Back to Audit
OPTERA LABS

GPT-4o Mini VS GPT-5 Nano

2026 Cost & Performance Comparison
Model A · OpenAI

GPT-4o Mini

gpt-4o-mini

Intelligence Score78%
Cost / 1M Tokens$0.29

70% in · 30% out mix

Value Index(score÷cost)
273.7

Higher = better value

Speed

97/100

Context

128K

Tier

fast

Model B · OpenAI

GPT-5 Nano

gpt-5-nano

Intelligence Score72%
Cost / 1M Tokens$0.11

70% in · 30% out mix

Value Index(score÷cost)
626.1

Higher = better value

Speed

99/100

Context

128K

Tier

fast

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS

GPT-4o Mini vs GPT-5 Nano: Detailed Comparison

GPT-4o Mini is OpenAI's lightweight-tier language model with a 128K-token context window, excelling at data extraction. GPT-5 Nano from OpenAI is a lightweight-tier model supporting 128K tokens in context, with standout performance in data extraction.

GPT-5 Nano is the more cost-efficient option in this comparison — it costs up to 60% less than GPT-4o Mini on a typical prompt/completion mix. GPT-4o Mini is priced at $0.15/M input tokens and $0.60/M output tokens. GPT-5 Nano costs $0.10/M input and $0.15/M output.

In independent benchmark evaluations, GPT-4o Mini leads with coding scores of 74/100 and reasoning scores of 78/100, compared to GPT-5 Nano's 72/100 in coding and 72/100 in reasoning.

Capability breakdown

Across the five core benchmark categories, here is how GPT-4o Mini and GPT-5 Nano stack up head to head:

coding
74
72
reasoning
78
72
data extraction
95
88
creative tasks
83
75
vision/multimodal
80
70

Best model by task

  • coding: GPT-4o Mini wins with 74/100
  • reasoning: GPT-4o Mini wins with 78/100
  • data extraction: GPT-4o Mini wins with 95/100
  • creative tasks: GPT-4o Mini wins with 83/100
  • vision/multimodal: GPT-4o Mini wins with 80/100

Estimated monthly cost at scale

At 10M + 2M per month, GPT-4o Mini runs about $2.70 while GPT-5 Nano runs about $1.30 — GPT-5 Nano saves roughly $1.40 (52%) every month.

GPT-4o Mini supports the larger context window at 128K tokens, useful for long-document analysis and large codebases. For latency-sensitive applications, GPT-5 Nano has a speed score of 99/100 versus GPT-4o Mini's 97/100.

Choose GPT-5 Nano when cost efficiency is the priority; opt for GPT-4o Mini when maximum performance is required. GPT-4o Mini holds the edge in overall benchmark scores. Both models have distinct strengths — use the interactive calculator above to model costs for your exact token volume.

Benchmark Comparison

Head-to-head scores across 5 categories — sourced from official evals

CategoryGPT-4o MiniGPT-5 NanoWinner

Coding

74
72
A

Reasoning

78
72
A

Extraction

95
88
A

Creative

83
75
A

Vision

80
70
A
GPT-4o Mini: 5 wins
GPT-5 Nano: 0 wins
GPT-4o Mini leads overall

Speed Score

97/100vs99/100
GPT-4oGPT-5

Context Window

128Kvs128K
GPT-4oGPT-5

What Is a Token?

Models don't read words — they process tokens.

A token is roughly 4 characters of English text (~¾ of a word). Your API bill is priced per million tokens — understanding this directly reduces your costs.

Short phrase

"Hello, world!"

4 tokens

Business email

One typical email (~200 words)

~270 tokens

Code file

50-line Python script

~400 tokens

How to check your token usage

response.usage.total_tokens

Every API response includes a usage object. Sum total_tokens across all calls to get your monthly figure, then use the calculator below.

Your Cost Calculator

Enter your actual monthly token usage to see real savings

Quick Presets

30.0M TOKENS
Prompt 70%Completion 30%

GPT-4o Mini

$8.55/mo

$102.60/yr

$0.15/M in$0.6/M out
CHEAPER

GPT-5 Nano

$3.45/mo

$41.40/yr

$0.1/M in$0.15/M out

Annual Savings

$61.20 saved per year

GPT-5 Nano cheaper · $5.10/mo

Deep-Dive Audit — GPT-4o Mini & GPT-5 Nano

SURGICAL AUDIT LAB20E94DFC

Surgically Auditing: Deep Logic

Leakage Detected

3-YEAR STRATEGIC LOSS PROJECTION

-$216.90

Without optimization protocols, current model choices will result in -$72.30 capital loss per year.

EFFICIENCY SCORE

78%

Deep Logic

This model achieves a 78 benchmark score in this category.

