Solar Mini 4 is $0.15 cheaper per 1M input tokens (75% lower; 4x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
🔥GPT-5.6 Luna vs NewSolar Mini 4
Pick Solar Mini 4 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.6 Luna 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 Solar Mini 4 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.6 Luna 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 $0.8 for GPT-5.6 Luna, saving $0.65 (81.2% lower).
Cost-first pickSolar Mini 4
Context-first pickGPT-5.6 Luna
Sample savings$0.6581.2%
10x traffic gap$6.5
GPT-5.6 Luna has more context, but Solar Mini 4 saves $0.65 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $6.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Solar Mini 4 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | GPT-5.6 Luna | Solar Mini 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Solar Mini 4 | $1.6 | $0.35 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Solar Mini 4 | $1.4 | $0.25 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Solar Mini 4 | $6.2 | $1.05 |
Solar Mini 4 is $1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (83.3% lower; 6x difference).
GPT-5.6 Luna has 525.71K more context (2x larger).
Solar Mini 4 is $0.65 cheaper on the standard workload (81.2% lower).
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
Solar Mini 4 has the lower input price; Solar Mini 4 has the lower output price; GPT-5.6 Luna 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 $0.8 for GPT-5.6 Luna and $0.15 for Solar Mini 4.
Choose GPT-5.6 Luna 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.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.8 for GPT-5.6 Luna, saving $0.65 (81.2% lower).
- Solar Mini 4 is $0.65 cheaper on the standard workload (81.2% lower).
- Solar Mini 4 is $0.15 cheaper per 1M input tokens (75% lower; 4x difference).
- Solar Mini 4 is $1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (83.3% lower; 6x difference).
- GPT-5.6 Luna has 525.71K more context (2x larger).
| Feature | 🔥GPT-5.6 Luna (OpenAI) | NewSolar Mini 4 (Upstage) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.2 | $0.05 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1.2 | $0.2 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.8 | $0.15 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 524.29K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #5 |
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 $0.8 for GPT-5.6 Luna, saving $0.65 (81.2% 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 | GPT-5.6 Luna | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5.6 Luna when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.6 Luna when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.6 Luna when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.06.
- gpt-oss-20b (batch) can replace GPT-5.6 Luna when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.08.
- GLM 5.3 Flash offers 1.31M context with $0.4 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.36 sample workload cost.
- GLM Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.31 sample workload cost.
- MiMo-V2.6-Pro · Xiaomi · #1
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #2
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #3
- Hy4 preview · Tencent · #4
Cheaper alternatives
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