MiniMax-M2.5 vs GPT-4.1 mini vs GPT-5.4 nano
GPT-5.4 nano comes out ahead, 68 to 61 and 60 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
MiniMaxMiniMax-M2.5
61/100- ECI146.7
- Price$0.30 / $1.20
- Context205K
OpenAIGPT-4.1 mini
60/100- ECI135.0
- Price$0.40 / $1.60
- Context1.05M
- Our pickOpenAI
GPT-5.4 nano
68/100- ECI145.8
- Price$0.20 / $1.25
- Context400K
GPT-5.4 nano is our pick
GPT-5.4 nano is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against MiniMax-M2.5 (61) and GPT-4.1 mini (60). It leads on price. GPT-4.1 mini wins on context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityMiniMax-M2.5Capabilities Index (ECI): MiniMax-M2.5 146.7 · GPT-5.4 nano 145.8 · GPT-4.1 mini 135.0
- Lowest priceGPT-5.4 nanoGPT-5.4 nano $0.463 · MiniMax-M2.5 $0.525 · GPT-4.1 mini $0.70 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini 1,047,576 · GPT-5.4 nano 400,000 · MiniMax-M2.5 204,800 tokens
- Widest inputsGPT-4.1 miniMiniMax-M2.5: Text · GPT-4.1 mini: Text, Images, PDFs · GPT-5.4 nano: Text, Images
- Self-hostingMiniMax-M2.5Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | MiniMax-M2.5 | GPT-4.1 mini | GPT-5.4 nano |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 74 | 59 | 73 |
| Price | 25% | 63 | 57 | 66 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 35 | 70 | 70 |
| Context window | 10% | 32 | 61 | 44 |
| Overall | 100% | 61/100 | 60/100 | 68/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | MiniMax-M2.5MiniMax | GPT-4.1 miniOpenAI | GPT-5.4 nanoOpenAI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 146.7 (best) | 135.0 | 145.8 |
| ECI rank | #66 of 148 (best) | #115 of 148 | #75 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | — | 65.9% | 78.5% (best) |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | — | 6.7% | 44.9% (best) |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | — | 44.7% | 87.8% (best) |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | — | 12.7% (best) | 11.7% |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.30 | $0.40 | $0.20 (best) |
| Output | $1.20 (best) | $1.60 | $1.25 |
| Cached input | $0.03 | $0.10 | $0.02 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.525 | $0.70 | $0.463 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official MiniMax (minimax.io) API | Official OpenAI API | Official OpenAI API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 204,800 tokens | 1,047,576 tokens (best) | 400,000 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No | Yeslow · medium · high · xhigh |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | MiniMax-M2.5 | gpt-4.1-mini | gpt-5.4-nano |
| API providers | 21 | 24 | 26 (best) |
| Released | Feb 12, 2026 | Apr 14, 2025 | Mar 17, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Apr 2024 | Aug 31, 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- MiniMax-M2.5$5.40
- GPT-4.1 mini$7.20
- GPT-5.4 nano$4.50
Which should you choose?
Which is better: MiniMax-M2.5, GPT-4.1 mini or GPT-5.4 nano?
GPT-5.4 nano is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against MiniMax-M2.5 (61) and GPT-4.1 mini (60). It leads on price. GPT-4.1 mini wins on context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, MiniMax-M2.5, GPT-4.1 mini or GPT-5.4 nano?
GPT-5.4 nano is cheaper at $0.20 input / $1.25 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). MiniMax-M2.5 costs $0.30 input / $1.20 output per million tokens (official MiniMax (minimax.io) API price); GPT-4.1 mini costs $0.40 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.463 per million tokens for GPT-5.4 nano versus $0.525 for MiniMax-M2.5 (1.1× as much) and $0.70 for GPT-4.1 mini (1.5× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
MiniMax-M2.5 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): MiniMax-M2.5 146.7 (#66 of 148), GPT-5.4 nano 145.8 (#75 of 148) and GPT-4.1 mini 135.0 (#115 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (142.3–147.9 vs 143.2–147.7), so treat the gap as small.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for MiniMax-M2.5, GPT-4.1 mini and GPT-5.4 nano yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, MiniMax-M2.5 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 mini has the largest context window at 1,047,576 tokens, against 400,000 for GPT-5.4 nano and 204,800 for MiniMax-M2.5. Maximum output per response: MiniMax-M2.5 up to 131,072, GPT-4.1 mini up to 32,768, GPT-5.4 nano up to 128,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
MiniMax-M2.5 accepts text; GPT-4.1 mini accepts text, images and PDFs; GPT-5.4 nano accepts text and images. GPT-4.1 mini handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
MiniMax-M2.5 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-4.1 mini and GPT-5.4 nano is proprietary.
Which is newer?
GPT-5.4 nano is the newest, released Mar 17, 2026. MiniMax-M2.5 came out Feb 12, 2026; GPT-4.1 mini came out Apr 14, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-4.1 mini Apr 2024, GPT-5.4 nano 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.
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