Last verified 2025-09-22 (left) · 2025-09-22 (right)
GPT-5 Chat vs o4-mini — Pricing & Capability Comparison
GPT-5 Chat charges $1.25 per million input tokens and $10.00 per million output tokens. o4-mini comes in at $1.10 / $4.40. Context windows span 200K vs 200K tokens respectively.
TL;DR — Quick Comparison
- ✓o4-mini is cheaper overall: $5.50 per 1M tokens (in+out) vs $11.25 for GPT-5 Chat — saves $5.75 per 1M tokens
- ✓Input pricing: GPT-5 Chat $1.25/1M vs o4-mini $1.10/1M
- ✓Output pricing: GPT-5 Chat $10.00/1M vs o4-mini $4.40/1M
- ✓Context window: GPT-5 Chat offers more (200K vs 200K)
- ✓Use our calculator below to estimate costs for your specific usage pattern
Input price (per 1M)
GPT-5 Chat
$1.25
o4-mini
$1.10
o4-mini leads here
Output price (per 1M)
GPT-5 Chat
$10.00
o4-mini
$4.40
o4-mini leads here
Context window
GPT-5 Chat
200,000 tokens
o4-mini
200,000 tokens
GPT-5 Chat leads here
Cached input
GPT-5 Chat
$0.125
o4-mini
Not published
GPT-5 Chat 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 | GPT-5 Chat | o4-mini | GPT-5 Chat cached |
|---|---|---|---|
Balanced conversation 50% input · 50% output | $0.0563 | $0.0275 | $0.0506 |
Input-heavy workflow 80% input · 20% output | $0.0300 | $0.0176 | $0.0210 |
Generation heavy 30% input · 70% output | $0.0738 | $0.0341 | $0.0704 |
Cached system prompt 90% cached input · 10% fresh output | $0.0212 | $0.0143 | $0.0111 |
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper: GPT-5 Chat or o4-mini?
o4-mini is cheaper for input tokens at $1.10 per 1M tokens compared to $1.25. For output, o4-mini costs $4.40 per 1M tokens versus $10.00 for GPT-5 Chat.
What is the cost per 1M tokens for GPT-5 Chat?
GPT-5 Chat pricing: $1.25 per 1M input tokens and $10.00 per 1M output tokens. Context window: 200,000 tokens.
What is the cost per 1M tokens for o4-mini?
o4-mini pricing: $1.10 per 1M input tokens and $4.40 per 1M output tokens. Context window: 200,000 tokens.
How much does it cost per 1K tokens?
Per 1K tokens: GPT-5 Chat costs $0.0013 input / $0.0100 output. o4-mini costs $0.0011 input / $0.0044 output. This is useful for calculating small-scale usage costs.
Which model supports a larger context window?
GPT-5 Chat offers 200,000 tokens (200K) versus 200K for o4-mini.
What is the estimated monthly cost for typical usage?
For a typical workload of 10M input + 2M output tokens per month: GPT-5 Chat would cost approximately $32.50, while o4-mini would cost $19.80. o4-mini is more economical for this usage pattern.
Do these models support prompt caching?
GPT-5 Chat supports prompt caching at $0.125 per 1M cached tokens, reducing costs for repeated context by up to 90%. o4-mini does not publish cached pricing.
Which model is best for my use case?
Choose o4-mini for cost-sensitive applications with high input volume. Choose GPT-5 Chat 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.