GPT-4o (05-13) vs o4-mini
GPT-4o (05-13) (2024) and o4-mini (2025) are frontier reasoning models from OpenAI. GPT-4o (05-13) ships a 128K-token context window, while o4-mini ships a not-yet-sourced context window. On MMLU PRO, o4-mini leads by 10.7 pts. On pricing, o4-mini costs $1/1M input tokens versus $2.5/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
o4-mini is ~150% cheaper at $1/1M; pay for GPT-4o (05-13) only for coding workflow support.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-05-13 | 2025-04-16 |
| Context window | 128K | — |
| Parameters | 1.76T (8x222B MoE)* | — |
| Architecture | mixture of experts | decoder only |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-10 | 2025-08 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | GPT-4o (05-13) | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $2.5/1M tokens | $1/1M tokens |
| Output price | $10/1M tokens | $4/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | GPT-4o (05-13) | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | Yes |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-4o (05-13) | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 72.5 | 83.2 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has GPT-4o (05-13) at 72.5 and o4-mini at 83.2, with o4-mini ahead by 10.7 points. The largest visible gap is 10.7 points on MMLU PRO, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: o4-mini, function calling: o4-mini, and tool use: o4-mini. Both models share vision, multimodal input, structured outputs, and code execution, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, GPT-4o (05-13) lists $2.5/1M input and $10/1M output tokens, while o4-mini lists $1/1M input and $4/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts o4-mini lower by about $2.85 per million blended tokens. Availability is 4 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose GPT-4o (05-13) when coding workflow support and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose o4-mini when coding workflow support and lower input-token cost are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, GPT-4o (05-13) or o4-mini?
o4-mini is cheaper on tracked token pricing. GPT-4o (05-13) costs $2.5/1M input and $10/1M output tokens. o4-mini costs $1/1M input and $4/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is GPT-4o (05-13) or o4-mini open source?
GPT-4o (05-13) is listed under Proprietary. o4-mini is listed under Proprietary. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for vision, GPT-4o (05-13) or o4-mini?
Both GPT-4o (05-13) and o4-mini expose vision. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is better for multimodal input, GPT-4o (05-13) or o4-mini?
Both GPT-4o (05-13) and o4-mini expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is better for reasoning mode, GPT-4o (05-13) or o4-mini?
o4-mini has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run GPT-4o (05-13) and o4-mini?
GPT-4o (05-13) is available on Azure OpenAI, OpenAI API, OpenRouter, and Replicate API. o4-mini is available on OpenAI API, OpenRouter, and Replicate API. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-11. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.