GPT-5 Mini vs Mistral Small 4
Complete pricing and performance comparison between OpenAI's GPT-5 Mini and Mistral's Mistral Small 4.
Quick Verdict
Cheaper
Mistral Small 4
1.7x cheaper input, 3.3x cheaper output
Larger Context
GPT-5 Mini
400K vs 256K
Pricing Comparison
| Spec | GPT-5 Mini | Mistral Small 4 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | Mistral | |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.25 | $0.15 | Mistral Small 4 is 40% more expensive |
| Output / 1M tokens | $2 | $0.6 | Mistral Small 4 is 70% more expensive |
| Context Window | 400K | 256K | 2x difference |
| Max Output | 16K | 33K | |
| Tokenizer | o200k_base | cl100k_base |
Performance Benchmarks
| Metric | GPT-5 Mini | Mistral Small 4 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Index | 41 | -- | N/A |
| Output Speed | 89 tok/s | -- | N/A |
| Value (Quality/$) | 164.8 | -- | Higher = better value |
Benchmark data from Artificial Analysis. Quality Index is a composite score across reasoning, coding, and knowledge tasks.
Cost at Scale
Estimated cost at different usage levels (3:1 input-to-output token ratio, typical for chat).
| Usage | GPT-5 Mini | Mistral Small 4 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
Single request 1K in / 300 out | $0.0008 | $0.0003 | Same |
10 requests 10K in / 3K out | $0.0085 | $0.0033 | Mistral Small 4 saves $0.0052 |
100 requests 100K in / 30K out | $0.085 | $0.033 | Mistral Small 4 saves $0.052 |
1,000 requests 1M in / 300K out | $0.850 | $0.330 | Mistral Small 4 saves $0.520 |
10,000 requests 10M in / 3M out | $8.50 | $3.30 | Mistral Small 4 saves $5.20 |
1M requests/mo 1B in / 300M out | $850.00 | $330.00 | Mistral Small 4 saves $520.00 |
Pros & Cons
GPT-5 Mini Strengths
- +Larger context window (400K vs 256K)
Mistral Small 4 Strengths
- +Cheaper input tokens
- +Cheaper output tokens
- +Higher max output tokens
When to Use Each Model
Choose GPT-5 Mini for
- →Long documents, large codebases, or multi-turn conversations
Choose Mistral Small 4 for
- →Budget-conscious projects where cost is the primary factor
- →Generating long-form content or detailed code
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper, GPT-5 Mini or Mistral Small 4?
For input tokens, Mistral Small 4 is 1.7x cheaper at $0.15/1M tokens. For output tokens, Mistral Small 4 is 3.3x cheaper at $0.6/1M tokens. At typical usage (1M input + 300K output), GPT-5 Mini costs $0.850 vs Mistral Small 4 at $0.330.
What's the context window difference?
GPT-5 Mini supports 400K context (400,000 tokens), while Mistral Small 4 supports 256K (256,000 tokens). GPT-5 Mini can handle 2x more context in a single request.
Which model has better benchmarks?
When should I choose GPT-5 Mini over Mistral Small 4?
Choose GPT-5 Mini when you need: Larger context window (400K vs 256K). Choose Mistral Small 4 when you need: Cheaper input tokens, Cheaper output tokens, Higher max output tokens.
How much would 10,000 API requests cost?
At 1K input + 300 output tokens per request (typical chat): GPT-5 Mini = $8.50, Mistral Small 4 = $3.30. At 10K input + 1K output per request (longer conversations): GPT-5 Mini = $45.00, Mistral Small 4 = $21.00.
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