LLM·Dex
Newsletter

GPT-4o mini vs Yi-Lightning

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 · Yi-Lightning specs
Verdict by category
  • PriceYi-Lightning

    Yi-Lightning is roughly 4.3× cheaper on output tokens ($0.14 vs $0.60 per 1M).

  • Context windowGPT-4o mini

    GPT-4o mini accepts 128K tokens vs 16K, 8.0× 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.

  • ModalitiesGPT-4o mini

    GPT-4o mini supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Yi-Lightning.

  • OpennessTie

    Both are closed-weight, API-only.

On balance GPT-4o mini edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against Yi-Lightning's 1. Yi-Lightning is roughly 4.3× cheaper on output tokens ($0.14 vs $0.60 per 1M). GPT-4o mini accepts 128K tokens vs 16K, 8.0× the room for long documents and codebases.

No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, GPT-4o mini handles text, vision while Yi-Lightning handles text, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Both are closed-weight, API-only.

Yi-Lightning is the newer of the two, released 3 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 Yi-Lightning sees more deployments in chinese llm and cheapest llm. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.

Side-by-side specs

SpecGPT-4o miniYi-Lightning
ProviderOpenAIOther
ReleasedJul 2024Oct 2024
Modalitiestext, visiontext
Context window128K tokens16K tokens
Max output,,
Input · 1M$0.15 / 1M tokens$0.14 / 1M tokens
Output · 1M$0.60 / 1M tokens$0.14 / 1M tokens
Knowledge cutoff,,
Open weightsNoNo
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 $0.630
  • Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$13.50 vs $6.30
  • RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$26.10 vs $21.84

Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $1.35 vs $0.630 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $13.50 vs $6.30 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $26.10 vs $21.84 per month, model B comes out ahead.

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
  • Yi-Lightning$0.021

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 miniYi-Lightning
  • MMLU82.0
Pick GPT-4o mini if

GPT-4o mini fits when…

  • Cheap
  • Fast
  • Mature
  • Long-context tasks, handles 128K tokens vs 16K for Yi-Lightning.
  • Multimodal needs covering vision.
Pick Yi-Lightning if

Yi-Lightning fits when…

  • Cheap
  • Strong Chinese
  • Fast
  • Cost-sensitive workloads, 4.3× cheaper than GPT-4o mini on output tokens.
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-5.5Yi-Lightning vs GPT-5.5

Frequently asked

  • Is GPT-4o mini or Yi-Lightning cheaper?
    Yi-Lightning is cheaper at $0.14 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $0.60 / 1M tokens for GPT-4o mini.
  • Which has the larger context window?
    GPT-4o mini accepts 128K tokens vs 16K for Yi-Lightning.
  • Is GPT-4o mini or Yi-Lightning better for coding?
    Both GPT-4o mini and Yi-Lightning 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 Yi-Lightning released?
    GPT-4o mini was released by OpenAI on 2024-07-18. Yi-Lightning was released by Other on 2024-10-16.
Friday digest

The week's AI launches, in your inbox.

One short email every Friday, new models, leaks, and quietly-shipped APIs you missed.