GPT-4.1 Mini vs GPT-5 Mini

At a Glance

Compare
Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency
IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5UnrankedNot in the 46-model eligible cohort#45 of 460.0 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing LiveBench · full-core range 0.0–33.4
Pricing and Limits
Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens$0.20Openrouter · Sep 3, 2026$0.125Openrouter · Sep 3, 2026
Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens$0.80Openrouter · Sep 3, 2026$1.00Openrouter · Sep 3, 2026
Context windowMaximum documented tokens1,048K400K
Model facts checkedAug 29, 2026View model evidence →Sep 3, 2026View model evidence →

Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →

Available Benchmarks

All benchmark results →
BenchmarkGPT-4.1 MiniGPT-5 Mini
Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboardv4-ede5081a24bc · overall_accuracy · leader29.73100% of row best · percent · GPT-4.1-mini-2025-04-14 (Prompt)27.8394% of row best · percent · GPT-5-mini-2025-08-07 (Prompt)
LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader1,340.2198% of row best · rating · gpt-4.1-mini-2025-04-14; 95% CI [1335.90652651, 1344.51787032]; votes 38631; rank 1991,372.96100% of row best · rating · gpt-5-mini-high; 95% CI [1368.38533638, 1377.53632183]; votes 26569; rank 166
LMArena Vision Arenavision-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader1,181.0698% of row best · rating · gpt-4.1-mini-2025-04-14; 95% CI [1173.58575943, 1188.53044654]; votes 40274; rank 881,201.90100% of row best · rating · gpt-5-mini-high; 95% CI [1194.06379328, 1209.74466964]; votes 28970; rank 78
Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above1 benchmark win2 benchmark winsOverall lead

Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.

Side-by-Side Facts

FieldGPT-4.1 MiniGPT-5 Mini
DeveloperOpenAIOpenAI
FamilyGpt 4 1Gpt 5
ModelGPT-4.1 MiniGPT-5 Mini
VersionGPT-4.1 MiniGPT-5 Mini
Lifecycleactiveactive
ReleasedUnknown2025-08-07
Knowledge cutoff2024-06-012024-05-31
Input modalitiesText, ImageText, Image
Output modalitiesTextText
Context window1,048K400K
Total parametersUnknownUnknown
Active parametersUnknownUnknown
LicenseUnknownUnknown
Open weightsNoNo
API availableYesYes
Self-hostableNoNo
Provider accessOpenai (Standard), Openrouter (Standard)Openai (Standard), Openrouter (Standard)
Capabilitieschat, generation, toolschat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools

GPT-4.1 Mini Capabilities

chatgenerationtools
Serving providers2
Canonical IDopenai/gpt-4.1-mini

GPT-5 Mini Capabilities

chatgenerationreasoningstructured outputstools
Serving providers2
Canonical IDopenai/gpt-5-mini

Primary Evidence

Sources and Freshness

Questions

GPT-4.1 Mini vs GPT-5 Mini FAQs

Is GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-5 Mini better for coding?+

This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both GPT-4.1 Mini and GPT-5 Mini, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.

Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-5 Mini?+

GPT-4.1 Mini is $0.20 and GPT-5 Mini is $0.125 per million tokens, so GPT-5 Mini is cheaper on this metric. GPT-4.1 Mini is $0.80 and GPT-5 Mini is $1.00 per million tokens, so GPT-4.1 Mini is cheaper on this metric.

Which has a larger context window, GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-5 Mini?+

GPT-4.1 Mini has the larger sourced context window. GPT-4.1 Mini supports 1,048K and GPT-5 Mini supports 400K.

Which performs better in benchmarks, GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-5 Mini?+

GPT-5 Mini leads the current overall benchmark count. The result uses 3 protocol-matched benchmarks from 2 publishers; it is not a universal quality score.

Can GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-5 Mini be self-hosted?+

Both models have the same recorded self-hosting status: unsupported. GPT-4.1 Mini is not marked open weight; GPT-5 Mini is not marked open weight.

Can GPT-4.1 Mini and GPT-5 Mini understand images?+

GPT-4.1 Mini is documented with image input; GPT-5 Mini is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.

Which can generate longer answers, GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-5 Mini?+

GPT-5 Mini has the larger sourced maximum output: GPT-4.1 Mini supports 33K and GPT-5 Mini supports 128K output tokens.

Do GPT-4.1 Mini and GPT-5 Mini support reasoning and tool use?+

GPT-4.1 Mini: tool calling and image input. GPT-5 Mini: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.

Which is available from more inference providers, GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-5 Mini?+

GPT-4.1 Mini has 2 sourced provider routes; GPT-5 Mini has 2, a tie.

Which offers better value, GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-5 Mini?+

There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.

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