Solar Mini 4 vs Pareto
Solar Mini 4 comes out ahead, 64 to 33 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
UpstageSolar Mini 4
64/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.40
- Context524K
Unbiased
Pareto
33/100- ECI—
- Price$2.57 / $7.72
- Context262K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Solar Mini 4 is our pick
Solar Mini 4 is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Pareto (33). It leads on price and context window. Pareto wins 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 priceSolar Mini 4Solar Mini 4 $0.175 · Pareto $3.86 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextSolar Mini 4Solar Mini 4 524,288 · Pareto 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsParetoSolar Mini 4: Text · Pareto: Text, Images
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Solar Mini 4 | Pareto |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 82 | 21 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 45 | 50 |
| Context window | 20% | 49 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 64/100 | 33/100 |
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 | Solar Mini 4Upstage | ParetoUnbiased |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.10 (best) | $2.57 |
| Output | $0.40 (best) | $7.72 |
| Cached input | $0.01 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.175 (best) | $3.86 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Upstage API | Median of 2 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 524,288 tokens (best) | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · max | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | solar-mini4 | — |
| API providers | 4 (best) | 2 |
| Released | Sep 22, 2026 | Sep 17, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Feb 2026 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Solar Mini 4$1.80
- Pareto$41.16
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Solar Mini 4 or Pareto?
Solar Mini 4 is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Pareto (33). It leads on price and context window. Pareto wins 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, Solar Mini 4 or Pareto?
Solar Mini 4 is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Upstage API price). Pareto costs $2.57 input / $7.72 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.175 per million tokens for Solar Mini 4 versus $3.86 for Pareto (22× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Solar Mini 4 has not been scored yet and Pareto has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Solar Mini 4 and Pareto yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Solar Mini 4 has the largest context window at 524,288 tokens, against 262,144 for Pareto. Maximum output per response: Solar Mini 4 up to 131,072, Pareto up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Solar Mini 4 accepts text; Pareto accepts text and images. Pareto handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Solar Mini 4 and Pareto are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Solar Mini 4 is the newest, released Sep 22, 2026. Pareto came out Sep 17, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Solar Mini 4 Feb 2026.
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.
