GPT-4o mini 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-4o mini specs · Mistral Medium specs- PriceGPT-4o mini
GPT-4o mini is roughly 3.3× cheaper on output tokens ($0.60 vs $2.00 per 1M).
- 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 Mistral Medium.
- OpennessTie
Both are closed-weight, API-only.
On balance GPT-4o mini edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against Mistral Medium's 0. GPT-4o mini is roughly 3.3× cheaper on output tokens ($0.60 vs $2.00 per 1M). 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 Mistral Medium handles text, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Both are closed-weight, API-only.
Mistral Medium 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 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-4o mini | Mistral Medium |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | Mistral |
| Released | Jul 2024 | Dec 2024 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text |
| Context window | 128K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Max output | , | , |
| Input · 1M | $0.15 / 1M tokens | $0.40 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $0.60 / 1M tokens | $2.00 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | , | , |
| 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$1.35 vs $4.20
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$13.50 vs $42.00
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$26.10 vs $72.00
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $1.35 vs $4.20 per month, model A comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $13.50 vs $42.00 per month, model A comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $26.10 vs $72.00 per month, model A 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-4o mini$0.045
- 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.
- MMLU82.0
GPT-4o mini fits when…
- Cheap
- Fast
- Mature
- Cost-sensitive workloads, 3.3× cheaper than Mistral Medium on output tokens.
- Multimodal needs covering vision.
Mistral Medium fits when…
- Mid-tier balance
- EU-friendly
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-4o mini or Mistral Medium cheaper?
GPT-4o mini is cheaper at $0.60 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $2.00 / 1M tokens for Mistral Medium.Which has the larger context window?
Both GPT-4o mini and Mistral Medium ship a 128K-token context window.Is GPT-4o mini or Mistral Medium better for coding?
Both GPT-4o mini 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-4o mini and Mistral Medium released?
GPT-4o mini was released by OpenAI on 2024-07-18. Mistral Medium was released by Mistral on 2024-12-18.
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