Last verified 2025-09-22 (left) · 2025-09-22 (right)
Claude Sonnet 4 vs GPT-5 mini — Pricing & Capability Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4 charges $3.00 per million input tokens and $15.00 per million output tokens. GPT-5 mini comes in at $0.25 / $2.00. Context windows span 200K vs 200K tokens respectively.
TL;DR — Quick Comparison
- ✓GPT-5 mini is cheaper overall: $2.25 per 1M tokens (in+out) vs $18.00 for Claude Sonnet 4 — saves $15.75 per 1M tokens
- ✓Input pricing: Claude Sonnet 4 $3.00/1M vs GPT-5 mini $0.25/1M
- ✓Output pricing: Claude Sonnet 4 $15.00/1M vs GPT-5 mini $2.00/1M
- ✓Context window: Claude Sonnet 4 offers more (200K vs 200K)
- ✓Use our calculator below to estimate costs for your specific usage pattern
Input price (per 1M)
Claude Sonnet 4
$3.00
GPT-5 mini
$0.25
GPT-5 mini leads here
Output price (per 1M)
Claude Sonnet 4
$15.00
GPT-5 mini
$2.00
GPT-5 mini leads here
Context window
Claude Sonnet 4
200,000 tokens
GPT-5 mini
200,000 tokens
Claude Sonnet 4 leads here
Cached input
Claude Sonnet 4
$0.300
GPT-5 mini
Not published
Claude Sonnet 4 leads here
Cost comparison for 10K-token workloads
Side-by-side pricing for identical workloads (10,000 total tokens per request) across different distributions.
| Scenario | Claude Sonnet 4 | GPT-5 mini | Claude Sonnet 4 cached |
|---|---|---|---|
Balanced conversation 50% input · 50% output | $0.0900 | $0.0112 | $0.0765 |
Input-heavy workflow 80% input · 20% output | $0.0540 | $0.0060 | $0.0324 |
Generation heavy 30% input · 70% output | $0.114 | $0.0148 | $0.106 |
Cached system prompt 90% cached input · 10% fresh output | $0.0420 | $0.0043 | $0.0177 |
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper: Claude Sonnet 4 or GPT-5 mini?
GPT-5 mini is cheaper for input tokens at $0.25 per 1M tokens compared to $3.00. For output, GPT-5 mini costs $2.00 per 1M tokens versus $15.00 for Claude Sonnet 4.
What is the cost per 1M tokens for Claude Sonnet 4?
Claude Sonnet 4 pricing: $3.00 per 1M input tokens and $15.00 per 1M output tokens. Context window: 200,000 tokens.
What is the cost per 1M tokens for GPT-5 mini?
GPT-5 mini pricing: $0.25 per 1M input tokens and $2.00 per 1M output tokens. Context window: 200,000 tokens.
How much does it cost per 1K tokens?
Per 1K tokens: Claude Sonnet 4 costs $0.0030 input / $0.0150 output. GPT-5 mini costs $0.0003 input / $0.0020 output. This is useful for calculating small-scale usage costs.
Which model supports a larger context window?
Claude Sonnet 4 offers 200,000 tokens (200K) versus 200K for GPT-5 mini.
What is the estimated monthly cost for typical usage?
For a typical workload of 10M input + 2M output tokens per month: Claude Sonnet 4 would cost approximately $60.00, while GPT-5 mini would cost $6.50. GPT-5 mini is more economical for this usage pattern.
Do these models support prompt caching?
Claude Sonnet 4 supports prompt caching at $0.300 per 1M cached tokens, reducing costs for repeated context by up to 90%. GPT-5 mini does not publish cached pricing.
Which model is best for my use case?
Choose GPT-5 mini for cost-sensitive applications with high input volume. Choose Claude Sonnet 4 if you need 200K context for long documents or conversations. Consider prompt caching if you have repeated context. Use our token calculator to model your specific usage pattern.