GPT-5 vs o4-mini
GPT-5 vs o4-mini: o4-mini is cheaper by 56% on average. GPT-5 from OpenAI (272,000-token context, reasoning, tool calls) vs. o4-mini from OpenAI (200,000-token context, reasoning, tool calls). Use Agent Command Center to A/B both in shadow mode and pick the winner per workload.
Side-by-side cost
Live workload comparison
Same workload run through both models. The cheaper one is highlighted.
3,000
0272,000
400
0128,000
5,000
01,000,000
At this workload, o4-mini is 35% cheaper than GPT-5 — a savings of $409/month ($4,913/year).
Production recipe — Agent Command Center
strategy: cost-optimized
primary:
model: o4-mini
provider: openai
fallback:
model: gpt-5
provider: openai
shadow: { sample_rate: 0.05 } # mirror 5% of traffic to compare quality live| GPT-5 | o4-mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.25/M | $1.10/M |
| Output price | $10.00/M | $4.40/M |
| Context window | 272,000 | 200,000 |
| Max output | 128,000 | 100,000 |
| Function calling | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vision | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audio input | — | — |
| Reasoning | ✓ | ✓ |
| Prompt caching | ✓ | ✓ |
| Structured output | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing verified | May 12, 2026 | May 12, 2026 |
Benchmark comparison
Side-by-side public benchmark scores. Greener bar = winner.