OpenAI

GPT-5 mini

Best Value

7.3

out of 10

OpenAI's budget reasoning model and one of the most interesting value plays in the current field. GPT-5 mini runs in medium-effort reasoning mode by default and scores 39 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index — higher than several premium-priced non-reasoning models — at $0.25/$2.00 per 1M tokens. That combination makes it smarter per dollar than most alternatives in its price tier. The 400K context window and multimodal input support round out a genuinely capable package for developers who need better-than-baseline quality without flagship pricing.

Context window

400K tokens

API (blended)

$0.69/1M

Consumer access

Free (limited)

Multimodal

Yes

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Strengths

+AA Intelligence Index 39 — higher than several non-reasoning models at 2-4× the price
+Reasoning model: handles multi-step problems more reliably than equivalent-priced base models
+400K context window — largest in its price tier
+Very cheap: $0.69/1M blended makes it accessible for high-volume API workloads
+Available on ChatGPT free tier (with limits)

Weaknesses

-Reasoning mode makes it slower than equivalent non-reasoning models at the same price
-More verbose than equivalent models — higher token consumption on outputs
-Knowledge cutoff May 2024 — older than most competitors
-Extended thinking visible in output can feel awkward in some interfaces

Best for

budget API with reasoning needscomplex queries at scalemulti-step problem solvingdevelopers who need o3-class reasoning at o3-mini pricing

Not ideal for

real-time streaming applications (speed penalty)casual chat (reasoning overhead overkill)tasks where concise output matters most

Pricing details

Subscription plans

FreeGPT-5 mini access with daily limits(Hit limits and falls back; heavy users will need Plus)

Free

Plus5× more GPT-5 mini messages, DALL-E image generation, browsing

$20/mo

API pricing

OpenAIMedium-effort reasoning mode. Cached input: 90% discount. Batch API: 50% discount. High-effort mode (medium) charges the same — reasoning token budget is internal.

$0.25/$2

OpenRouterSmall markup over direct. Useful for unified API routing.

$0.26/$2.1

Prices verified February 2026. LLM pricing changes frequently — verify at the provider's site before budgeting.

Last updated: February 2026

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