GPT-5.4 mini has an ECI of 148.8, Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) has not been scored yet and Grok 4.3 has an ECI of 149.2.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-5.4 mini, Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) and Grok 4.3 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) and Grok 4.3 have the largest context windows (1,000,000 and 1,000,000 tokens), against 400,000 for GPT-5.4 mini. Maximum output per response: GPT-5.4 mini up to 128,000, Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) up to 30,000, Grok 4.3 up to 30,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GPT-5.4 mini accepts text and images; Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) accepts text, images and PDFs; Grok 4.3 accepts text, images and PDFs. Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. GPT-5.4 mini, Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) and Grok 4.3 are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Grok 4.3 is the newest, released Apr 17, 2026. GPT-5.4 mini came out Mar 17, 2026; Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) came out Mar 9, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-5.4 mini Aug 31, 2025.

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.