Pricing comparison
GPT-5 nano vs GPT-4o mini
Per-token pricing, full-workload cost ladders, and monthly volume projections. Numbers sourced directly from each provider's rate card.
OpenAI
GPT-5 nano
- Input
- $0.05 / 1M
- Output
- $0.40 / 1M
- Cached input
- $0.005 / 1M
- Context
- 400K
- Max output
- 128K
OpenAI
GPT-4o mini
- Input
- $0.15 / 1M
- Output
- $0.60 / 1M
- Cached input
- $0.075 / 1M
- Context
- 128K
- Max output
- 16K
Cost per request
Four common workload shapes, input tokens and a 1:2 output ratio (a standard chat/completion pattern). Long-context surcharges apply automatically where the provider charges them.
| Scenario | Tokens (in / out) | GPT-5 nano | GPT-4o mini | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short prompt | 100 / 200 | $0.0001 | $0.0001 | GPT-5 nano |
| Typical request | 1,000 / 2,000 | $0.0009 | $0.0013 | GPT-5 nano |
| Long document | 10,000 / 5,000 | $0.0025 | $0.0045 | GPT-5 nano |
| Large prompt | 100,000 / 10,000 | $0.0090 | $0.0210 | GPT-5 nano |
Monthly bill at scale
Projected monthly cost at typical request volume, assuming the "typical request" shape above (1k in, 2k out).
| Traffic | Req / month | GPT-5 nano | GPT-4o mini | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small SaaS | 1,000 | $0.85 | $1.35 | GPT-5 nano -$0.50 |
| Growing product | 10,000 | $8.50 | $13.50 | GPT-5 nano -$5.00 |
| Heavy usage | 100,000 | $85.00 | $135.00 | GPT-5 nano -$50.00 |
Which should you use?
For the typical chat-shape request (~1k input, 2k output), GPT-5 nano comes out 59% cheaper. If you're picking one as the default, that's usually the right choice on cost alone.
GPT-5 nano wins on both sides of the bill - cheaper input and cheaper output. If the quality gap is in your favour, there's no cost argument for the other side.
Context window differs: GPT-5 nano holds 400K of input vs 128K on the other side. If you regularly push past the smaller ceiling, the comparison ends there.
Live cost calculator
Type in any token counts - both prices update instantly. Uses base input/output rates (no cache discount, no long-context tier).
GPT-5 nano
$0.0003
per request
GPT-4o mini
$0.0004
per request
Try both in the estimator →
Drop your actual prompt in, tokens are counted with the provider's own tokenizer, and the dollar number matches what lands on your invoice.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, GPT-5 nano or GPT-4o mini?
- On a typical 1,000-input / 2,000-output request, GPT-5 nano costs ~$0.0009 vs ~$0.0013 on GPT-4o mini. Input or output rates can flip the answer for very lopsided workloads - see the cost ladder above.
- What's the difference in per-token pricing?
- GPT-5 nano charges $0.05 per 1M input tokens and $0.40 per 1M output tokens. GPT-4o mini charges $0.15 / $0.60 per 1M.
- Which has the bigger context window?
- GPT-5 nano is larger (400K) vs 128K on the other.
- Is there a cached-input discount on either?
- GPT-5 nano caches at $0.005 per 1M (90% off). GPT-4o mini caches at $0.075 per 1M (50% off). Workloads with repeated static prefixes see the biggest savings.
- How fresh is this comparison?
- GPT-5 nano was re-verified on 2026-04-06 and GPT-4o mini on 2026-04-06 against each provider's published rate card. Calcis re-checks every row on a rolling schedule and re-deploys when a provider changes pricing.
GPT-5 nano verified 2026-04-06 · GPT-4o mini verified 2026-04-06. Rate cards at OpenAI and OpenAI.