API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewApodex 1.1 Mini (free) vs Solar Mini 4

Pick Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) for lower cost; pick Solar Mini 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) for lower cost; pick Solar Mini 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Solar Mini 4, saving $0.15 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickApodex 1.1 Mini (free)
Context-first pickSolar Mini 4
Sample savings$0.15100%
10x traffic gap$1.5

Solar Mini 4 has more context, but Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) saves $0.15 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickApodex 1.1 Mini (free)Solar Mini 4
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputApodex 1.1 Mini (free)$0$0.35
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputApodex 1.1 Mini (free)$0$0.25
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputApodex 1.1 Mini (free)$0$1.05
Cheaper input Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) $0 vs $0.05 / 1M

Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) is free for input tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.05 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) $0 vs $0.2 / 1M

Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) is free for output tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.2 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Solar Mini 4 262.14K vs 524.29K

Solar Mini 4 has 262.14K more context (2x larger).

Sample workload Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) $0 vs $0.15

Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.15.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) 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

Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) has the lower input price; Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) has the lower output price; Solar Mini 4 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) and $0.15 for Solar Mini 4.

Best Fit

Choose Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Solar Mini 4 when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Solar Mini 4, saving $0.15 (100% lower).
  • Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.15.
  • Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) is free for input tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.05 per 1M tokens.
  • Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) is free for output tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.2 per 1M tokens.
  • Solar Mini 4 has 262.14K more context (2x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNewApodex 1.1 Mini (free)
(Apodex)
Solar Mini 4
(Upstage)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0$0.05
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$0$0.2
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$0$0.15
Context Window262.14K524.29K
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionApodex 1.1 Mini (free)On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Apodex 1.1 Mini (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Solar Mini 4, saving $0.15 (100% lower).
High-volume input processingApodex 1.1 Mini (free)Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsApodex 1.1 Mini (free)Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workSolar Mini 4A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • No lower-cost same-provider swap is currently tracked for this pair.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

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

Open provider hubs

Apodex catalog

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

Open Apodex models

Upstage catalog

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

Open Upstage models
Apodex 1.1 Mini (free)

Apodex 1.1 Mini is a reasoning-first model from Apodex, built for complex, long-horizon research and forecasting tasks. It works directly with files, data, code, and tools to produce verifiable results,...

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...