GPT-4.1 vs o4-mini
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 · o4-mini specs- Priceo4-mini
o4-mini is roughly 1.8× cheaper on output tokens ($4.40 vs $8.00 per 1M).
- Context windowGPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K, 5.0× 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.
- ModalitiesTie
Both handle text, vision.
- OpennessTie
Both are closed-weight, API-only.
It's a genuine coin-flip between GPT-4.1 and o4-mini: 1 category wins each, with the rest tied. o4-mini is roughly 1.8× cheaper on output tokens ($4.40 vs $8.00 per 1M). GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K, 5.0× the room for long documents and codebases.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. Both target the same set of modalities (text, vision), so the deciding factors are price, context, and raw quality. Both are closed-weight, API-only.
Both shipped within roughly a month of each other in 2025, so they share the same generation of training data and tooling. GPT-4.1 is usually picked for long context and rag workloads, while o4-mini sees more deployments in reasoning and math. 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 | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | OpenAI |
| Released | Apr 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text, vision |
| Context window | 1M tokens | 200K tokens |
| Max output | 32.8K tokens | , |
| Input · 1M | $2.00 / 1M tokens | $1.10 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $8.00 / 1M tokens | $4.40 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-06 | 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 $9.90
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$180 vs $99.00
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$348 vs $191
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $18.00 vs $9.90 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $180 vs $99.00 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $348 vs $191 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
- o4-mini$0.330
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
- GPQA,81.4
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 200K for o4-mini.
o4-mini fits when…
- Strong reasoning at mid-tier price
- Fast for a thinking model
- Solid tool-use
- Cost-sensitive workloads, 1.8× 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 o4-mini cheaper?
o4-mini is cheaper at $4.40 / 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 200K for o4-mini.Is GPT-4.1 or o4-mini better for coding?
Both GPT-4.1 and o4-mini 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 o4-mini released?
GPT-4.1 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-14. o4-mini was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-16.
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