gpt-oss-20b (free) is free for input tokens while GPT-5.4 Nano costs $0.2 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
GPT-5.4 Nano vs gpt-oss-20b (free)
Pick gpt-oss-20b (free) for lower cost; pick GPT-5.4 Nano only if the larger context window matters more.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick gpt-oss-20b (free) for lower cost; pick GPT-5.4 Nano only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, gpt-oss-20b (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.82 for GPT-5.4 Nano, saving $0.82 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickgpt-oss-20b (free)
Context-first pickGPT-5.4 Nano
Sample savings$0.82100%
10x traffic gap$8.25
GPT-5.4 Nano has more context, but gpt-oss-20b (free) saves $0.82 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $8.25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
gpt-oss-20b (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | GPT-5.4 Nano | gpt-oss-20b (free) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | gpt-oss-20b (free) | $1.62 | $0 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | gpt-oss-20b (free) | $1.45 | $0 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | gpt-oss-20b (free) | $6.45 | $0 |
gpt-oss-20b (free) is free for output tokens while GPT-5.4 Nano costs $1.25 per 1M tokens.
GPT-5.4 Nano has 268.93K more context (3.05x larger).
gpt-oss-20b (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.82.
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
gpt-oss-20b (free) has the lower input price; gpt-oss-20b (free) has the lower output price; GPT-5.4 Nano offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, gpt-oss-20b (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.82 for GPT-5.4 Nano and $0 for gpt-oss-20b (free).
Choose GPT-5.4 Nano when you care most about larger context window.
Choose gpt-oss-20b (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, gpt-oss-20b (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.82 for GPT-5.4 Nano, saving $0.82 (100% lower).
- gpt-oss-20b (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.82.
- gpt-oss-20b (free) is free for input tokens while GPT-5.4 Nano costs $0.2 per 1M tokens.
- gpt-oss-20b (free) is free for output tokens while GPT-5.4 Nano costs $1.25 per 1M tokens.
- GPT-5.4 Nano has 268.93K more context (3.05x larger).
| Feature | GPT-5.4 Nano (OpenAI) | gpt-oss-20b (free) (OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.2 | $0 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1.25 | $0 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.82 | $0 |
| Context Window | 400K | 131.07K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #32 | #72 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | gpt-oss-20b (free) | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, gpt-oss-20b (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.82 for GPT-5.4 Nano, saving $0.82 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | gpt-oss-20b (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | gpt-oss-20b (free) | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | GPT-5.4 Nano | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5.4 Nano when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.4 Nano when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
- gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5.4 Nano when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
- gpt-oss-safeguard-20b can replace GPT-5.4 Nano when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.22.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
Cheaper alternatives
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gpt-oss-20b is an open-weight 21B parameter model released by OpenAI under the Apache 2.0 license. It uses a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture with 3.6B active parameters per forward pass, optimized for...