Solar Mini 4 is $0.45 cheaper per 1M input tokens (90% lower; 10x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewSolar Mini 4 vs Inkling Small (batch)
Pick Solar Mini 4 when budget is the priority.
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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 when budget is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $1.1 for Inkling Small (batch), saving $0.95 (86.4% lower).
Cost-first pickSolar Mini 4
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$0.9586.4%
10x traffic gap$9.5
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $9.5. 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 | Solar Mini 4 | Inkling Small (batch) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Solar Mini 4 | $0.35 | $3.1 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Solar Mini 4 | $0.25 | $1.7 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Solar Mini 4 | $1.05 | $6.5 |
Solar Mini 4 is $1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (83.3% lower; 6x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 524.29K tokens.
Solar Mini 4 is $0.95 cheaper on the standard workload (86.4% 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; both models report the same 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 $0.15 for Solar Mini 4 and $1.1 for Inkling Small (batch).
Choose Solar Mini 4 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Inkling Small (batch) when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $1.1 for Inkling Small (batch), saving $0.95 (86.4% lower).
- Solar Mini 4 is $0.95 cheaper on the standard workload (86.4% lower).
- Solar Mini 4 is $0.45 cheaper per 1M input tokens (90% lower; 10x difference).
- Solar Mini 4 is $1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (83.3% lower; 6x difference).
- Both models report the same context window at 524.29K tokens.
| Feature | NewSolar Mini 4 (Upstage) | Inkling Small (batch) (Thinking Machines) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.05 | $0.5 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.2 | $1.2 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.15 | $1.1 |
| Context Window | 524.29K | 524.29K |
| Release Date |
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 $1.1 for Inkling Small (batch), saving $0.95 (86.4% 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 | Tie | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Inkling Small (free) can replace Inkling Small (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Inkling (free) can replace Inkling Small (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Inkling Small can replace Inkling Small (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.05.
- 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
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
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Open Upstage modelsThinking Machines catalog
Check other Thinking Machines models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Thinking Machines modelsSolar Mini 4 is Upstage's compact, cost-efficient language model, a 35B-parameter mixture-of-experts with 3B active parameters and a 524K context window. It is built for agentic use cases where response...
Inkling Small is an open-weight multimodal mixture-of-experts model from Thinking Machines Lab, with 12B active parameters out of 276B total. It is positioned as the smaller, more efficient member of...