GPT-5 Chat vs o4-mini-deep-research
o4-mini-deep-research comes out ahead, 37 to 31 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
OpenAIGPT-5 Chat
31/100- ECI—
- Price$1.25 / $10.00
- Context400K
- Our pickOpenAI
o4-mini-deep-research
37/100- ECI—
- Price$1.80 / $7.20
- Context200K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
o4-mini-deep-research is our pick
o4-mini-deep-research is the better all-round choice, scoring 37/100 against GPT-5 Chat (31). It leads on price and inputs & features. GPT-5 Chat wins on context window. 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 priceo4-mini-deep-researcho4-mini-deep-research $3.15 · GPT-5 Chat $3.44 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGPT-5 ChatGPT-5 Chat 400,000 · o4-mini-deep-research 200,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsGPT-5 Chat: Text, Images · o4-mini-deep-research: Text, Images
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | GPT-5 Chat | o4-mini-deep-research |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 23 | 25 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 44 | 32 |
| Overall | 100% | 31/100 | 37/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | GPT-5 ChatOpenAI | o4-mini-deep-researchOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.25 (best) | $1.80 |
| Output | $10.00 | $7.20 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.44 | $3.15 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 5 providers | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 400,000 tokens (best) | 200,000 tokens |
| Max output | 128,000 tokens (best) | 100,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | No | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 5 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Aug 7, 2025 | Jun 26, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Sep 30, 2024 | May 2024 |
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 Chat$32.50
- o4-mini-deep-research$32.40
Which should you choose?
Which is better: GPT-5 Chat or o4-mini-deep-research?
o4-mini-deep-research is the better all-round choice, scoring 37/100 against GPT-5 Chat (31). It leads on price and inputs & features. GPT-5 Chat wins on context window. 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 Chat or o4-mini-deep-research?
o4-mini-deep-research is cheaper at $1.80 input / $7.20 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). GPT-5 Chat costs $1.25 input / $10.00 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $3.15 per million tokens for o4-mini-deep-research versus $3.44 for GPT-5 Chat (1.1× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. GPT-5 Chat has not been scored yet and o4-mini-deep-research has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-5 Chat and o4-mini-deep-research yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that GPT-5 Chat does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-5 Chat has the largest context window at 400,000 tokens, against 200,000 for o4-mini-deep-research. Maximum output per response: GPT-5 Chat up to 128,000, o4-mini-deep-research up to 100,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
GPT-5 Chat accepts text and images; o4-mini-deep-research accepts text and images. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
No. GPT-5 Chat and o4-mini-deep-research are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
GPT-5 Chat is the newest, released Aug 7, 2025. o4-mini-deep-research came out Jun 26, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-5 Chat Sep 30, 2024, o4-mini-deep-research May 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.
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