OpenAI · language model
GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18): pricing, context and benchmarks
GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18) is a language model from OpenAI released on July 18, 2024. It costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.6 per million output tokens, with a 128K-token context window. Epoch AI ranks it #120 of 125 rated models.
| Performance (ECI) | 2/40 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 23/30 | |
| Context | 3/15 | |
| Features | 8/15 |
What you need to know about GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18)
GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18) was released by OpenAI (United States) on July 18, 2024. It accepts text, images, and files as input and produces text. Its context window reaches 128,000 tokens, larger than 19 % of the models in the registry, and it can write up to 16,384 tokens in one go.
Released more than 2 years ago, it belongs to a generation most vendors have since superseded.
GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18) pricing
On OpenRouter, GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18) costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.6 per million output tokens. Counting three tokens read for every token written, its average price is $0.262 per million, more expensive than 25 % of paid models (2.9 times cheaper than the median of $0.76).
A concrete example: a task that sends 2,000 tokens (about 1,500 words) and receives a 500-token answer costs $0.0006. At 1,000 tasks a day, budget $18 a month. The price calculator redoes this with your own volumes.
Tokens already sent and cached are billed at $0.075 per million.
Performance and benchmarks
The Epoch Capabilities Index (ECI), which aggregates published results across many benchmarks, gives GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18) a score of 126.5 (range 120.1 to 128.5). That places it #120 of 125 rated models.
Scores published by Epoch AI on the benchmarks the site tracks:
| Benchmark | What it measures | Score | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond | PhD-level science questions | 37.7 % | Jul 18, 2024 |
| ARC-AGI-2 | harder version of the ARC puzzles | 0 % | Jul 18, 2024 |
| FrontierMath | research-level maths problems (tiers 1-3) | 0.7 % | Jul 18, 2024 |
| OTIS Mock AIME | maths competition problems | 6.9 % | Jul 18, 2024 |
| SimpleQA Verified | accuracy on simple facts | 8.3 % | Jul 18, 2024 |
| Aider Polyglot | coding exercises in several languages | 3.6 % | Jul 18, 2024 |
For at least equal performance, DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731, DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423, and Qwen3.7 Flash cost at least 30% less.
Features, privacy and local use
- It supports tool calling, so it can drive an AI agent, call APIs or MCP servers.
- It can answer in an enforced JSON format (structured outputs).
- Its knowledge stops at October 2023.
Its weights are not published: it can only be used through the OpenAI API or a broker such as OpenRouter, which means sending your data off your machines.
Other OpenAI models
| Model | Released | Avg. price | ECI |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-6.1 Sol | Sep 29, 2026 | $4 | 168.4 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol Pro | Sep 29, 2026 | $4 | — |
| GPT-6 Sol | Sep 22, 2026 | $4 | 163.7 |
| GPT-6 Luna | Sep 22, 2026 | $0.2 | 156.8 |
| GPT-6 Luna Pro | Sep 22, 2026 | $0.2 | — |
| GPT-6 Sol Pro | Sep 22, 2026 | $4 | — |
| GPT-6 Astra | Sep 4, 2026 | $20 | 168.8 |
| GPT-6 Astra Pro | Sep 4, 2026 | $20 | — |
Verdict
GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18) scores 36/100 on our grid, which only uses published figures.
Strengths
- Low price: cheaper than 75 % of paid models.
- Agent-ready: tool calling and structured JSON output.
Limitations
- Modest performance: behind 94 % of rated models.
- Older generation, often replaced by a newer model from the same vendor.
Avoid if…
- your data must not leave your servers.
Alternatives
- Gemma 3 27B$0.15
- Qwen3 30B A3B$0.22
- Qwen3 14B$0.15
- DeepSeek V3$0.45
- Gemma 3 12B$0.08
- DeepSeek V3 0324$0.5
Comparisons and tools
Learn more
Frequently asked questions
How much does GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18) cost?
$0.15 per million input tokens and $0.6 per million output tokens on OpenRouter (checked October 25, 2026). A task with 2,000 tokens read and 500 written costs $0.0006.
How big is GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18)'s context window?
128,000 tokens, roughly 96,000 words, with a maximum of 16,384 output tokens.
Can GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18) run locally?
No, OpenAI does not publish its weights: it is API-only.
Is GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18) suitable for an AI agent?
Technically yes: it supports tool calling and structured outputs. Then check its cost for your volume.
How good is GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18)?
Epoch AI ranks it #120 of 125 rated models (ECI 126.5). On GPQA Diamond, it scores 37.7%.
What are the alternatives to GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18)?
The closest models on price and performance are Gemma 3 27B, Qwen3 30B A3B, and Qwen3 14B.
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Neutrality. No affiliate links. No vendor pays to be reviewed, rated or ranked. Reviews are directed by François Chollet, neutral and factual, and every data point is dated and sourced. How we score