API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewClaude Haiku 5.5 vs Solar Mini 4

Pick Solar Mini 4 for lower cost; pick Claude Haiku 5.5 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-10-07T19:07:26Z Data confirmed: 2026-10-15T01:07:46Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Solar Mini 4 for lower cost; pick Claude Haiku 5.5 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.35 for Claude Haiku 5.5, saving $0.2 (57.1% lower).

Cost-first pickSolar Mini 4

Context-first pickClaude Haiku 5.5

Sample savings$0.257.1%

10x traffic gap$2

Claude Haiku 5.5 has more context, but Solar Mini 4 saves $0.2 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $2. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Solar Mini 4 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Claude Haiku 5.5	Solar Mini 4
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Solar Mini 4	$0.75	$0.35
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Solar Mini 4	$0.6	$0.25
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Solar Mini 4	$2.6	$1.05

Cheaper input Solar Mini 4 $0.1 vs $0.05 / 1M

Solar Mini 4 is $0.05 cheaper per 1M input tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).

Cheaper output Solar Mini 4 $0.5 vs $0.2 / 1M

Solar Mini 4 is $0.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (60% lower; 2.5x difference).

Larger context Claude Haiku 5.5 1M vs 524.29K

Claude Haiku 5.5 has 475.71K more context (1.91x larger).

Sample workload Solar Mini 4 $0.35 vs $0.15

Solar Mini 4 is $0.2 cheaper on the standard workload (57.1% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Claude Haiku 5.5 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Solar Mini 4 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

Solar Mini 4 has the lower input price; Solar Mini 4 has the lower output price; Claude Haiku 5.5 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Solar Mini 4 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.35 for Claude Haiku 5.5 and $0.15 for Solar Mini 4.

Best Fit

Choose Claude Haiku 5.5 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Solar Mini 4 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.35 for Claude Haiku 5.5, saving $0.2 (57.1% lower).
Solar Mini 4 is $0.2 cheaper on the standard workload (57.1% lower).
Solar Mini 4 is $0.05 cheaper per 1M input tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
Solar Mini 4 is $0.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (60% lower; 2.5x difference).
Claude Haiku 5.5 has 475.71K more context (1.91x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewClaude Haiku 5.5 (Anthropic)	Solar Mini 4 (Upstage)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.1	$0.05
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.5	$0.2
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.35	$0.15
Context Window	1M	524.29K
Release Date	2026-10-07	2026-09-23

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Solar Mini 4	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.35 for Claude Haiku 5.5, saving $0.2 (57.1% lower).
High-volume input processing	Solar Mini 4	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Solar Mini 4	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Claude Haiku 5.5	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Claude Haiku 5.5 (batch) can replace Claude Haiku 5.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.17.

Larger context near this budget

MiMo-V2.6-Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
GPT-6 Luna offers 1.05M context with $0.35 sample workload cost.
GPT-6 Luna Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.35 sample workload cost.
GPT-6 Luna Pro (batch) offers 1.05M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

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Step 5 Preview · StepFun · #2
GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #3
MiMo-V2.6-Flash · Xiaomi · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

Anthropic catalog

Review all tracked Anthropic models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

Open Anthropic models

Upstage catalog

Check other Upstage models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open Upstage models

Claude Haiku 5.5

Claude Haiku 5.5 is Anthropic's small, fast model for high-volume, cost-sensitive work such as summarization, subagents, and browser use. It succeeds Claude Haiku 4.5 with stronger coding, computer use, and...

Solar Mini 4

Solar Mini 4 is Upstage's compact, cost-efficient language model, a 35B-parameter mixture-of-experts with 3B active parameters and a 524K context window. It is built for agentic use cases where response...