GPT-4o Mini is OpenAI's cheapest model at $0.15/1M input tokens — 99% less than the flagship GPT-5.2. It is also the best capability-per-dollar pick in the lineup.
The shortest way to see the safest default, the lower-cost option, and the specialist pick before you read deeper.
GPT-4o Mini is the safest overall answer here when you want the strongest default instead of the lowest list price.
Meta: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is the lower-cost option to start with when you still need useful output at scale.
GPT-5.2 Mini is the better pick when response speed matters more than maximum reasoning depth.
GPT-4o Mini is the lowest-cost OpenAI model: $0.15/1M input, $0.6/1M output.
GPT-4o Mini is the best capability-per-dollar pick (budget score 93/100).
GPT-5.2 costs 80x more on input — reserve it for work where quality is the bottleneck.
Choose GPT-4o Mini for high-volume, low-stakes tasks like classification, extraction, and drafts.
Choose GPT-4o Mini as the everyday default if you want one budget model.
Route only the hardest tasks to GPT-5.2 — a two-tier setup usually cuts spend 60–80%.
Switch the scoring lens to see whether the top answer changes when you care more about cost, speed, or long-document work.
OpenAI / Premium / May 28, 2026
Best OpenAI flagship for agentic coding, research, and computer-use work.
Ranks models by the broadest mix of coding, writing, research, and long-context usefulness.
You only care about the highest public coding benchmark score or need a cheaper high-volume model.
The fastest way to see where the recommendation shifts when your priority changes.
OpenAI's fastest, cheapest option for everyday high-volume tasks.
Solid OpenAI budget option, though Gemini Flash offers better value.
Best for agentic automation and desktop control workflows.
Best OpenAI flagship for agentic coding, research, and computer-use work.
Best all-around pick for image-heavy and multimodal workflows.
Capable but outclassed — GPT-5.4 is now cheaper and better.
Extremely low cost at $0.15/1M input — among the cheapest OpenAI models
Very fast response times suitable for interactive user-facing apps
Strong enough for most writing, summarisation, and classification tasks
Noticeably weaker than GPT-5.2 Mini on complex reasoning and multi-step tasks
Not suitable for hard coding challenges or deep document research
DeepSeek V3 now offers better coding quality at comparable pricing
UseRightAI recommendations are based on practical decision factors people actually feel in day-to-day use.
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GPT-4o Mini at $0.15/1M input and $0.6/1M output tokens. OpenAI's fastest, cheapest option for everyday high-volume tasks.
GPT-4o Mini is the best capability-per-dollar pick in OpenAI's lineup (budget score 93/100). It handles high-volume everyday tasks where gpt-4o quality is overkill well — step up to GPT-5.2 only where quality visibly falls short.
GPT-4o Mini costs $0.15/1M input vs $12/1M for GPT-5.2 — a 99% saving on input tokens.
GPT-5.5 — 1M tokens at $5/1M input.