GPT-4.1 vs Mistral Medium
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
GPT-4.1 specs · Mistral Medium specs- PriceMistral Medium
Mistral Medium is roughly 4.0× cheaper on output tokens ($2.00 vs $8.00 per 1M).
- Context windowGPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 128K, 7.8× the room for long documents and codebases.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesGPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Mistral Medium.
- OpennessTie
Both are closed-weight, API-only.
On balance GPT-4.1 edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against Mistral Medium's 1. Mistral Medium is roughly 4.0× cheaper on output tokens ($2.00 vs $8.00 per 1M). GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 128K, 7.8× the room for long documents and codebases.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, GPT-4.1 handles text, vision while Mistral Medium handles text, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Both are closed-weight, API-only.
GPT-4.1 is the newer of the two, released 4 months after Mistral Medium, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. GPT-4.1 is usually picked for long context and rag workloads, while Mistral Medium sees more deployments in customer support and chatbots. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | GPT-4.1 | Mistral Medium |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | Mistral |
| Released | Apr 2025 | Dec 2024 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text |
| Context window | 1M tokens | 128K tokens |
| Max output | 32.8K tokens | , |
| Input · 1M | $2.00 / 1M tokens | $0.40 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $8.00 / 1M tokens | $2.00 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-06 | , |
| Open weights | No | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
Pricing at scale
What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day$18.00 vs $4.20
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$180 vs $42.00
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$348 vs $72.00
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $18.00 vs $4.20 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $180 vs $42.00 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $348 vs $72.00 per month, model B comes out ahead.
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- GPT-4.1$0.600
- Mistral Medium$0.140
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
- MMLU86.2
- HumanEval90.6
GPT-4.1 fits when…
- 1M-token context window, strong for long-doc workloads
- Mature SDK and tooling integrations
- Reliable JSON-mode and function-calling
- Long-context tasks, handles 1M tokens vs 128K for Mistral Medium.
- Multimodal needs covering vision.
Mistral Medium fits when…
- Mid-tier balance
- EU-friendly
- Cost-sensitive workloads, 4.0× cheaper than GPT-4.1 on output tokens.
Consider GPT-5.5
OpenAI's mid-cycle GPT-5 refresh, improved reasoning, tool use, and multimodal grounding over the 2025 launch.
Frequently asked
Is GPT-4.1 or Mistral Medium cheaper?
Mistral Medium is cheaper at $2.00 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $8.00 / 1M tokens for GPT-4.1.Which has the larger context window?
GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 128K for Mistral Medium.Is GPT-4.1 or Mistral Medium better for coding?
Both GPT-4.1 and Mistral Medium are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.Are either of these models open source?
Neither model ships open weights, both are accessible only via their respective providers' APIs.When were GPT-4.1 and Mistral Medium released?
GPT-4.1 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-14. Mistral Medium was released by Mistral on 2024-12-18.
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