GPT-4.1 vs GPT-4o Mini

Compare GPT-4.1 and GPT-4o Mini: pricing, performance, context window, latency, and best use cases. Side-by-side comparison on XALEN.

Updated 2026-05-21 · By Abhishek Raj · Our methodology

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Feature GPT-4.1 GPT-4o Mini
CategoryFrontierCompact
Parameters~1.8T~70B
Context Window1M128K
Input Price$0.10/1M tokens$0.015/1M tokens
Output Price$0.30/1M tokens$0.06/1M tokens
Latency~500ms~200ms

Choose GPT-4.1 when:

  • ✓ Complex reports
  • ✓ Code generation
  • ✓ Enterprise workflows
Key Strengths:

1M context, Best instruction following, Best coding

Choose GPT-4o Mini when:

  • ✓ High-volume multimodal
  • ✓ Content filtering
  • ✓ Budget apps
Key Strengths:

Low cost multimodal, Vision capable, Fast

Verdict: GPT-4.1 vs GPT-4o Mini

For cost efficiency, GPT-4o Mini wins at $0.015/1M input tokens. For speed, GPT-4o Mini is faster at ~200ms. GPT-4.1 excels at Complex reports while GPT-4o Mini is better for High-volume multimodal. Both are available on XALEN through a single API — try them in the Playground to see which fits your workload.

Detailed Analysis

Pricing Comparison

GPT-4.1 costs $0.10/1M input tokens and $0.30/1M output tokens. GPT-4o Mini costs $0.015 input and $0.06 output. GPT-4o Mini is 6.7x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

GPT-4.1 has a 1M context window with ~500ms latency. GPT-4o Mini offers 128K context at ~200ms. GPT-4.1 has the larger context window.

Best For

GPT-4.1 (Frontier) is optimized for: Complex reports, Code generation, Enterprise workflows. GPT-4o Mini (Compact) works best for: High-volume multimodal, Content filtering, Budget apps.

Try Both on XALEN

Both models are available through XALEN's OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between them by changing the model parameter:

from xalen import XALEN

client = XALEN(api_key="xln_test_YOUR_KEY")

# Use GPT-4.1
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4-1",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

# Use GPT-4o Mini
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4o-mini",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

Start Building with XALEN

200+ AI models. One API. Pay-as-you-go.

Get API Key Try in Playground

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, GPT-4.1 or GPT-4o Mini?

GPT-4.1 (Frontier, ~1.8T) offers 1M context. GPT-4o Mini (Compact, ~70B) offers Low cost multimodal. Choose GPT-4.1 for Complex reports or GPT-4o Mini for High-volume multimodal.

How much does GPT-4.1 cost vs GPT-4o Mini?

GPT-4.1: $0.10/1M input, $0.30/1M output. GPT-4o Mini: $0.015/1M input, $0.06/1M output. Both available on XALEN with batch processing at 50% discount.

Can I use both models on XALEN?

Yes. XALEN provides 200+ models through a single OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between GPT-4.1 and GPT-4o Mini by changing the model parameter. No code changes needed.

Related Comparisons

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Last updated: 2026-05-21. Pricing and specifications may change. Check pricing page for latest rates.