API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewOpenAI GPT Mini Latest vs Grok 4.20

Pick Grok 4.20 when budget and context both matter.

Pricing data updated: 2026-05-26T11:08:00Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Grok 4.20 when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok 4.20 is estimated at $2.5 vs $3 for OpenAI GPT Mini Latest, saving $0.5 (16.7% lower).

Cost-first pickGrok 4.20

Context-first pickGrok 4.20

Sample savings$0.516.7%

10x traffic gap$5

Grok 4.20 is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors OpenAI GPT Mini Latest, balanced workload favors Grok 4.20, and output-heavy chatbot favors Grok 4.20.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	OpenAI GPT Mini Latest	Grok 4.20
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	OpenAI GPT Mini Latest	$6	$7.5
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Grok 4.20	$5.25	$3.75
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Grok 4.20	$23.25	$13.75

Cheaper input OpenAI GPT Mini Latest $0.75 vs $1.25 / 1M

OpenAI GPT Mini Latest is $0.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).

Cheaper output Grok 4.20 $4.5 vs $2.5 / 1M

Grok 4.20 is $2 cheaper per 1M output tokens (44.4% lower; 1.8x difference).

Larger context Grok 4.20 400K vs 2M

Grok 4.20 has 1.6M more context (5x larger).

Sample workload Grok 4.20 $3 vs $2.5

Grok 4.20 is $0.5 cheaper on the standard workload (16.7% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

OpenAI GPT Mini Latest Calculating… Estimated API cost

Grok 4.20 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

OpenAI GPT Mini Latest has the lower input price; Grok 4.20 has the lower output price; Grok 4.20 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Grok 4.20 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $3 for OpenAI GPT Mini Latest and $2.5 for Grok 4.20.

Best Fit

Choose OpenAI GPT Mini Latest when you care most about lower input-token price.

Choose Grok 4.20 when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok 4.20 is estimated at $2.5 vs $3 for OpenAI GPT Mini Latest, saving $0.5 (16.7% lower).
Grok 4.20 is $0.5 cheaper on the standard workload (16.7% lower).
OpenAI GPT Mini Latest is $0.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
Grok 4.20 is $2 cheaper per 1M output tokens (44.4% lower; 1.8x difference).
Grok 4.20 has 1.6M more context (5x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewOpenAI GPT Mini Latest (OpenAI)	Grok 4.20 (xAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.75	$1.25
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$4.5	$2.5
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$3	$2.5
Context Window	400K	2M
Release Date	2026-04-27	2026-03-31

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Grok 4.20	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok 4.20 is estimated at $2.5 vs $3 for OpenAI GPT Mini Latest, saving $0.5 (16.7% lower).
High-volume input processing	OpenAI GPT Mini Latest	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Grok 4.20	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Grok 4.20	A 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 OpenAI GPT Mini Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace OpenAI GPT Mini Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace OpenAI GPT Mini Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
gpt-oss-120b can replace OpenAI GPT Mini Latest 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.

Popular competitors

No popular competitor is currently available.

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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OpenAI catalog

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xAI catalog

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OpenAI GPT Mini Latest

This model always redirects to the latest model in the OpenAI GPT Mini family.

Grok 4.20

Grok 4.20 is a reasoning model from xAI with industry-leading speed and agentic tool calling capabilities. It combines the lowest hallucination rate on the market with strict prompt adherance, delivering...