GPT-5 mini vs Mistral Small 4
OpenAI's budget model against Mistral's cheapest. Mistral Small 4 is 60% cheaper on input and 85% cheaper on output — but GPT-5 mini offers OpenAI's ecosystem and larger context. See which fits your workload.
Pricing data verified: 2026-06-20
| Specification | GPT-5 mini (OpenAI) | Mistral Small 4 (Mistral) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price (per 1M tokens) | $0.25 | $0.10 |
| Output Price (per 1M tokens) | $2.00 | $0.30 |
| Context Window | 272K | 128K |
| Tier | Budget | Budget |
| Provider | OpenAI | Mistral |
Calculate Your Exact Costs
See how the costs stack up for your specific usage pattern.
Other Models to Consider
Which Model for Which Use Case?
Cost-Sensitive High Volume
Mistral Small 4's $0.10/M input and $0.30/M output make it the cheapest option for high-volume tasks. If you're processing millions of tokens daily, the savings are massive.
OpenAI Ecosystem
If you're already on OpenAI's platform, GPT-5 mini integrates with Assistants API, function calling, and fine-tuning. Switching to Mistral means rewriting integrations.
Longer Context Tasks
GPT-5 mini's 272K context window is 2.1× larger than Mistral Small 4's 128K. For longer documents or extended conversations, GPT-5 mini handles more.
European Data Compliance
Mistral is a European company (France) with EU data residency options. If GDPR compliance or European data sovereignty matters, Mistral Small 4 is the natural choice.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mistral Small 4 cheaper than GPT-5 mini?
Yes. Mistral Small 4 costs $0.10/M input and $0.30/M output — 60% cheaper on input and 85% cheaper on output than GPT-5 mini's $0.25/M input and $2.00/M output.
When would I choose GPT-5 mini over Mistral Small 4?
Choose GPT-5 mini if you need OpenAI's ecosystem (function calling, Assistants API, fine-tuning), prefer US-based infrastructure, or need GPT-5's specific reasoning capabilities. GPT-5 mini also has a larger 272K context window vs Mistral's 128K.
Which model has a better context window?
GPT-5 mini has a 272K token context window — 2.1× larger than Mistral Small 4's 128K. For longer documents or extended conversations, GPT-5 mini handles more context.
Is Mistral Small 4 good enough for production?
For many tasks like classification, extraction, and simple generation, Mistral Small 4 delivers solid quality at 60-85% lower cost. For tasks requiring OpenAI's specific capabilities or larger context, GPT-5 mini may be worth the premium.