ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GPT-5 Mini vs GPT-5.4 mini

Too close to call on our weighted score (GPT-5 Mini 65, GPT-5.4 mini 63). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. OpenAI

    GPT-5 Mini

    Released Aug 7, 2025

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

  2. OpenAI

    GPT-5.4 mini

    Released Mar 17, 2026

    63/100
    • ECI148.8
    • Price$0.75 / $4.50
    • Context400K
    Full specs Remove GPT-5.4 mini

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01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (GPT-5 Mini 65/100, GPT-5.4 mini 63/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: GPT-5.4 mini for raw capability and GPT-5 Mini on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGPT-5.4 miniCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.4 mini 148.8 · GPT-5 Mini 145.5
  • Lowest priceGPT-5 MiniGPT-5 Mini $0.688 · GPT-5.4 mini $1.69 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameGPT-5 Mini 400,000 · GPT-5.4 mini 400,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsGPT-5 Mini: Text, Images · GPT-5.4 mini: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGPT-5 MiniGPT-5.4 mini
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%7277
Price25%5839
Inputs & features15%7070
Context window10%4444
Overall100%65/10063/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

GPT-5 Mini vs GPT-5.4 mini specifications side by side
SpecificationGPT-5 MiniOpenAIGPT-5.4 miniOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)145.5148.8 (best)
ECI rank#77 of 148#56 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions75.0%86.9% (best)
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics46.7%51.2% (best)
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics86.7%88.9% (best)
SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues64.7%—
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions21.6%29.4% (best)
Price per million tokens
Input$0.25 (best)$0.75
Output$2.00 (best)$4.50
Cached input$0.025 (best)$0.075
Blended (3:1)$0.688 (best)$1.69
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial OpenAI APIOfficial OpenAI API
Limits
Context window400,000 tokens400,000 tokens
Max output128,000 tokens128,000 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesminimal · low · medium · highYeslow · medium · high · xhigh
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDgpt-5-minigpt-5.4-mini
API providers2329 (best)
ReleasedAug 7, 2025Mar 17, 2026
Knowledge cutoffMay 30, 2024Aug 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 Mini$6.50
  • GPT-5.4 mini$16.50
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GPT-5 Mini or GPT-5.4 mini?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (GPT-5 Mini 65/100, GPT-5.4 mini 63/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: GPT-5.4 mini for raw capability and GPT-5 Mini on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, GPT-5 Mini or GPT-5.4 mini?

GPT-5 Mini is cheaper at $0.25 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (official OpenAI 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 $0.688 per million tokens for GPT-5 Mini versus $1.69 for GPT-5.4 mini (2.5× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GPT-5.4 mini scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.4 mini 148.8 (#56 of 148) and GPT-5 Mini 145.5 (#77 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (147.1–150.5 vs 143.6–147.0), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-5.4 mini 86.9%, GPT-5 Mini 75.0%; FrontierMath Tiers 1–3 — GPT-5.4 mini 51.2%, GPT-5 Mini 46.7%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GPT-5.4 mini 88.9%, GPT-5 Mini 86.7%; SimpleQA Verified — GPT-5.4 mini 29.4%, GPT-5 Mini 21.6%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-5.4 mini yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT-5.4 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-5 Mini and GPT-5.4 mini share the same 400,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: GPT-5 Mini up to 128,000, GPT-5.4 mini up to 128,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GPT-5 Mini accepts text and images; GPT-5.4 mini accepts text and images. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

No. GPT-5 Mini and GPT-5.4 mini are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

GPT-5.4 mini is the newest, released Mar 17, 2026. GPT-5 Mini came out Aug 7, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-5 Mini May 30, 2024, 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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