Jamba Mini vs GPT-5 Chat
Jamba Mini comes out ahead, 57 to 34 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
AI21 LabsJamba Mini
57/100- ECI—
- Price$0.20 / $0.40
- Context256K
OpenAIGPT-5 Chat
34/100- ECI—
- Price$1.25 / $10.00
- Context400K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Jamba Mini is our pick
Jamba Mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against GPT-5 Chat (34). It leads on price. GPT-5 Chat wins on inputs & features and 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 priceJamba MiniJamba Mini $0.25 · GPT-5 Chat $3.44 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGPT-5 ChatGPT-5 Chat 400,000 · Jamba Mini 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGPT-5 ChatJamba Mini: Text · GPT-5 Chat: Text, Images
- Self-hostingJamba MiniPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Jamba Mini | GPT-5 Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 78 | 24 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 45 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 44 |
| Overall | 100% | 57/100 | 34/100 |
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 | Jamba MiniAI21 Labs | GPT-5 ChatOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.20 (best) | $1.25 |
| Output | $0.40 (best) | $10.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.25 (best) | $3.44 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official AI21 Labs API | Median of 2 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 400,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 4,096 tokens | 128,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | No |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | jamba-mini | — |
| API providers | 1 | 2 (best) |
| Released | Jan 1, 2026 | Aug 7, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Aug 22, 2024 | Sep 30, 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Jamba Mini$2.80
- GPT-5 Chat$32.50
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Jamba Mini or GPT-5 Chat?
Jamba Mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against GPT-5 Chat (34). It leads on price. GPT-5 Chat wins on inputs & features and 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, Jamba Mini or GPT-5 Chat?
Jamba Mini is cheaper at $0.20 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official AI21 Labs API price). GPT-5 Chat costs $1.25 input / $10.00 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.25 per million tokens for Jamba Mini versus $3.44 for GPT-5 Chat (14× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Jamba Mini has not been scored yet and GPT-5 Chat has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Jamba Mini and GPT-5 Chat 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 256,000 for Jamba Mini. Maximum output per response: Jamba Mini up to 4,096, GPT-5 Chat up to 128,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Jamba Mini accepts text; GPT-5 Chat accepts text and images. GPT-5 Chat handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Jamba Mini publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-5 Chat is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Jamba Mini is the newest, released Jan 1, 2026. GPT-5 Chat came out Aug 7, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Jamba Mini Aug 22, 2024, GPT-5 Chat Sep 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.