CATEGORY GAP

20 pts

Distance from Leader

Competitive Landscape Analysis

Source: MMLU-Pro + GPQA Diamond (Apr 2026)

Category Champion: Claude Opus 4.6

According to MMLU-Pro + GPQA Diamond (Apr 2026) data, Claude Opus 4.6 provides the optimum balance for Deep Logic tasks.

Market Score

%98

Savings Rate

%-803

Operational Prescription

  • Implement model cascading to optimize token spend.
  • Analyze complex_reasoning data to leverage local semantic caching.

COST AUDIT PROTOCOL

Categorical Fit

"GPT-4o Mini scores 78 in this category — a well-matched choice."

Categorical Alternative Opportunity

"Claude Opus 4.6 leads this category with 98 points according to MMLU-Pro + GPQA Diamond (Apr 2026) data."

Inertia Tax Detected

"85% of traffic can be routed to cheaper models. Fast tier (DeepSeek V3) and Smart tier (o3-mini) can save $-6.03/month."

3-Tier Intelligent Routing Architecture

-803% SAVINGS VIA ROUTING
Fast Tier
50%

DeepSeek V3

IQ Score: 91/100

$50.40/yr

Smart Tier
35%

o3-mini

IQ Score: 97/100

$277.20/yr

Power Tier
15%

Claude Opus 4.6

IQ Score: 98/100

$648.00/yr

Fast Tier 50%Smart Tier 35%Power Tier 15%

Without tiered routing, you pay the 'Inertia Tax' — routing all traffic to the most expensive model regardless of task complexity. Tiered cascade eliminates $0.00/year in avoidable overhead.

Deep Logic — Model Cost / Quality Matrix

Source: MMLU-Pro + GPQA Diamond (Apr 2026)
ModelBenchmarkInput (per M)Output (per M)Annual Cost*Value Index
Claude Opus 4.6LEADER
98/100
$5.00$25.00$360.00
1/100
o3-mini
97/100
$1.10$4.40$66.00
6/100
DeepSeek R1
97/100
$0.55$2.19$32.88
12/100
GPT-5.2 Chat
96/100
$1.75$14.00$189.00
2/100
Claude 3.7 Sonnet
95/100
$3.00$15.00$216.00
2/100
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
93/100
$3.00$15.00$216.00
2/100
GPT-4.1
93/100
$2.00$8.00$120.00
3/100
DeepSeek V3
91/100
$0.28$0.42$8.40
45/100
Claude 3 Opus
90/100
$15.00$75.00$1,080.00
0/100
GPT-4o
90/100
$2.50$10.00$150.00
3/100
Gemini 3.1 Pro
89/100
$2.00$12.00$168.00
2/100
Gemini 2.0 Pro
88/100
$1.25$5.00$75.00
5/100
Llama 3.1 405B
88/100
$2.70$2.70$64.80
6/100
Gemini 1.5 Pro
87/100
$1.25$5.00$75.00
5/100
Mistral Large 2
86/100
$2.00$6.00$96.00
4/100
DeepSeek V3.2
83/100
$0.26$0.38$7.68
45/100
Gemini 2.0 Flash
81/100
$0.10$0.40$6.00
56/100
Claude 3.5 Haiku
80/100
$0.80$4.00$57.60
6/100
Llama 3 70B
79/100
$0.65$2.75$40.80
8/100
GPT-4o MiniSELECTED
78/100
$0.15$0.60$9.00
36/100
Gemini 1.5 Flash
76/100
$0.07$0.30$4.50
70/100
GPT-5 NanoBEST VALUE
72/100
$0.10$0.15$3.00
100/100
Claude 3 Haiku
70/100
$0.25$1.25$18.00
16/100

* Annual cost for given volumes. Value Index = Score / Cost (Higher = Best Value).

Tactical Code Gen
// iOPTERA Surgical Routing Wrapper
const auditModel = async (prompt: string) => {
  const complexity = measureComplexity(prompt);
  
  // Tactical Cascade Logic
  if (complexity < 0.45) {
    // Redirect simple tasks to efficient model
    return await llm.call("iOPTERA Optimization", prompt); 
  }
  
  // High-latency routing for complex reasoning
  return await llm.call("Claude Opus 4.6", prompt);
};
READY TO DEPLOY IN Vercel Edge OR AWS Lambda

Related Comparisons

Explore similar model pairs to find your best fit

GPT-4o MinivsGemini 1.5

$0.15 · $0.075/M in

GPT-4o MinivsDeepSeek V3

$0.15 · $0.28/M in

GPT-4o MinivsGemini 2.0

$0.15 · $0.1/M in