AI model comparison
GPT-4o-mini vs GPT-3.5 Turbo
Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.
OpenAI
GPT-4o-mini
GPT-4o mini is OpenAI's newest model after [GPT-4 Omni](/models/openai/gpt-4o), supporting both text and image inputs with text outputs.
- Input / 1M
- $0.15
- Output / 1M
- $0.60
- Context
- 128K
OpenAI
GPT-3.5 Turbo
GPT-3.5 Turbo is OpenAI's fastest model. It can understand and generate natural language or code, and is optimized for chat and traditional completion tasks.
- Input / 1M
- $0.50
- Output / 1M
- $1.50
- Context
- 16K
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
GPT-4o-mini
2.9x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
GPT-4o-mini
6.7 vs 5.5 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
GPT-4o-mini
128K vs 16K tokens
Newer release
GPT-4o-mini
Released July 18, 2024
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
GPT-4o-mini6.7GPT-3.5 Turbo5.5Coding index
GPT-4o-mini11.4GPT-3.5 Turbo10.7Agentic index
GPT-4o-miniNot availableGPT-3.5 TurboNot availablePricing
GPT-4o-mini vs GPT-3.5 Turbo API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | GPT-4o-mini | GPT-3.5 Turbo |
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.15 | $0.50 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.60 | $1.50 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.08 | Not available |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | Not available | Not available |
What it costs in practice
Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.
Chat message
2K in, 500 out
GPT-4o-mini$0.60GPT-3.5 Turbo$1.75Coding task
30K in, 4K out
GPT-4o-mini$6.90$4.65 cachedGPT-3.5 Turbo$21Long document summary
150K in, 2K out
GPT-4o-mini$23.70$12.45 cachedGPT-3.5 Turbo$78Specs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | GPT-4o-mini | GPT-3.5 Turbo |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 128K tokens | 16K tokens |
| Max output | 16K tokens | 4K tokens |
| Input types | File, Image, Text | Text |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | Not available | Not available |
| Default reasoning effort | Not available | Not available |
| Release date | July 18, 2024 | May 28, 2023 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | GPT-4o-mini | GPT-3.5 Turbo |
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Supported |
| Reasoning | Not supported | Not supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Not supported |
Keep exploring
More on these models
Other head-to-heads, the full model page, and the alternatives list for each model.
GPT-4o-miniView full model details- GPT-4o-mini vs GPT-6 Luna Pro
- GPT-4o-mini vs GPT-5 Nano
- GPT-4o-mini vs GPT-4.1 Mini
- GPT-4o-mini vs Gemma 3 27B
- GPT-4o-mini vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
- GPT-4o-mini vs GPT-4.1 Nano
- GPT-4o-mini vs Llama 4 Maverick
- GPT-4o-mini vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
- GPT-4o-mini vs Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct
- GPT-4o-mini vs Sonar
- GPT-4o-mini vs Nova Lite 1.0
- GPT-4o-mini vs Qwen3 30B A3B
- GPT-4o-mini vs Hermes 3 70B Instruct
- GPT-4o-mini vs Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
- GPT-4o-mini vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
- GPT-4o-mini vs Hermes 3 405B Instruct
- GPT-4o-mini vs Solar Pro 3
- GPT-4o-mini vs GLM 4.5V
- GPT-4o-mini vs Nova Pro 1.0
- GPT-4o-mini vs Qwen2.5 Coder 32B Instruct
- GPT-4o-mini vs Saba
- GPT-4o-mini vs Reka Flash 3
Our take
GPT-4o-mini is 2.9x cheaper for a typical chat. GPT-4o-mini scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (6.7 vs 5.5). GPT-4o-mini has the larger context window (128K vs 16K tokens). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT-4o-mini or GPT-3.5 Turbo cheaper?
GPT-4o-mini is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). GPT-4o-mini costs $0.15 per 1M input tokens and $0.60 per 1M output tokens, while GPT-3.5 Turbo costs $0.50 per 1M input tokens and $1.50 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, GPT-4o-mini or GPT-3.5 Turbo?
GPT-4o-mini supports up to 128K tokens of context, compared with 16K for GPT-3.5 Turbo.
Is GPT-4o-mini smarter than GPT-3.5 Turbo?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, GPT-4o-mini scores 6.7 and GPT-3.5 Turbo scores 5.5, putting GPT-4o-mini ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use GPT-4o-mini and GPT-3.5 Turbo at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see GPT-4o-mini and GPT-3.5 Turbo answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to GPT-4o-mini and GPT-3.5 Turbo at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.