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o4-mini

OpenAI · o-series

Cost-effective reasoning model for teams needing stronger analysis than baseline tiers at lower cost.

Type
language
Context
200K tokens
Max Output
100K tokens
Status
current
Input
$1.1/1M tok
Output
$4.4/1M tok
API Access
Yes
License
proprietary
reasoning cost-efficient planning analysis production
Released April 2025 · Updated February 15, 2026

Overview

Freshness note: Model capabilities, limits, and pricing can change quickly. This profile is a point-in-time snapshot last verified on February 15, 2026.

o4-mini is a reasoning-capable model tier designed to balance analytical strength with production-friendly cost. It is often used where teams want better reasoning than lightweight models without paying flagship rates.

Capabilities

The model handles structured decision tasks, planning, and medium-complexity technical analysis well. It is practical for systems that need reliable reasoning at scale.

Technical Details

o4-mini sits between throughput-focused low-cost tiers and premium reasoning tiers. It is a good candidate for routing architectures that reserve expensive models for only the hardest requests.

Pricing & Access

Available via OpenAI API model catalog where supported. Since pricing and availability can change, teams should verify current values from official OpenAI pricing documentation.

Best Use Cases

Good fit for triage planning, risk scoring, workflow policy checks, and engineering decision support where balanced quality and budget discipline are required.

Comparisons

Compared with o3, o4-mini usually trades some reasoning depth for lower operating cost. Compared with GPT-5 mini, o4-mini is often preferred for explicitly reasoning-heavy tasks. Compared with Gemini 2.5 Flash, choice usually depends on workload profile and ecosystem integration.