API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT-5.1 vs Ministral 3 8B 2512

Pick Ministral 3 8B 2512 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.1 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 Ministral 3 8B 2512 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.1 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ministral 3 8B 2512 is estimated at $0.22 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $6.03 (96.4% lower).

Cost-first pickMinistral 3 8B 2512
Context-first pickGPT-5.1
Sample savings$6.0396.4%
10x traffic gap$60.25

GPT-5.1 has more context, but Ministral 3 8B 2512 saves $6.03 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $60.25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Ministral 3 8B 2512 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickGPT-5.1Ministral 3 8B 2512
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputMinistral 3 8B 2512$11.25$0.82
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputMinistral 3 8B 2512$11.25$0.3
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputMinistral 3 8B 2512$51.25$0.9
Cheaper input Ministral 3 8B 2512 $1.25 vs $0.15 / 1M

Ministral 3 8B 2512 is $1.1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (88% lower; 8.33x difference).

Cheaper output Ministral 3 8B 2512 $10 vs $0.15 / 1M

Ministral 3 8B 2512 is $9.85 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.5% lower; 66.7x difference).

Larger context GPT-5.1 400K vs 262.14K

GPT-5.1 has 137.86K more context (1.53x larger).

Sample workload Ministral 3 8B 2512 $6.25 vs $0.22

Ministral 3 8B 2512 is $6.03 cheaper on the standard workload (96.4% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
GPT-5.1 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Ministral 3 8B 2512 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

Ministral 3 8B 2512 has the lower input price; Ministral 3 8B 2512 has the lower output price; GPT-5.1 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Ministral 3 8B 2512 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $6.25 for GPT-5.1 and $0.22 for Ministral 3 8B 2512.

Best Fit

Choose GPT-5.1 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Ministral 3 8B 2512 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, Ministral 3 8B 2512 is estimated at $0.22 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $6.03 (96.4% lower).
  • Ministral 3 8B 2512 is $6.03 cheaper on the standard workload (96.4% lower).
  • Ministral 3 8B 2512 is $1.1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (88% lower; 8.33x difference).
  • Ministral 3 8B 2512 is $9.85 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.5% lower; 66.7x difference).
  • GPT-5.1 has 137.86K more context (1.53x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureGPT-5.1
(OpenAI)		Ministral 3 8B 2512
(Mistral)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$1.25$0.15
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$10$0.15
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$6.25$0.22
Context Window400K262.14K
Release Date
Popularity#54#89

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionMinistral 3 8B 2512On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ministral 3 8B 2512 is estimated at $0.22 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $6.03 (96.4% lower).
High-volume input processingMinistral 3 8B 2512Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsMinistral 3 8B 2512Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGPT-5.1A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
  • gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
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GPT-5.1

GPT-5.1 is the latest frontier-grade model in the GPT-5 series, offering stronger general-purpose reasoning, improved instruction adherence, and a more natural conversational style compared to GPT-5. It uses adaptive reasoning...

Ministral 3 8B 2512

A balanced model in the Ministral 3 family, Ministral 3 8B is a powerful, efficient tiny language model with vision capabilities.