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GPT-4o mini vs Granite 3.1 2B

A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.

Updated

GPT-4o mini specs · Granite 3.1 2B specs
Verdict by category
  • PriceGPT-4o mini

    GPT-4o mini publishes pricing ($0.60 / 1M output tokens) while Granite 3.1 2B does not.

  • Context windowTie

    Both ship a 128K-token context window.

  • BenchmarksTie

    No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.

  • ModalitiesGPT-4o mini

    GPT-4o mini supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Granite 3.1 2B.

  • OpennessGranite 3.1 2B

    Granite 3.1 2B ships open weights (Apache-2.0); GPT-4o mini is API-only.

On balance GPT-4o mini edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against Granite 3.1 2B's 1. GPT-4o mini publishes pricing ($0.60 / 1M output tokens) while Granite 3.1 2B does not. Both ship a 128K-token context window.

No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, GPT-4o mini handles text, vision while Granite 3.1 2B handles text, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Granite 3.1 2B ships open weights (Apache-2.0); GPT-4o mini is API-only.

Granite 3.1 2B is the newer of the two, released 5 months after GPT-4o mini, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. GPT-4o mini is usually picked for customer support and summarization workloads, while Granite 3.1 2B sees more deployments in edge deployment and on device. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.

Side-by-side specs

SpecGPT-4o miniGranite 3.1 2B
ProviderOpenAIOther
ReleasedJul 2024Dec 2024
Modalitiestext, visiontext
Context window128K tokens128K tokens
Max output,,
Input · 1M$0.15 / 1M tokensPricing not published
Output · 1M$0.60 / 1M tokensPricing not published
Knowledge cutoff,,
Open weightsNoYes (Apache-2.0)
API availableYesYes

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$1.35 vs ,
  • Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$13.50 vs ,
  • RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$26.10 vs ,

Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).

Price calculator

Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • GPT-4o mini$0.045
  • Granite 3.1 2BPricing unavailable

Benchmarks compared

Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.

GPT-4o miniGranite 3.1 2B
  • MMLU82.0
Pick GPT-4o mini if

GPT-4o mini fits when…

  • Cheap
  • Fast
  • Mature
  • Multimodal needs covering vision.
Pick Granite 3.1 2B if

Granite 3.1 2B fits when…

  • Apache-2.0
  • Tiny enterprise model
  • Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Apache-2.0).
Don't want either?

Consider GPT-5.5

OpenAI's mid-cycle GPT-5 refresh, improved reasoning, tool use, and multimodal grounding over the 2025 launch.

See GPT-5.5 specsGPT-4o mini vs GPT-5.5Granite 3.1 2B vs GPT-5.5

Frequently asked

  • Is GPT-4o mini or Granite 3.1 2B cheaper?
    Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.
  • Which has the larger context window?
    Both GPT-4o mini and Granite 3.1 2B ship a 128K-token context window.
  • Is GPT-4o mini or Granite 3.1 2B better for coding?
    Both GPT-4o mini and Granite 3.1 2B 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?
    Granite 3.1 2B ships open weights (Apache-2.0). GPT-4o mini is API-only.
  • When were GPT-4o mini and Granite 3.1 2B released?
    GPT-4o mini was released by OpenAI on 2024-07-18. Granite 3.1 2B was released by Other on 2024-12-18.
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