reasoning
O4 Mini vs Gpt 4.1 Mini
Side-by-side pricing, context window, features, and per-use-case verdict. Data sourced from LiteLLM, updated regularly.
Specifications
| Feature | O4 Mini | Gpt 4.1 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | openai | openai |
| Model ID | o4-mini | gpt-4.1-mini |
| Input / 1M tokens | $1.10 | $0.40 (64% cheaper) |
| Output / 1M tokens | $4.40 | $1.60 (64% cheaper) |
| Cached input / 1M | $0.28 | $0.10 |
| Context window | 200kk tokens | 1048kk tokens |
| Max output | 100kk tokens | 33kk tokens |
| Vision | ✅ | ✅ |
| Function calling | ✅ | ✅ |
| Prompt caching | ✅ | ✅ |
| Web search | ✅ | ✅ |
| JSON schema | ✅ | ✅ |
Monthly cost comparison
No cache discount applied — pure token costs at three usage scales.
| Scale | O4 Mini | Gpt 4.1 Mini | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small 1M in / 0.2M out | $1.98 | $0.72 | Gpt 4.1 Mini saves 64% |
| Medium 10M in / 2M out | $19.80 | $7.20 | Gpt 4.1 Mini saves 64% |
| Large 100M in / 20M out | $198 | $72.00 | Gpt 4.1 Mini saves 64% |
Category winners
Cheapest input
Gpt 4.1 Mini
$0.40/M
· 64% less than the other
Cheapest output
Gpt 4.1 Mini
$1.60/M
· 64% less than the other
Larger context
Gpt 4.1 Mini
1048kk tokens · 424% larger window
More features
O4 Mini
5 / 5 capabilities
(tied)
Better for…
High-volume RAG & repeated context
$0.10/M cached input — prompt caching makes repeated context retrieval significantly cheaper
Gpt 4.1 Mini
Short interactions & high-throughput APIs
$1.60/M output — 64% cheaper on output at scale
Gpt 4.1 Mini
Long-document processing & large codebases
1048k context window vs 200k — 424% larger context
Gpt 4.1 Mini
Cost-sensitive production at scale
$72.00/month at 100M-token scale — 64% cheaper than the alternative
Gpt 4.1 Mini
Deep-dive on each model
Pricing data sourced from LiteLLM and refreshed regularly. Always verify with each provider's official pricing page before making business decisions.