API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT-5 Mini vs GPT-5.2

Pick GPT-5 Mini when budget is the priority.

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

Budget verdict

Pick GPT-5 Mini when budget is the priority.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 Mini is estimated at $1.25 vs $8.75 for GPT-5.2, saving $7.5 (85.7% lower).

Cost-first pickGPT-5 Mini
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$7.585.7%
10x traffic gap$75

The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $75. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

GPT-5 Mini stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickGPT-5 MiniGPT-5.2
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputGPT-5 Mini$2.25$15.75
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputGPT-5 Mini$2.25$15.75
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputGPT-5 Mini$10.25$71.75
Cheaper input GPT-5 Mini $0.25 vs $1.75 / 1M

GPT-5 Mini is $1.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (85.7% lower; 7x difference).

Cheaper output GPT-5 Mini $2 vs $14 / 1M

GPT-5 Mini is $12 cheaper per 1M output tokens (85.7% lower; 7x difference).

Larger context Tie 400K vs 400K

Both models report the same context window at 400K tokens.

Sample workload GPT-5 Mini $1.25 vs $8.75

GPT-5 Mini is $7.5 cheaper on the standard workload (85.7% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
GPT-5 Mini Calculating… Estimated API cost
GPT-5.2 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

GPT-5 Mini has the lower input price; GPT-5 Mini has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GPT-5 Mini is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.25 for GPT-5 Mini and $8.75 for GPT-5.2.

Best Fit

Choose GPT-5 Mini when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose GPT-5.2 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 Mini is estimated at $1.25 vs $8.75 for GPT-5.2, saving $7.5 (85.7% lower).
  • GPT-5 Mini is $7.5 cheaper on the standard workload (85.7% lower).
  • GPT-5 Mini is $1.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (85.7% lower; 7x difference).
  • GPT-5 Mini is $12 cheaper per 1M output tokens (85.7% lower; 7x difference).
  • Both models report the same context window at 400K tokens.
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureGPT-5 Mini
(OpenAI)		GPT-5.2
(OpenAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$0.25$1.75
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$2$14
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$1.25$8.75
Context Window400K400K
Release Date
Popularity#33#66

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionGPT-5 MiniOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 Mini is estimated at $1.25 vs $8.75 for GPT-5.2, saving $7.5 (85.7% lower).
High-volume input processingGPT-5 MiniLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsGPT-5 MiniLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workTieA 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 Mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5 Mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5 Mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
  • gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5 Mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
Larger context near this budget
  • Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
  • GPT-5.4 offers 1.05M context with $10 sample workload cost.

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

OpenAI catalog

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

Open OpenAI models
GPT-5 Mini

GPT-5 Mini is a compact version of GPT-5, designed to handle lighter-weight reasoning tasks. It provides the same instruction-following and safety-tuning benefits as GPT-5, but with reduced latency and cost....

GPT-5.2

GPT-5.2 is the latest frontier-grade model in the GPT-5 series, offering stronger agentic and long context perfomance compared to GPT-5.1. It uses adaptive reasoning to allocate computation dynamically, responding quickly...